Tone library / Type O Negative / Black No. 1

Black No. 1 amp settings — Harley Venton Harley Benton HB-20R

The Type O Negative guitar tone for “Black No. 1”, dialed in for a Harley Venton Harley Benton HB-20R with a Harley Benton Harley Benton HWY-25BKS Progressive Series. Studio album cut, Bloody Kisses (1993) — main heavy rhythm riff

Original rig

Gibson Les Paul / Fernandes guitars tuned to B Standard into Ampeg VH-140C solid-state head / Ampeg V-4, with Boss CH-1 Super Chorus and high-gain solid-state clipping

Cold, razor-sharp, heavily saturated solid-state gothic doom crunch with deep low end and aggressive bite

Amp settings — Harley Venton Harley Benton HB-20R

CHANNELOverdrive Channel (push Drive switch IN)

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	7
Bass	6
Mid	4
Treble	6
Reverb	2
Master	4

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Electro-Harmonix Small Clone / Boss CH-1 Super Chorus

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned; essential for the signature slow, watery Type O Negative chorus swirl

Rate 4 · Depth 7

Why these settings

The HB-20R has a small 8-inch speaker and an analog solid-state clipping circuit that mimics high-gain solid-state amps like the original Ampeg VH-140C quite naturally, but it lacks low-end body. Pushing bass past 6 on this combo creates muddy farting rather than tight thump, so keep bass at 6 and scoop mids slightly to 4 to evoke Kenny Hickey's industrial gothic crunch without getting lost in the fizz. The built-in spring reverb adds subtle decay to soften the dry edge while you play without pedals. Clean verse/intro: disengage the Drive switch to play clean with spring reverb.

PRO TIPType O Negative tunes all guitars down a full two and a half steps to B Standard (B-E-A-D-F#-B); if you are in Standard E, tune down or use heavy-gauge strings to capture the signature slack tension and deep, sludgy chug.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Harley Venton Harley Benton HB-20R. 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.