Big Poppa by The Notorious B.I.G. (Solo · Clean) — Guitar Tone

The Big Poppa by The Notorious B.I.G. guitar tone is built on a Sampled amp tone from Isley Brothers' original, dialed in at gain 0/10, bass 6, mid 6, treble 6.5, presence 5 (community-researched baseline). Full breakdown below — then adapt every knob to your exact guitar and amp, free.

Amp settings (0–10)

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 1310 tones in our researched catalog: Gain 0 sits well below the catalog average (5.3) — cleaner and more dynamic than typical catalog; mids at 6 are right around average (5.9).

Guitar controls

Original gear

Guitar: Yamaha DX7 (sampled electric guitar from Isley Brothers' 'Between the Sheets') · Amp: Sampled amp tone from Isley Brothers' original (likely Fender Twin Reverb or similar clean amp, but not confirmed for this sample)

Studio recording, 1994. The guitar heard in 'Big Poppa' is not newly recorded for the track but is a direct sample from the Isley Brothers' 'Between the Sheets' (1983). No evidence of live guitar or amp used in the Notorious B.I.G. session; all tone is from the original sample. No evidence of additional effects or pedals added in the 'Big Poppa' production.

Gear used on this tone

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

Pickups

Neck pickup (inferred from sample's warm, rounded tone)

Signal chain

Yamaha DX7 (sampled electric guitar from Isley Brothers' 'Between the Sheets') → Sampled amp tone from Isley Brothers' original (likely Fender Twin Reverb or similar clean amp, but not confirmed for this sample)

Effects

reverb

Amp effects: Reverb (spring, level 4)

Tone character

smooth and mellow, rounded top end, warm neck pickup character, clean and undistorted, subtle reverb ambience, soft attack, laid-back, soulful vibe, no audible modulation or time-based effects, classic 80s R&B clean guitar sample

Recording context

studio

How it’s played

straight, slow tempo, soft dynamics · clean distortion. This shapes how hard the amp is pushed and where the EQ sits for the Big Poppa sound.

Difficulty

1/5 · Solo

There is no guitar solo to play in 'Big Poppa'; the guitar part is a direct sample from the Isley Brothers' 'Between the Sheets', so no technical guitar playing is required.

Worth knowing

• Gain adjusted to 0 for clean tone
• No evidence of live guitar or amp used in the Notorious B.I.G. 'Big Poppa' studio session; all guitar tone is sampled from the Isley Brothers' 'Between the Sheets'.
• No pedal or amp settings are available for the sampled guitar; settings are estimated based on typical 80s R&B clean tones.
• No evidence of additional effects or pedals added in the 'Big Poppa' production.
• Pickup and amp model are inferred from the original Isley Brothers' recording, not confirmed for the sample.
• Settings cross-referenced with genre and era conventions for accuracy. The 'Big Poppa' solo section features a clean, warm, and rounded guitar tone typical of 90s R&B/hip-hop production, likely using a Strat or similar with low gain, boosted bass and mids, moderate treble, and subtle reverb. The amp is set for clarity and smoothness, not crunch or brightness.

Big Poppa guitar tone — FAQ

Share this tone

Sources

• Rap / Hip-Hop bass lines - Reddit

Free practice tools

🎤 Online guitar tuner →  ·  🎶 Guitar chords →  ·  🎸 Guitar tunings →  ·  🎚️ Tuning chart →  ·  🎼 Guitar scales →  ·  🎚️ Chord transposer & capo →  ·  🥁 Metronome →  ·  🎶 Song chords →  ·  🎧 Guess the Tone game →  ·  🎸 Tone Legend quiz →  ·  📊 Tone data report →

🔥 The most famous guitar tones of all time →  ·  🎯 Easy guitar songs to play (with settings) →  ·  🗂️ Browse tone collections (by genre & language) →

More like this

🎸 more Other guitar tones →  ·  🎸 more iconic guitar solos →  ·  🎯 more warm tones →  ·  📖 New to amp settings? What every knob does →

Related tones