Hammer to Fall (Single Version) amp settings — Line 6 Spyder III 15
The Queen guitar tone for “Hammer to Fall (Single Version)”, dialed in for a Line 6 Spyder III 15 with a Harley benton BM-75 DLX. Single version, The Works (1984) — thicker layered sound with phase-in rear+middle pickups
Red Special (rear+middle pickups in phase) → Pete Cornish TB-83 Treble Booster → Vox AC30 Normal channel at full volume, Boss CE-1 Chorus on select parts
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 7 |
| Bass | 4 |
| Mid | 8 |
| Treble | 7 |
| Presence | 6 |
| Reverb | 1 |
| Master | 5 |
The Spider III lacks the Class A chime and natural compression of a cranked AC30, so I pushed mids to 8 to replicate the mid-forward bark May gets from his treble booster hitting the Vox. Bass dropped to 4 because the Spider's Crunch channel has flabbier lows than an AC30. Your BM-75 with Burns Tri-Sonic style pickups is the right tool—use bridge+middle together to approximate May's phase-in sound. Without a treble booster pedal, the amp's gain at 7 compensates, though you lose some of that harmonic bloom.
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These settings are for a Line 6 Spyder III 15. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
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