A Forest amp settings — Vox AC30C2
The The Cure guitar tone for “A Forest”, dialed in for a Vox AC30C2 with a Fender American Professional II Telecaster. Studio version, Seventeen Seconds (1980)
Fender Jazzmaster (Teisco middle pickup) → Roland JC-120 (clean, stereo chorus) → EHX Electric Mistress flanger, chorus pedal, delay
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 3 |
| Bass | 5 |
| Mid | 4 |
| Treble | 5 |
| Presence | 0 |
| Reverb | 0 |
| Master | 5 |
01Flanger (e.g., EHX Electric Mistress, Boss BF-3, MXR M117R)
RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. This is THE defining effect—always on, subtle cold detune, not jet-plane whoosh. Essential for the tone.
02Chorus (e.g., Boss CE-2W, EHX Small Clone, MXR Analog Chorus)
RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Moderate depth, slow rate. Smith layered chorus on top of flange for the lush wash.
03Delay (e.g., Boss DD-7, MXR Carbon Copy, TC Electronic Flashback)
RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Target ~400-450ms delay time. Moderate feedback for rhythmic repeats that fill space. If your delay has tap tempo, sync to the song's pulse.
The original JC-120 is solid-state, ultra-clean, and neutral. Your AC30 has more harmonic complexity and chime, so gain is dropped to 3 to stay pristine clean—any breakup destroys this tone. Treble stays at 5 (the AC30's Top Boost voicing is already bright vs the JC-120's flat response). Your Tele's bridge-heavy nature is countered by neck pickup with tone rolled to 5, approximating the Jazzmaster's darker, rounder output. Without the flanger/chorus/delay chain, you will not get this tone—the effects ARE the sound.
Get this tone on your amp
These settings are for a Vox AC30C2. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
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