She's gone amp settings — Laney AH40

The Steelheart guitar tone for “She's gone”, dialed in for a Laney AH40 with a Epiphone Les Paul Studio. Studio version, Steelheart self-titled debut album (1990)

Original rig

Marshall/Mesa-Boogie tube stacks, high-output humbucker guitars (likely Ibanez or Gibson), minimal effects — tone is amp-driven with studio reverb/delay

Singing, saturated lead tone with crystalline sustain, controlled wide vibrato, and warm midrange presence

Amp settings — Laney AH40

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

Don’t have a Laney AH40? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPneck TONE7 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Overdrive/Distortion Pedal (TS-style or DS-1)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. The Laney AH40 is a keyboard/acoustic amp with solid-state clean voicing and will not produce tube-like saturation on its own. A Boss DS-1 (~$50) or Behringer TO800 (~$25) is essential to get anywhere near this tone.

Drive/Dist 6 · Tone 5 · Level 7

02Digital Delay

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. A slapback-to-medium delay (300-400ms) adds the spatial depth heard on the solo. TC Electronic Flashback Mini or Boss DD-3 are solid options.

E.Level/Mix 3 · F.Back/Repeats 3 · D.Time 4

Why these settings

The Laney AH40 is a flat-response keyboard amp — it has no preamp distortion circuit and cannot replicate cranked Marshall saturation. The amp settings above maximize its limited EQ shaping, but the gain knob will only add volume, not overdrive. You MUST use a drive pedal to get any distortion. Mid pushed to 7 compensates for the amp's inherently scooped keyboard voicing; the Epiphone's humbuckers will help with sustain but the tone will remain thinner and less compressed than the original without a proper drive pedal.

PRO TIPChris Risola's solo tone relies heavily on slow, wide vibrato from the wrist (not fingers) and precise full-step bends held at pitch. Use the neck pickup with tone rolled back to 7 to fatten the attack, and focus on vibrato width and bend accuracy — the gear gets you 40% there, your hands do the rest.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Laney AH40. 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.