Bohemian Rhapsody amp settings — Cort Cm15r
The Queen guitar tone for “Bohemian Rhapsody”, dialed in for a Cort Cm15r with a Jackson JS22 Dinky. Studio version, A Night at the Opera (1975)
Brian May Red Special (homemade) with Burns Tri-Sonic pickups, Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster into Vox AC30 Top Boost channel, played with a sixpence coin as pick
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 7 |
| Bass | 4 |
| Treble | 7 |
| Reverb | 0 |
| Master | 6 |
01Treble Booster (TC Electronic Spark Booster or EHX LPB-1)
RECOMMENDED — not owned. Critical for May's tone; boosts upper mids and pushes amp into singing overdrive. A basic treble booster clone gets you 80% there. Without this pedal, the tone will lack the characteristic sparkle and sustain.
The Cort CM15R is a basic solid-state practice amp with only gain, bass, and treble controls (no mid, no presence). Your Jackson's hot humbuckers are darker and higher output than May's bright single-coil Tri-Sonics, so use the neck pickup with tone rolled back slightly to soften the attack. Without a treble booster pedal, this amp cannot replicate May's singing sustain—gain at 7 is the musical limit before it turns harsh.
Get this tone on your amp
These settings are for a Cort Cm15r. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
Get ToneAdapt on Google PlaySong, 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.