Tone library / Queen / Bohamian rhapsody

Bohamian rhapsody amp settings — Marshall Origin 20C

The Queen guitar tone for “Bohamian rhapsody”, dialed in for a Marshall Origin 20C with a Gibson Les Paul Special. Studio version, A Night at the Opera (1975)

Original rig

Brian May Red Special (custom) with Burns Tri-Sonic pickups → Rangemaster Treble Booster → Vox AC30 Top Boost (cranked), Deacy Amp for some layered parts

Thick, vocal midrange with singing sustain, chimey treble bite, creamy overdrive from boosted AC30s

Amp settings — Marshall Origin 20C

CHANNELSingle channel (use Normal input, not High Treble)BRIGHToffBOOSTon

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	7
Bass	4
Mid	7
Treble	6
Presence	5
Reverb	0
Master	6

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE6 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Rangemaster-style Treble Booster (e.g., BSM RM, TC Electronic Spark Booster in treble mode, or Electro-Harmonix LPB-1)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. This pedal is essential to May's tone; it pushes amp into singing saturation and adds upper-mid bite. Without it, crank amp gain to 8 and roll guitar tone to 7, but expect less harmonic complexity.

Boost/Level 7 · Tone/Range 8

Why these settings

The Origin 20C is EL34-based Marshall voicing vs May's EL84 Vox AC30s. The Marshall has more aggressive upper-mids and tighter low-end, so I've cut bass by 2 from a typical AC30 setting and pushed mids to 7 to capture that vocal quality. The Origin's boost switch mimics the Rangemaster's job of hitting the front end hard—engage it. Without a treble booster pedal, you'll lack the harmonic singing sustain that defines May's lead tone.

PRO TIPMay's tone relies heavily on his coin-picking technique (uses a sixpence) and aggressive vibrato. Angle your pick sharply and dig in near the bridge pickup for that scratchy attack; roll volume to 7-8 for rhythm sections to clean up, then full for solos.

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These settings are for a Marshall Origin 20C. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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