Tone library / Pantera / Floods

Floods amp settings — Harley benton HB-80R

The Pantera guitar tone for “Floods”, dialed in for a Harley benton HB-80R with a Harley Benton SC-Custom II. Studio version, The Great Southern Trendkill (1996)

Original rig

Randall RG-100ES solid-state head, Washburn Dime 333 with Bill Lawrence L-500XL (bridge), MXR 6-band EQ, Furman PQ-3 parametric EQ, noise gate

Tight, scooped mid rhythm with razor-sharp pick attack and controlled low-end thump
Amp settings — Harley benton HB-80R
CHANNELOverdrive channel
GAIN 7 BASS 6 MID 3 TREBLE 7 PRESENCE 6 REVERB 0 MASTER 5
KnobSetting (0–10)
Gain7
Bass6
Mid3
Treble7
Presence6
Reverb0
Master5
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Guitar
PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10
Signal chain

01Noise Gate (RECOMMENDED — not owned)

RECOMMENDED — critical to Dimebag's tight, staccato rhythm attack. A Boss NS-2 or TC Sentry gets you there. Without gating, palm mutes will bloom and sustain instead of snapping shut.

Threshold 6 · Decay 2

026-Band EQ (RECOMMENDED — not owned)

RECOMMENDED — Dimebag's signature scoop came from stacking EQ pedals before the amp, not just amp EQ. An MXR 6-band or Boss GE-7 placed before the amp input replicates his gain-staging technique.

100Hz 4 · 200Hz 3 · 400Hz 3 · 800Hz 4 · 1.6kHz 6 · 3.2kHz 7
Why these settings

Your HB-80R is a solid-state combo like Dimebag's Randall, which is fortunate — the response character is similar. I dropped mids to 3 to replicate the classic Dime scoop (original sources cite mids around 2-3 with EQ pedals adding further cuts at 400-800Hz). Your SC-Custom II's humbuckers are hotter than the L-500XL's tight, focused output, so I kept gain at 7 rather than pushing higher to avoid mud. The tone is dry — zero reverb.

PRO TIPTune to D standard and pick directly over the bridge pickup pole pieces with a heavy pick (1.0mm+) angled sharply — Dimebag's attack came from aggressive pick angle and right-hand position, not just gear. The 'Floods' rhythm riff lives or dies on muting precision between notes.

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These settings are for a Harley benton HB-80R. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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