Kiss It Better amp settings — Reavey Teal stripe

The Rihanna guitar tone for “Kiss It Better”, dialed in for a Reavey Teal stripe with a Stratocaster Mini. Studio album version, Anti (2016) — iconic soaring lead riff and intro hook

Original rig

Washburn N4 (Bill Lawrence L500 bridge humbucker) played by Nuno Bettencourt into cranked Marshall/modded tube amp, stereo chorus, digital delay, and studio reverb

Sustaining, compressed '80s-style lead guitar hook with prominent digital delay and stereo chorus

Amp settings — Reavey Teal stripe

CHANNELClean / NormalBRIGHToffBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	2
Bass	6
Mid	6
Treble	5
Reverb	3
Master	5

Don’t have a Reavey Teal stripe? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Distortion

GAIN SOURCE: run into clean channel to provide Nuno's singing lead saturation without solid-state mud

Dist 8 · Tone 5 · Level 7

02Digital Delay

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned; set to ~450ms dotted eighth delay to nail the iconic atmospheric echo

Level 6 · Feedback 5 · Time 6

03Stereo Chorus

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned; adds the lush '80s studio width heard on the track

Rate 4 · Depth 6

Why these settings

Because you own a dedicated distortion pedal, the Peavey Teal Stripe is kept on its clean channel with gain down to avoid harsh double-gain clipping. The Stratocaster Mini's single-coil bridge pickup is thinner than Nuno's high-output Bill Lawrence L500 humbucker, so mids are pushed to 6 and the guitar tone knob is rolled back slightly to 8 to tame glassy bite. Your distortion pedal provides the core sustain today, while delay and chorus pedals remain the key upgrades to match the record's spacious studio sheen.

PRO TIPPick with the meat of your thumb alongside the pick edge to produce controlled pinch harmonics on the bend notes, mimicking Nuno's signature aggressive percussive attack.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Reavey Teal stripe. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

Get ToneAdapt on Google Play

Find your amp

Browse

Kiss It Better on other ampsSAME SONG, YOUR AMP Rihanna tonesALL SONGS Tone libraryEVERYTHING

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.