Black amp settings — Gearit GA-02

The Pearl Jam guitar tone for “Black”, dialed in for a Gearit GA-02 with a Fender American Professional II Stratocaster. Studio version, Ten (1991) - iconic clean/edge-of-breakup intro & verse riff

Original rig

1962 Reissue Fender Stratocaster (neck/middle in-between) -> Fender Bassman AB165 / Marshall JCM800 2203 -> Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer

Warm, dynamic edge-of-breakup Fender clean with Stevie Ray Vaughan/Hendrix-style chime and soft top-end

Amp settings — Gearit GA-02

CHANNELCleanBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	3
Bass	5
Treble	5
Master	6

Don’t have a Gearit GA-02? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPneck+middle TONE9 VOLUME8

Signal chain

01Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned; push the amp into subtle breakup for the chorus and solo

Drive 3 · Tone 5 · Level 7

Why these settings

The Gearit GA-02 is an entry-level practice amp with basic gain, volume, and a 2-band EQ (bass and treble only, no mid/presence/reverb controls). To match McCready's Fender Bassman clean headroom, keep the amp on its clean channel at gain 3 with flat EQ so the small speaker avoids boxy distortion. A Tube Screamer is recommended to smoothly transition from the clean verses into the grittier lead work without relying on harsh solid-state clipping.

PRO TIPUse position 4 (neck + middle) on your Strat and roll the volume back to 7–8 for the delicate verse embellishments, then dime the volume knob to push into natural breakup for the outro solo.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Gearit GA-02. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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Song, artist and gear names are used to identify the tone being matched; ToneAdapt is not affiliated with or endorsed by the artists or manufacturers mentioned. Settings are AI-generated starting points — trust your ears.