Black Star amp settings — Line 6 Spider III
The Radiohead guitar tone for “Black Star”, dialed in for a Line 6 Spider III with a Strydom Magna. Studio version, The Bends (1995) — Lead guitar / intro and verse lines
Fender Telecaster Plus (Lace Sensor Dually Red in bridge) -> Marshall Shredmaster (or tech Plank's clone) -> Fender Eighty-Five solid-state amp (clean channel) & Vox AC30 / Orange OR-80
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 6 |
| Bass | 6 |
| Mid | 7 |
| Treble | 5 |
| Reverb | 2 |
| Master | 4 |
01Built-in Delay (Tape Echo block)
Subtle slap/ambient depth for the lead passages; keep decay very short
02Built-in Noise Gate
Engaged to tame high-gain hiss on the Spider preamp
Jonny Greenwood achieved his signature mid-90s bite using a Marshall Shredmaster pushing a solid-state Fender Eighty-Five, complemented by the hot output of Lace Sensor Red dually pickups. On the Line 6 Spider III, the Crunch channel (Amber voice, modeled on a Marshall Plexi/JCM) provides the correct British grit without the unmanageable fizzy top-end of the Insane/Metal models. Treble is dialed down to 5 and the guitar tone is slightly rolled back to mimic the smooth, compressed attack of his Lace Sensors. (Presence is null as the Spider III faceplate does not feature a physical presence knob).
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These settings are for a Line 6 Spider III. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
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