Tone library / The Smiths / This Charming Man

This Charming Man amp settings — Marshall MG30CFX

The The Smiths guitar tone for “This Charming Man”, dialed in for a Marshall MG30CFX with a Fender Jazzmaster. Studio version, The Smiths single (1983), produced by John Porter

Original rig

1953/54 Fender Telecaster layered with Rickenbacker 330, Fender Twin Reverb with spring reverb and vibrato, Boss CE-2 Chorus, light overdrive (Boss OD-1), tuned to A=429Hz

Shimmering jangle-rock with crystalline arpeggios, bright upper-mids, subtle chorus modulation, and airy clean sparkle

Amp settings — Marshall MG30CFX

CHANNELCleanBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	3
Bass	3
Treble	7
Reverb	4
Master	5

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Guitar

PICKUPneck+middle TONE8 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Boss CE-2W Chorus (or similar chorus pedal)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Essential for the shimmering modulation on this track. Any analog-voiced chorus will work.

Rate 4 · Depth 5

Why these settings

The MG30CFX has no mid knob — only Contour, which scoops mids when turned up. Keep Contour at 2-3 (nearly off) to preserve the mid-forward jangle Marr gets from a flat Twin Reverb. Your Jazzmaster's warmer single coils approximate the Tele/Rickenbacker blend; treble pushed to 7 compensates for the Jazzmaster's darker voicing vs a bright 50s Tele. Gain stays low — Marr's tone is almost entirely clean with just a hint of grit from the OD-1, which the MG's Clean channel at 3 hints at.

PRO TIPMarr tuned to A=429Hz (about 40 cents flat) on this recording — tune your guitar down slightly to nail the exact pitch. Use consistent downstrokes on the arpeggios with a thin pick held loosely for that percussive shimmer, and let notes ring into each other rather than muting between chord changes.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Marshall MG30CFX. 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.