Tone library / Queens of the Stone Age / Little Sister

Little Sister amp settings — Fender Frontman 10G

The Queens of the Stone Age guitar tone for “Little Sister”, dialed in for a Fender Frontman 10G with a Squier Affinity Stratocaster. Studio version, Lullabies to Paralyze (2005) - main rhythm riff

Original rig

Ampeg V-4/VT-22 tube amps, Ovation Ultra GP (humbuckers), Boss SD-1 Super OverDrive, tuned to C Standard

Dry, mid-heavy crunch with tight low-end and percussive attack — focused grind, not scooped metal
Amp settings — Fender Frontman 10G
CHANNELOverdrive switch ON (OD Select)
GAIN 6 BASS 4 TREBLE 5 REVERB 0 MASTER 4
KnobSetting (0–10)
Gain6
Bass4
Treble5
Reverb0
Master4
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Guitar
PICKUPbridge TONE7 VOLUME10
Signal chain

01Boss SD-1 Super OverDrive

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned

Drive 6 · Tone 5 · Level 7
Why these settings

The Frontman 10G lacks a dedicated midrange control, so rolling the treble back to 5 and keeping bass at 4 avoids flubbing the 6-inch speaker while preserving Josh Homme's punchy mid bark. Single coils on a Strat naturally sound brighter and thinner than the original Ovation Ultra GP humbuckers, so roll your guitar tone knob down to 7 to thicken the fundamental. If you add the recommended SD-1 overdrive pedal later, switch the amp to the clean channel with gain low to avoid harsh double-gain fizziness.

PRO TIPJosh Homme picks extremely hard near the bridge with heavy, stiff picks to get that signature robotic, percussive attack—keep the reverb completely at zero for that dry, claustrophobic studio punch.

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These settings are for a Fender Frontman 10G. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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