Tone library / The Smashing Pumpkins / 1979

1979 amp settings — Orange Crush 12

The The Smashing Pumpkins guitar tone for “1979”, dialed in for a Orange Crush 12 with a Ibanez GIO GRG170DX. Studio version, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995) - main rhythm/intro riff

Original rig

Fender '57 Reissue Stratocaster into Marshall JMP-1 preamp, Mesa/Boogie Strategy 500 power amp, Alesis 3630 Compressor, and Eventide H3000 pitch/chorus shimmer

Pristine, squashed, jangly clean tone with high presence and snappy pick attack

Amp settings — Orange Crush 12

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	2
Bass	4
Mid	6
Treble	7
Master	6

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Guitar

PICKUPneck+middle TONE9 VOLUME10

Why these settings

The Orange Crush 12 has a naturally thick low-mid response and a 6-inch speaker, so the Bass is pulled back to 4 and Treble is pushed to 7 to replicate the bright, jangly JMP-1 direct/clean sound. Gain is kept low at 2 with the Volume up to ensure maximum clean headroom without solid-state clipping. The Crush 12 panel features Gain, Overdrive, Bass, Middle, Treble, and Volume—no Presence or Reverb controls exist, so Overdrive is left off and phantom controls are omitted.

PRO TIPUse an Eb standard tuning (Eb-Ab-Db-Gb-Bb-Eb) and pick lightly with a thin or medium pick right near the bridge to replicate the articulate, snappy percussive attack of the record without adding mud.

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These settings are for a Orange Crush 12. 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.