Tone library / Steve Vai / For the Love of God

For the Love of God amp settings — Boss ME-80

The Steve Vai guitar tone for “For the Love of God”, dialed in for a Boss ME-80 with a EVH 5150 Series. Studio version, Passion and Warfare (1990) — iconic solo section

Original rig

Ibanez JEM77FP with DiMarzio PAF Pro pickups (neck position) → Carvin X-100B head into 4x12 cab. Rack effects including delay, reverb, and subtle chorus. Vai used the amp's high-gain channel with moderate saturation for singing sustain.

Singing legato sustain with smooth saturation, warm neck-pickup voicing, rich midrange, spacious ambient delay/reverb, expressive and fluid

Amp settings — Boss ME-80

CHANNELOD2 (Lead amp model — closest to Carvin Legacy high-gain voicing)BRIGHToffBOOSToff

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

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Guitar

PICKUPneck TONE8 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Boss ME-80 Compressor (COMP section)

Light compression for smooth legato sustain and even dynamics

Type COMP · Sustain 4 · Level 6

02Boss ME-80 Delay (DELAY section)

~400-480ms delay time, moderate repeats for spacious ambience

Type DIGITAL · Time 5 · Feedback 4 · E.Level 4

03Boss ME-80 Reverb (REVERB section)

Hall reverb for the signature ambient, ethereal sustain

Type HALL · Level 5

04Boss ME-80 Chorus (MOD section)

Subtle chorus shimmer — use sparingly, adds width without overwhelming

Type CHORUS · Rate 3 · Depth 4

Why these settings

The ME-80's OD2 amp model delivers the smooth high-gain saturation closest to Vai's Carvin X-100B. Your EVH 5150 guitar has hot humbuckers similar to DiMarzio PAF Pros — use the neck pickup with tone rolled back slightly to 8 for warmth. The ME-80 lacks a dedicated presence knob in amp settings; the treble at 7 compensates. Mid at 6 (vs original 4.5) accounts for the ME-80's slightly scooped voicing in OD2 mode.

PRO TIPVai's signature sustain comes from controlled feedback and feather-light fretting pressure during legato runs — stand closer to your amp/monitor and let notes bloom naturally rather than relying purely on gain.

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