Ain't talkin about love amp settings — Marshall MG15FX
The Van halen guitar tone for “Ain't talkin about love”, dialed in for a Marshall MG15FX with a Fender Player Stratocaster. Studio version, Van Halen (1978) - Main palm-muted intro riff and chords
1968 Marshall Super Lead 1959 (variac dimmed to ~89V) + Frankenstein Strat (PAF bridge humbucker) + MXR Flanger + Echoplex EP-3 + Sunset Sound plate reverb
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 6 |
| Bass | 6 |
| Mid | 7 |
| Treble | 5 |
| Reverb | 2 |
| Master | 4 |
01M-Vave Blackbox (Flanger block)
Slow sweep engaged across the arpeggio riffs
02M-Vave Blackbox (Delay block)
EP-3 style slapback emulation (~300ms, single repeat)
The MG15FX lacks a presence control and runs brighter and thinner than a cranked, variac-lowered Super Lead, so treble is pulled back to 5 while mids are boosted to 7 for vintage Marshall bark. Because your Fender Player Strat has a lower-output, brighter single-coil bridge pickup than Eddie's PAF humbucker, the guitar tone knob is rolled back to 8 and amp bass is set to 6 to restore body and prevent excessive ice-pick sharpness. Gain on the OD-1 channel sits at 6 to replicate power-amp saturation without collapsing into fizzy solid-state mush.
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These settings are for a Marshall MG15FX. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
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