Sea Of Lies amp settings — Marshall Code 50
The Symphony X guitar tone for “Sea Of Lies”, dialed in for a Marshall Code 50 with a EVH Striped Series. Studio version, The Divine Wings of Tragedy (1997)
Mesa/Boogie amp (likely Mark series or Rectifier), ESP M-II Deluxe with EMG or high-output humbuckers, Drop D tuning
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 8 |
| Bass | 6 |
| Mid | 3 |
| Treble | 7 |
| Presence | 6 |
| Reverb | 0 |
| Master | 5 |
01Noise Gate (Code 50 built-in)
Essential for tight palm mutes and silent stops between riffs
02Tube Screamer (Code 50 built-in)
Use as a clean boost to tighten low end and add pick attack—classic Mesa trick
The original Mesa tone is scooped and tight with massive low-end control. The Code 50's JVM OD2 model is your highest-gain British voice, but Marshall voicing is inherently more mid-forward than Mesa Rectifier. Compensate by dropping mids to 3 and pushing treble to 7 for that modern sharpness. The built-in Tube Screamer tightens the low end the way Romeo's rig naturally does—this is critical for the percussive palm mutes.
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