Blackout by Turnstile (Riff · Distorted) — Guitar Tone

The Blackout by Turnstile guitar tone is built on a Orange Rockerverb / Mesa Dual Rectifier + 5150 blend — Gibson Les Paul, dialed in at gain 6/10, bass 5, mid 6.5, treble 6, presence 6 (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 540 rock tones in our researched catalog: Gain 6 sits above the rock average (4.8) — a hotter, more saturated take than most rock tones; mids at 6.5 are right around average (6.2).

Guitar controls

Original gear

Amp: Orange Rockerverb / Mesa Dual Rectifier + 5150 blend — Gibson Les Paul, two Fulltone OCDs

Turnstile’s breakout — hardcore punk with a huge, groovy guitar front and centre. Pat McCrory plays a Gibson Les Paul Classic; the album blends a Mesa Dual Rectifier and a 5150, and live he runs an Orange Rockerverb MKIII. Two Fulltone OCDs (one for rhythm distortion, one to push leads) and an MXR Carbon Copy delay. The tone is thick, mid-forward and groovy — driving hardcore crunch that’s melodic and huge, not scooped.

Gear used on this tone

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

Pickups

bridge (Les Paul humbucker)

Effects / signal chain

distortion, delay

Tone character

thick groovy crunch, mid-forward, hardcore but melodic, big

Recording context

studio

How it’s played

thick groovy mid-forward hardcore crunch distortion. This shapes how hard the amp is pushed and where the EQ sits for the Blackout sound.

Difficulty

2/5 · Riff

The huge groove and driving feel are the character; the tone is a thick, mid-forward crunch — Les Paul into Orange/Mesa, medium-high gain, mids up.

Level: Beginner-friendly — see more easy guitar songs to play →

Worth knowing

• Blackout is a thick, groovy, MID-FORWARD hardcore crunch — a Les Paul into an Orange/Mesa-style amp with an OCD-style overdrive. Mids up, medium-high gain, treble present. Big and melodic, not scooped modern metal.
• Use a humbucker into a thick, mid-forward crunch (Orange/Mesa-style) with an OCD-style overdrive; mids up, medium-high gain. Play it groovy and driving.
• Settings are community-researched starting points, not official recall sheets.

Blackout guitar tone — FAQ

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Sources

• Turnstile’s Brady Ebert & Pat McCrory — Guitar World
• Pat McCrory (Turnstile) Gear — Equipboard

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More like this

🎸 How to get Turnstile’s guitar tone →  ·  🎸 more Rock guitar tones →  ·  🎚️ Mesa Dual Rectifier settings →  ·  🎛️ best rock amp settings →  ·  🎸 more iconic guitar riffs →  ·  🎚️ Delay tone guide →  ·  🎚️ Distortion tone guide →  ·  🎯 more mid forward tones →  ·  📖 New to amp settings? What every knob does →

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