Tone library / Slipknot / Custer

Custer amp settings — Marshall Code 25

The Slipknot guitar tone for “Custer”, dialed in for a Marshall Code 25 with a Fender Player Stratocaster. Studio version, .5: The Gray Chapter (2014), mixed by Joe Barresi at JHOC Pasadena

Original rig

Mesa Dual/Triple Rectifier + Orange Rockerverb, EMG 81/85 active humbuckers in Jackson/Fender Jim Root signatures, 7-string guitars in Drop A

Heavily saturated modern metal, scooped mids, tight low-end, aggressive pick attack with high-mid presence
Amp settings — Marshall Code 25
CHANNELJVM OD2 (highest gain Marshall model available)BRIGHToffBOOSTon
GAIN 9 BASS 6 MID 3 TREBLE 7 PRESENCE 6 REVERB 0 MASTER 5
KnobSetting (0–10)
Gain9
Bass6
Mid3
Treble7
Presence6
Reverb0
Master5
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Guitar
PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10
Signal chain

01Noise Gate (Code onboard or RECOMMENDED: Boss NS-2)

CRITICAL for tight palm mutes — Slipknot tones require aggressive gating to prevent low-tuning mud

Threshold 7 · Decay 3

02Tube Screamer (RECOMMENDED: TS9 or Boss SD-1)

RECOMMENDED — not owned. Used as a clean boost to tighten low-end on Rectifier-style tones. Essential for this sound.

Drive 1 · Tone 6 · Level 7
Why these settings

Your single-coil Strat bridge pickup outputs roughly half the level of Mick Thomson's EMG 81, so gain is pushed to 9 to compensate. Mids scooped to 3 to match the Rectifier's signature scoop, but not lower — the Code's JVM model has tighter mids than a real Rectifier, and too much scoop will sound thin. The TS-style pedal in front is non-negotiable for this tone; it tightens the low-end that your Strat's single coils will otherwise make flabby.

PRO TIPPalm mute directly over the bridge saddles, not further up the strings — this is how Mick gets that percussive 'chunk' on the low A. Your Strat will never have the mass of a 7-string humbucker, but aggressive right-hand technique compensates more than any pedal.

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These settings are for a Marshall Code 25. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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