Starting-point EQ for clean tone, averaged from 69 famous clean recordings. Dial these in, then fine-tune by ear — or let the tool below adapt them to the exact amp and guitar you own.
Fat Lip — Sum 41 · The Rock Show — Blink-182 · This Aint a Scene Its an Arms Race — Fall Out Boy · Ocean Avenue — Yellowcard · My Friends Over You — New Found Glory · good 4 u — Olivia Rodrigo · That's What You Get — Paramore · Hold the Line — Toto
Averaged across 69 famous clean recordings: gain 3.5, bass 5, mid 6, treble 6, presence 5 (out of 10). Great clean tone is the amp and how hard you hit it. Keep gain at 0–3, let the amp’s natural voice and a touch of reverb do the rest.
Start with gain 3.5, bass 5, mid 6, treble 6, presence 5 (all out of 10), then fine-tune by ear. Lower the gain for cleaner passages, and push the mids up if the guitar disappears in a band mix.
The amps most used across these clean tones are Mesa Dual Rectifier, Roland JC-120, Fender Twin Reverb. You don’t need the exact amp, though — GuitarToneAdapt re-dials any clean tone for the amp and guitar you already own, free in the browser.
Set the starting EQ above, then let GuitarToneAdapt compensate for your specific amp, guitar and pedals so it sits like the record — no new gear needed.