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Black Hole Sun amp settings — Gear4music G4m-ga-15

The Soundgarden guitar tone for “Black Hole Sun”, dialed in for a Gear4music G4m-ga-15 with a Levation Stratocaster. Studio version, Superunknown (1994) — rhythm guitar tracked by Chris Cornell, not Kim Thayil

Original rig

Gretsch G6128T Duo Jet (Filter'tron humbuckers, bridge) → Marshall JMP 50W → Leslie Model 16 rotary cabinet (fast); Mesa Dual Rectifier blended for heavier sections

Warbling, underwater rotary shimmer on verses; mid-forward moderate crunch on choruses with defined string attack

Amp settings — Gear4music G4m-ga-15

CHANNELOverdrive channel (if available) or single channel with moderate gain

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	3
Bass	5
Mid	8
Treble	6
Presence	4
Reverb	2
Master	5

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE7 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Chorus/Vibrato pedal (e.g., Boss CE-5, TC Electronic Corona, Behringer UV300)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Set to vibrato mode if available. This approximates the Leslie rotary effect which is essential to the verse tone. A dedicated rotary pedal (Strymon Lex, EHX Lester G) is more accurate but a chorus at high rate/depth gets you close.

Rate 7 · Depth 7 · Level/Mix 6

Why these settings

Your Strat's single coils are brighter and lower-output than Cornell's Filter'tron humbuckers, so I dropped treble by 1 from the original's setting and pushed mids to 8 to compensate for the Strat's natural mid-scoop. The G4m-ga-15 is a small practice amp without a Leslie or rotary effect — the verse tone is impossible to replicate without a modulation pedal. Gain stays low at 3; the original was moderate crunch, not high-gain.

PRO TIPThe entire Superunknown album was recorded approximately 3/4 semitone sharp of standard drop D due to a tape-speed trick — if you want to play along with the record precisely, tune your low string to roughly D# instead of D, or use a pitch shifter. For the verse arpeggios, use a light touch and let notes ring into each other to maximize the rotary warble effect.

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These settings are for a Gear4music G4m-ga-15. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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