Tone library / Queen / Bohemian Rhapsody

Bohemian Rhapsody amp settings — Kadence Kadence 15W Guitar Amplifier

The Queen guitar tone for “Bohemian Rhapsody”, dialed in for a Kadence Kadence 15W Guitar Amplifier with a Kadence Kadence Astroman HSS electric guitar. Studio version, A Night at the Opera (1975) — Main Guitar Solo

Original rig

Red Special (Burns Tri-Sonic pickups in series/out-of-phase) -> Dallas Rangemaster treble booster -> cranked Vox AC30

Mid-focused, singing, vocal lead tone with distinct upper-mid harmonic bite and smooth saturation

Amp settings — Kadence Kadence 15W Guitar Amplifier

CHANNELOverdrive channelBOOSTon

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	7
Bass	5
Treble	7
Master	6

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Guitar

PICKUPneck+middle TONE8 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Treble Booster (Dallas Rangemaster style)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned; adds the authentic Brian May upper-mid frequency bite and singing sustain

Boost 8

Why these settings

The Kadence 15W is a basic solid-state practice amp with only Gain, Bass, and Treble controls (no dedicated Mid, Presence, or Reverb knobs), so pushing Treble while engaging the amp's drive switch provides the bright harmonic edge of Brian May's treble booster. Selecting the neck+middle single-coils with tone rolled back to 8 mimics the out-of-phase, hollow vocal honk of the Red Special without sounding thin. With a dedicated treble booster pedal added later, you would switch the amp to clean and let the pedal slam the front end.

PRO TIPBrian May famously used a British sixpence coin instead of a plastic pick; use a hard metal coin or an extra-heavy textured pick held at an angle to recreate the characteristic raspy attack on the string.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Kadence Kadence 15W Guitar Amplifier. 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.