Tone library / Tom Petty / Love Is a long road

Love Is a long road amp settings — Marshall 15MGFX

The Tom Petty guitar tone for “Love Is a long road”, dialed in for a Marshall 15MGFX with a Yamaha Pacifica 112V. Studio version, Full Moon Fever (1989) — main driving rhythm guitar chords

Original rig

Fender Telecaster / Rickenbacker / Les Paul through cranked Vox AC30 and small Fender combo, produced by Jeff Lynne & Mike Campbell

Classic punchy late-80s heartland rock crunch with bright chime, solid midrange push, and tight low-end
Amp settings — Marshall 15MGFX
CHANNELCrunchBOOSToff
GAIN 6 BASS 5 MID 7 TREBLE 7 REVERB 2 MASTER 5
KnobSetting (0–10)
Gain6
Bass5
Mid7
Treble7
Reverb2
Master5
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Guitar
PICKUPbridge TONE9 VOLUME10
Why these settings

The MG15FX Crunch channel provides the classic British power-chord bite heard on Mike Campbell and Tom Petty's rhythm tracks without getting overly saturated. We boost the Mid to 7 and Treble to 7 to recreate the signature Jeff Lynne top-end chime and cut on your Pacifica's bridge humbucker. Presence is set to null because the MG15FX faceplate does not feature a presence control.

PRO TIPUse firm, downward open-chord strums near the bridge and let the open D and A strings ring clearly to capture the motorcycle gear-shift driving rhythm.

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These settings are for a Marshall 15MGFX. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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