Telephones amp settings — Engl Powerball 100

The Vacations guitar tone for “Telephones”, dialed in for a Engl Powerball 100 with a Enya Music Enya go Sonic. Studio version, Changes (2018) — DI recording with preamp coloration, not a traditional amp tone

Original rig

Guyatone Mosrite copy → Tascam 224 (used as preamp/EQ) → M-Audio interface DI, Walrus Audio Julia chorus, EHX Memory Toy delay, stock Logic reverb/tape echo plugins

Warm, lo-fi clean with subtle chorus shimmer, soft compression, dreamy reverb — intimate bedroom-pop texture

Amp settings — Engl Powerball 100

CHANNELClean channelBRIGHToffBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	1
Bass	4
Mid	5
Treble	4
Presence	3
Reverb	0
Master	3

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Guitar

PICKUPneck TONE6 VOLUME8

Signal chain

01Chorus (Walrus Audio Julia style) — RECOMMENDED

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Essential for the shimmery texture. Any analog-voiced chorus (Boss CE-2, MXR Analog Chorus, TC Electronic Corona) works. Keep it subtle.

Rate 3 · Depth 4 · Lag 5 · Mix 5

02Delay (EHX Memory Toy style) — RECOMMENDED

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Analog-voiced delay with moderate repeats, tape-echo character. Boss DM-2w, MXR Carbon Copy, or any analog delay substitute.

Blend 3 · Delay 4 · Feedback 3

03Reverb (Hall/Room) — RECOMMENDED

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Medium hall reverb, slightly dark, creates the dreamy space. TC Hall of Fame, Boss RV-6, or EHX Holy Grail work.

Decay 5 · Mix 4 · Tone 5

Why these settings

The Engl Powerball is a high-gain monster designed for metal — the opposite of this lo-fi DI tone. Use the clean channel with gain at absolute minimum (1) to avoid any breakup. Roll presence back to 3 to tame the Powerball's aggressive high-end. The original had no real amp saturation; your job is to make the Powerball disappear and let the pedals (chorus, delay, reverb) do all the tonal work.

PRO TIPRoll your guitar's volume knob to 8 and tone to 6 to simulate the softer, compressed attack of a DI signal hitting a preamp — this removes pick harshness and gets you closer to that intimate bedroom-recording feel. Pick lightly near the neck pickup.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Engl Powerball 100. 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.