Tone library / The Smiths / This Charming Man (John Peel Session 9/14/83)

This Charming Man (John Peel Session 9/14/83) amp settings — Fender Mustang LT25

The The Smiths guitar tone for “This Charming Man (John Peel Session 9/14/83)”, dialed in for a Fender Mustang LT25 with a Squier Affinity Stratocaster. John Peel Session (BBC Radio 1, broadcast September 1983)

Original rig

1954 Fender Telecaster / Rickenbacker 330 into Fender Twin Reverb & Roland JC-120 with Boss CE-2 Chorus

Ultra-bright, jangly, compressed clean with subtle chorus shimmer and tight low end

Amp settings — Fender Mustang LT25

CHANNEL'65 Twin (Twin Reverb model)BRIGHTonBOOSToff

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

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge+middle TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Chorus (Mustang LT25 Onboard Stomp/Mod FX)

Engage the onboard Chorus effect in the LT25 chain

Rate 4 · Depth 3 · Level 5

Why these settings

The Mustang LT25 faceplate features only Bass and Treble controls (no physical Mid or Presence knobs), so Mid and Presence are set to null. The '65 Twin model provides the authentic high-headroom Fender snap, with the bass rolled off to 3 to recreate the thin, jangly cut of Marr's broadcast take. Using your Strat's bridge+middle 'in-between' position emulates the percussive, chimey Tele/Rick attack without sounding overly harsh.

PRO TIPMarr tuned his guitar a whole step up (F# B E A C# F#) or used a capo on the 2nd fret for this track, which increases string tension and provides that snappy, immediate percussive bounce when picking near the bridge.

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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.