Tone library / SRV / Mary had a little lamp

Mary had a little lamp amp settings — Marshall Studio Vintage SV20H

The SRV guitar tone for “Mary had a little lamp”, dialed in for a Marshall Studio Vintage SV20H with a Fender Vintera 60s Stratocaster. Studio version, Texas Flood (1983)

Original rig

Fender Vibroverb / Super Reverb, 1963 Fender Stratocaster 'Number One' with 1959 pickups, Ibanez Tube Screamer (TS808/TS9 as clean boost)

Thick, warm Texas blues crunch with prominent mids, slight grit, and singing sustain

Amp settings — Marshall Studio Vintage SV20H

CHANNELSingle channel (Normal input)BRIGHToffBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	6
Bass	4
Mid	7
Treble	5
Presence	4
Reverb	2
Master	7

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Guitar

PICKUPneck TONE6 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9

Used as a clean boost to push the amp into breakup — SRV's signature approach. Level high, drive low.

Drive 3 · Tone 5 · Level 8

Why these settings

SRV used scooped Fender amps; your Marshall SV20H is inherently mid-forward. Push mids to 7 to capture that thick vocal-like quality SRV got from cranked Fenders, but pull treble down to 5 and presence to 4 to avoid the Marshall's natural bite overwhelming the warmth. The SV20H breaks up beautifully at volume — use master at 7 to let the power section contribute compression and sustain.

PRO TIPSRV's attack came from heavy strings (.013-.058) and aggressive picking right over the neck pickup. Dig in hard with the pick angled slightly, and let notes bloom — the tone cleans up dramatically when you back off your picking hand, which is how he got dynamics without touching the volume knob.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Marshall Studio Vintage SV20H. 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.