Psychosocial amp settings — Marshall DSL 100 HR

The Slipknot guitar tone for “Psychosocial”, dialed in for a Marshall DSL 100 HR with a Epiphone Les Paul Studio. Studio version, All Hope Is Gone (2008)

Original rig

Mick Thomson: Rivera KR-7 / Orange Rockerverb, Jackson signature with EMG 81/60. Jim Root: Orange Rockerverb, Fender Telecaster/Jazzmaster with EMG pickups. Both use Boss NS-2 for gating.

Surgical, tight, scooped-mid modern metal with percussive palm-mute attack and dry, controlled saturation

Amp settings — Marshall DSL 100 HR

CHANNELUltra Gain (Lead)BRIGHToffBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	7
Bass	6
Mid	4
Treble	7
Presence	6
Reverb	0
Master	5

Don’t have a Marshall DSL 100 HR? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01DigiTech The Drop

Set to Drop A (4 semitones down from Drop D, or use Octave + Drop mode depending on your standard tuning). First in chain before NS-2.

Drop Tune 5

02Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor

CRITICAL for this tone. Run guitar → NS-2 Input → NS-2 Send → MT-2 → NS-2 Return → NS-2 Output → Amp. High threshold, fast decay creates the tight silence between chugs.

Threshold 7 · Decay 2

03Boss Metal Zone MT-2

Use as a boost/tightener into the DSL's dirty channel, NOT as the main distortion source. Keep Dist moderate—let the amp do the heavy lifting. The MT-2 adds attack and compression.

Level 6 · High 5 · Low 4 · Mid 3 · Mid Freq 4 · Dist 6

Why these settings

The DSL100HR's Ultra Gain channel is tighter and more mid-present than Orange/Rivera amps, so mids are set to 4 (scooped) rather than higher. Your Epiphone's passive humbuckers have less compression than the original EMG actives, so gain stays at 7 instead of 8 to avoid flub. Bass reduced to 6 because Drop A tuning + DSL's resonant low-end will mud out otherwise.

PRO TIPThe silence between palm-muted chugs defines this tone more than the notes themselves—set your NS-2 threshold aggressively high so notes cut to absolute silence instantly. Pick directly over the bridge pickup with a thick pick (1mm+) angled slightly for maximum percussive attack.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Marshall DSL 100 HR. 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.