Tone library / The killers / Mr brightside

Mr brightside amp settings — Fender '65 Twin Reverb

The The killers guitar tone for “Mr brightside”, dialed in for a Fender '65 Twin Reverb with a Squier Contemporary Active Jazzmaster HH. Studio cut, Hot Fuss (2004) — iconic intro/verse arpeggio riff

Original rig

1975 Ibanez Destroyer 2459 (Super 70 humbuckers) / Fender Telecaster into Fender Hot Rod DeVille 2x12, TS9 / Tone Freak Abunai 2, Boss DD-3 / Ibanez AD9, chorus

Bright, chimey edge-of-breakup arpeggios with subtle modulation and short digital delay

Amp settings — Fender '65 Twin Reverb

CHANNELVibrato ChannelBRIGHToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Bass	4
Mid	6
Treble	7
Reverb	3
Master	4

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME9

Signal chain

01AmpliTube Tube Screamer (TS9 model)

Used as edge-of-breakup drive and mid-push into the clean Twin Reverb

Drive 3 · Tone 6 · Level 7

02AmpliTube Chorus (Boss CE-2 model)

Subtle shimmer modulation

Rate 3 · Depth 3

03AmpliTube Digital Delay (Boss DD-3 model)

Set for a quick slap/dotted eighth indie rhythmic echo

E.Level 4 · F.Back 3 · D.Time 3

Why these settings

The Twin Reverb has massive clean headroom and a naturally scooped profile, so the TS9 block provides the essential midrange bark and slight breakup that the original Hot Rod DeVille produced. The Active Jazzmaster humbuckers are hotter than vintage Super 70s, so rolling the guitar volume back slightly to 9 keeps the top end glassy without overloading the input into heavy distortion. The bright switch on the Twin is kept off to prevent the active pickups and digital delay repeats from turning harsh.

PRO TIPKeep your index finger anchored on the high open-voiced intervals while strictly picking close to the bridge with a thin-to-medium pick for that razor-sharp 2000s indie-rock attack.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Fender '65 Twin Reverb. 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.