Tone library / Shawn Mendes / Treat You Better

Treat You Better amp settings — Vox AC30C2

The Shawn Mendes guitar tone for “Treat You Better”, dialed in for a Vox AC30C2 with a Tagima Tg-520. Studio version, Illuminate (2016) — mixed at Noble Street Studios on SSL E-series

Original rig

DI/studio electric guitars through SSL desk EQ, Avalon 2044 opto compressor, Manley Massive Passive EQ, SoundToys Echo Boy (Echoplex setting), TC System 6000 Chamber reverb

Clean, compressed pop-rock with tight palm-muted rhythms, subtle 200Hz warmth, rolled-off highs, and slapback delay

Amp settings — Vox AC30C2

CHANNELTop Boost

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	3
Bass	6
Mid	5
Treble	4
Presence	4
Reverb	3
Master	4

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE6 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Tank-G (Compressor Section)

Emulates the Avalon 2044 opto compression — slow attack, fast release feel; keeps palm mutes tight

Sustain 5 · Level 6

02Tank-G (Delay Section)

Set to eighth-note slapback (~330ms); roll off highs if your unit has a tone knob — original used Echo Boy with high/low cut

Time 5 · Feedback 3 · Level 4

Why these settings

The original is a DI/studio tone, not an amp tone — your AC30 Top Boost channel provides the closest clean-with-character voicing. Gain stays low (3) to maintain studio-clean headroom; treble rolled to 4 and tone knob to 6 replicates the high-cut processing on the original. The 200Hz boost from the Massive Passive is approximated by bass at 6. Tone Cut at 4 softens the AC30's natural chime to match the polished, non-edgy studio sound.

PRO TIPPalm mute the low E and A strings with your picking hand resting near the bridge saddles — the original track's rhythm guitar is defined by that tight, percussive 'chunk' rather than open chord strumming. Keep your pick attack consistent and slightly lighter than rock playing.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Vox AC30C2. 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.