Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground amp settings — Fender Twin Reverb
The The White Stripes guitar tone for “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground”, dialed in for a Fender Twin Reverb with a Fender Player Stratocaster. Studio version, White Blood Cells (2001)
Airline H78 Res-O-Glas (bridge pickup) → Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi → Silvertone 1484 small combo (or small tweed Fender)
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 6 |
| Bass | 7 |
| Mid | 5 |
| Treble | 6 |
| Presence | 5 |
| Reverb | 0 |
| Master | 6 |
01Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi (any version — NYC/Russian/Triangle)
RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. This tone requires fuzz saturation; the amp alone won't get there. Any Big Muff variant works.
The original used a tiny low-wattage combo pushed hard; your Twin Reverb has massive clean headroom and won't naturally break up at reasonable volume, so the amp settings are dialed back (gain 6 vs original's 7, treble 6 vs 7) to prevent ice-pick brightness. The Strat's bridge single-coil is thinner than the Airline's cheap lipstick pickup, so bass is pushed to 7 and mid kept at 5 to thicken the fuzz without mud. Without the Big Muff, this tone is impossible — the fuzz IS the tone; the amp is just the platform.
Get this tone on your amp
These settings are for a Fender Twin Reverb. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
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