What amp settings do I need for the Animals guitar tone?

Set your amp to roughly: gain 7.5, bass 5, mid 6, treble 6.5, presence 6, reverb 2. These are community-researched baselines — GuitarToneAdapt re-dials them for your exact guitar and amp.

Can I get the Animals tone on a different guitar or amp?

Yes. Different guitars and amps need different knob positions to sound the same. GuitarToneAdapt models pickup output and wood brightness, then compensates so you match the record on your own rig.

🎸 Metalcore · 2020

Animals (Riff · Distorted) — Guitar Tone

Q: What gear was used for the Animals tone?

Original gear/effects: Amp: Peavey 5150 Block Letter (Mesa Dual Rectifier / Kemper live); Maxon OD808 overdrive (boost in front of the amp — tightens low end, adds pick attack), High-gain amp: Peavey 5150 Block Letter / Mesa Dual Rectifier (Kemper live), Boss NS-2 noise gate (tightness with high gain), Strymon Big Sky 'Cloud' reverb for ambient swells.

by Architects · riff

The Animals by Architects guitar tone is built on a Peavey 5150 Block Letter, dialed in at gain 7.5/10, bass 5, mid 6, treble 6.5, presence 6 (community-researched baseline). Full breakdown below — then adapt every knob to your exact guitar and amp, free.

🎛️ Adapt this tone to YOUR guitar & amp — free →

Amp settings (0–10)

7.5

GAIN

BASS

MID

6.5

TREBLE

PRESENCE

REVERB

Community-researched baseline. Your rig is different — GuitarToneAdapt re-dials every knob for your specific guitar, amp and pickups.

Original gear

Amp: Peavey 5150 Block Letter (Mesa Dual Rectifier / Kemper live)

Pickups

Active/high-output humbuckers (Fishman Fluence Modern) for tight, defined low F# chug

Effects / signal chain

Maxon OD808 overdrive (boost in front of the amp — tightens low end, adds pick attack), High-gain amp: Peavey 5150 Block Letter / Mesa Dual Rectifier (Kemper live), Boss NS-2 noise gate (tightness with high gain), Strymon Big Sky 'Cloud' reverb for ambient swells

Tone character

tight, modern metalcore, djent, ambient, aggressive, high-gain

Recording context

Modern metalcore, 2020; low F#-tuned active guitar into a boosted, gated 5150 with ambient reverb

How it’s played

anthemic, djenty modern metalcore with huge ambient and electronic textures, mid, syncopated tempo, big — atmospheric verses to crushing chorus dynamics · high-gain distortion. This shapes how hard the amp is pushed and where the EQ sits for the Animals sound.

What makes the Animals part tricky

very low F# tuning with heavy strings, tight, syncopated djent palm muting, big dynamic shifts with ambient/electronic layers, dialling a boosted, gated high-gain tone that stays articulate. GuitarToneAdapt gets the tone right so you can focus on the playing.

Note: Very low F# tuning with heavy strings + active pickups. The tightness comes from a Maxon OD808 boost into a high-gain 5150 and a hard noise gate (Boss NS-2) — not from maxing the gain. Strymon Big Sky 'Cloud' reverb adds the ambient swells. Knob numbers are community-researched estimates.

Get these exact settings for your rig →

🎧 Can you guess the tone?

Recognise famous songs from just the amp dials — a quick 10-round game. Beat your friends. Play free →