Tone library / Red Hot Chili Peppers / Around the World

Around the World amp settings — Vonyx SMW15

The Red Hot Chili Peppers guitar tone for “Around the World”, dialed in for a Vonyx SMW15 with a Fender Player Precision Bass. Studio version, Californication (1999) - iconic distorted intro riff

Original rig

Modulus Flea Bass (Lane Poor pickup + Aguilar OBP-1) / 1961 Fender Jazz Bass + Gallien-Krueger 2001RB + Boss ODB-3 Bass Overdrive

Aggressive, gritty, high-energy bass distortion with punchy low-end and biting upper mids

Amp settings — Vonyx SMW15

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	2
Bass	7
Reverb	0
Master	6

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Guitar

PICKUPneck TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Boss ODB-3 Bass Overdrive

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned

Level 6 · High 6 · Low 7 · Balance 6 · Gain 8

Why these settings

The Vonyx SMW15 is a passive PA subwoofer rather than a dedicated instrument amplifier, meaning it lacks a guitar preamp and mid/treble controls entirely. Because the iconic intro requires an aggressive, saturated fuzz/overdrive, an external dirt pedal like the Boss ODB-3 is mandatory to generate the drive before hitting clean power. Keep the input clean and flat on your preamp/power stage to avoid muddy low-frequency distortion.

PRO TIPDig in hard with your index and middle fingers directly over the sweet spot between the pickup and the bridge to get Flea's punchy, percussive attack.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Vonyx SMW15. 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.