Tone library / The Smashing Pumpkins / Soma

Soma amp settings — Fender Champion 20

The The Smashing Pumpkins guitar tone for “Soma”, dialed in for a Fender Champion 20 with a Fender Player Stratocaster. Studio version, Siamese Dream (1993) — signature heavy fuzz explosion & solo

Original rig

'57 Reissue Fender Stratocaster (Lace Sensor pickups) into EHX V4 Op-Amp Big Muff Pi, MXR Distortion II, and cranked 100W Marshall JCM 800 (KT88 tubes) via low-sensitivity input

Massive, wall-of-sound compressed op-amp fuzz with singing sustain and scooped low-mids

Amp settings — Fender Champion 20

CHANNELTweed Bassman voice (or cleanest Blackface voice)BOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	2
Bass	5
Treble	6
Reverb	2
Master	4

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Ibanez Tube Screamer TS808

Clean-boost role ahead of the fuzz to focus low-end flub and add mid cut

Overdrive 1 · Tone 6 · Level 8

02EHX Big Muff Pi

Primary gain source; replicate Corgan's low-input Marshall headroom by running into clean amp

Volume 7 · Tone 5 · Sustain 8

03Boss GE-7 Equalizer

Placed after fuzz to compensate for the Champion's lack of mid control and push solo cut

100Hz 4 · 200Hz 5 · 400Hz 4 · 800Hz 6 · 1.6kHz 7 · 3.2kHz 6 · 6.4kHz 5 · Level 5

Why these settings

Corgan ran an Op-Amp Big Muff into the low-gain input of a JCM800 to let the pedal define the saturation, so the Champion 20 is kept on its clean channel with gain low to prevent muddy double-distortion. Because the Champion 20 has only bass and treble controls, the Boss GE-7 is engaged post-fuzz to gently bump 800Hz–1.6kHz and restore the signature solo cut. Clean intro/verse: bypass the TS808 and Big Muff, switch to neck pickup, and leave the amp clean.

PRO TIPFor the soaring solo bends at 3:55, dig into the bridge pickup with heavy downstrokes right next to the bridge saddles to generate the biting pick chirp heard before the note sustains into feedback.

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These settings are for a Fender Champion 20. 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.