Tone library / Slipknot / My plague

My plague amp settings — Marshall Mg15r

The Slipknot guitar tone for “My plague”, dialed in for a Marshall Mg15r with a Ltd M-201b. Studio version, Iowa (2001) — produced by Ross Robinson

Original rig

Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier (Modern channel, high gain), Marshall 4x12 1960A cabinet with Celestion Vintage 30s, ESP/LTD guitars with EMG 81 pickups (Mick Thomson & Jim Root), drop B tuning

Crushing downtuned nu-metal aggression with tight low-end, scooped mids, razor-sharp high-gain saturation, and industrial grind
Amp settings — Marshall Mg15r
CHANNELOD2 (Overdrive 2)
GAIN 10 BASS 6 MID 3 TREBLE 7 REVERB 0 MASTER 6
KnobSetting (0–10)
Gain10
Bass6
Mid3
Treble7
Reverb0
Master6
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Guitar
PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10
Signal chain

01Boss MT-2 Metal Zone or similar high-gain distortion

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. The MG15R cannot produce the saturated Dual Rectifier gain required for this tone. A Metal Zone, Boss ML-2 Metal Core, or TC Electronic Eyemaster would get you closest. With the pedal, set amp gain to 3-4 and use OD1 channel instead for a cleaner platform.

Level 7 · Low 6 · High 7 · Mid 3 · Mid Freq 5 · Dist 7
Why these settings

The original uses a Mesa Dual Rectifier on Modern mode — a cascaded high-gain design the MG15R cannot match. The MG series is voiced bright and thin with limited gain saturation. Maxed OD2 gain gets you into hard rock territory but not Iowa-level brutality. Mid at 3 gives the classic scooped nu-metal sound. Without a high-gain pedal, you'll hit maybe 50% of the original's saturation. With a Metal Zone-style pedal running into a cleaner amp setting, you can reach 80%.

PRO TIPMick and Jim tune to drop B with heavy strings (.012-.054 minimum) — if you're in standard tuning, the riff will sound thin regardless of amp settings. Palm-mute aggressively right at the bridge saddles for that percussive 'Iowa' chunk, and pick hard with the meaty part of the pick for maximum attack.

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These settings are for a Marshall Mg15r. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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