🎸 Metalcore · 2020

Animals by Architects (Riff · Distorted) — Guitar Tone

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.

🎛️ These settings are for the original rig — re-dial them for YOUR amp in 10 seconds. Free, no signup →

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.

How these settings compare

Measured against the 28 metalcore tones in our researched catalog: Gain 7.5 sits right around the metalcore average (8.0); mids at 6 are right around average (5.4).

Original gear

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

Josh Middleton plays an ESP LTD MH-401B FM with Fishman Fluence Modern pickups in very low F# tuning. A Maxon OD808 boosts a Peavey 5150 Block Letter; a Boss NS-2 keeps the high-gain djent tight, and a Strymon Big Sky adds ambient reverb. Source: Guitar Chalk + Premier Guitar rig rundown.

Gear used on this tone

🎚️ Mesa/Boogie songs & tones →🎚️ humbucker guitars songs & tones →🎚️ Peavey 5150 / 6505 songs & tones →🎚️ Mesa Dual Rectifier songs & tones →🎚️ ESP / ESP LTD guitars songs & tones →🎚️ Kemper Profiler songs & tones →

Don’t own this gear? GuitarToneAdapt re-creates the sound on the rig you actually have.

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.

Difficulty

3.5/5 · Riff

A tone-and-tightness challenge more than a shred test — the low tuning, gated high gain and ambient layering define the sound.

Level: Intermediate — see more intermediate guitar songs →

Worth knowing

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.

⚡ Same tone, YOUR gear — re-dials the gain & EQ for your amp and pickups, free →

🎧 Can you guess the tone?

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

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Animals guitar tone — FAQ

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.

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.

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.

How do I sound like Architects on Animals — what gear and pedals?

Start with Active/high-output humbuckers (Fishman Fluence Modern) for tight, defined low F# chug, the amp EQ above (gain 7.5, bass 5, mid 6, treble 6.5, presence 6, reverb 2), and 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. Then let GuitarToneAdapt compensate for the guitar, amp and pedals you actually own so it sits like the record.

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Sources

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🔥 The most famous guitar tones of all time → · 🗂️ Browse tone collections (by genre & language) →

Songs by level: 🎯 Easy · 🎸 Intermediate · 🔥 Hardest — each with the amp settings.

More like this

🎸 more Metalcore guitar tones → · 🎚️ Peavey 5150 settings → · 🎛️ best metalcore amp settings → · 🎸 more iconic guitar riffs → · 🎚️ Overdrive tone guide → · 🎚️ Boost tone guide → · 🎚️ Reverb tone guide → · 🎯 more high gain tones → · 📖 New to amp settings? What every knob does →

Settings are community-researched estimates, not official. GuitarToneAdapt adapts them to your gear. guitartoneadapt.com