Tom Sawyer amp settings — Fender Champion 40

The Rush guitar tone for “Tom Sawyer”, dialed in for a Fender Champion 40 with a Ibanez GIO GRG170DX. Studio version, Moving Pictures (1981) — iconic opening riff & main rhythm tone

Original rig

Modified Strat / Gibson ES-355 -> Marshall JMP 2203 / Hiwatt DR103 -> Boss CE-1 Chorus / Loft 440 -> Roland SRE-555 Delay

Articulate, mid-gain British crunch with subtle chorus widening and short studio delay

Amp settings — Fender Champion 40

CHANNELBritish 80s (Channel 2 Voice 8)

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	6
Bass	6
Treble	7
Reverb	2
Master	4

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Boss CH-1 Super Chorus

Essential for Lifeson's spatial dimension; place before delay

Effect Level 5 · EQ 5 · Rate 4 · Depth 5

02Boss DD-8 Digital Delay

Set to Standard mode for a subtle ~300ms doubling delay

E.Level 3 · F.Back 2 · D.Time 3 · Mode 1

Why these settings

The Fender Champion 40 lacks a dedicated mid knob and presence control, so the British 80s voice provides the necessary Marshall JMP midrange bark. Because the amp model handles the core crunch, dirt pedals are left disengaged to prevent excessive compression and preserve the punchy chord separation. The owned Boss CH-1 and DD-8 accurately reproduce the iconic CE-1 chorus shimmer and doubling delay from the studio recording.

PRO TIPLifeson picks aggressively near the bridge on open-voiced chords while keeping the B and high-E strings ringing out clearly for maximum top-end chime.

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These settings are for a Fender Champion 40. 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.