Tone library / Queen / Tie Your Mother Down

Tie Your Mother Down amp settings — Vox Pathfinder 10

The Queen guitar tone for “Tie Your Mother Down”, dialed in for a Vox Pathfinder 10 with a Ibanez GIO GRG170DX. Studio version, A Day at the Races (1976)

Original rig

Vox AC30 Normal channel (Volume 10, Cut 0), Red Special with Burns Tri-Sonic pickups (bridge+middle in phase, in series), Dallas-Arbiter Rangemaster treble booster (always on, set to 10)

Aggressive, nasal midrange grind with trebly chime and compressed sustain; rhythm parts have moderate breakup, solos push into thick singing distortion

Amp settings — Vox Pathfinder 10

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	10
Bass	3
Mid	0
Treble	8
Presence	0
Reverb	0
Master	7

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge+middle TONE10 VOLUME5

Signal chain

01Digitech RP350 — Treble Booster model (Rangemaster)

Select the Rangemaster/Treble Booster model in the RP350's Stompbox section. This is the critical element — May never turns it off. It cuts bass mud and pushes upper mids into the amp.

Gain/Drive 8 · Tone 9 · Level 7

02Digitech RP350 — Amp Model (Vox AC30)

Select the AC30 amp model ('Class A' or 'AC30 Top Boost' in the RP350). Run this into the Pathfinder set clean — the RP350 provides all the gain and voicing.

Gain 8 · Bass 3 · Mid 5 · Treble 8 · Level 6

Why these settings

The Pathfinder 10 is a small solid-state practice amp with limited headroom and no tube breakup — it cannot replicate the AC30's cranked power section compression. Use the RP350's AC30 model with treble booster stacked in front as your gain source, and set the Pathfinder completely clean (Gain 10 on the Pathfinder is clean volume, not distortion). Your Ibanez's humbuckers are hotter and darker than May's single-coils wired in series, so keep guitar volume at 5 for rhythm (matching May's technique) and push to 8-10 for solos. Treble is pushed high to compensate for humbucker warmth.

PRO TIPMay uses a coin (British sixpence) as a pick — the rigid edge and serrated milling produce his signature scratchy attack and harmonic overtones. Try a heavy 2mm+ pick held at a steep angle to approximate this. For the solo sections, roll your guitar volume up to 8-10 and dig in harder; the boosted signal will compress and sustain.

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These settings are for a Vox Pathfinder 10. 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.