Tone library / The Smiths / This Charming Man

This Charming Man amp settings — Fender Frontman 10G

The The Smiths guitar tone for “This Charming Man”, dialed in for a Fender Frontman 10G with a Jackson JS22 Dinky. Studio single release (1983) — signature jangly intro riff and bright arpeggios

Original rig

1954 Fender Telecaster (bridge pickup) into Fender Twin Reverb / Roland JC-120 with Boss CE-2 Chorus and MXR Dyna Comp

Ultra-bright, jangly, compressed clean with lush analog-style chorus and chime

Amp settings — Fender Frontman 10G

CHANNELClean (OD switch disengaged)BOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	2
Bass	3
Treble	8
Master	5

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Guitar

PICKUPmiddle TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Behringer UC200 Ultra Chorus

Engaged in front of amp to emulate Johnny Marr's signature Boss CE-2 shimmer

Level 7 · Tone 7 · Rate 4 · Depth 6

Why these settings

The Frontman 10G is kept on the pristine clean setting with gain dialed down to 2 and the O.D. button off to avoid any clipping. Because the Jackson JS22 has hotter, darker humbuckers than Marr's vintage Telecaster, the middle pickup position (both coils active) is selected, treble is boosted to 8, and bass is rolled back to 3 to simulate single-coil jangle. Leave the Boss SD-1 bypassed as this iconic tone relies entirely on clean headroom and modulation.

PRO TIPMarr picked aggressively with a light, thin gauge pick close to the bridge saddles while using bouncy wrist motion and subtle percussive fret-hand muting to emphasize high-frequency chime.

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These settings are for a Fender Frontman 10G. 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.