🎸 Rock · 1980s

Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now by The Smiths (Riff · Clean) — Guitar Tone

by The Smiths · riff

The Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now by The Smiths guitar tone is built on a Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus, dialed in at gain 0/10, bass 5, mid 6.5, treble 7.5, presence 5 (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)

GAIN

BASS

6.5

MID

7.5

TREBLE

PRESENCE

3.5

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 540 rock tones in our researched catalog: Gain 0 sits well below the rock average (4.8) — cleaner and more dynamic than typical rock; mids at 6.5 are right around average (6.2).

Guitar controls

7-8

VOLUME

7-8

TONE

Original gear

Guitar: 1959 Gibson ES-355 TDSV · Amp: Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus

Studio recording, 1984. Johnny Marr wrote and recorded the riff using the 1959 Gibson ES-355, plugged into a Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus amp. No evidence of live rig or alternate guitars for this section. All info is for the original studio single recording.

Gear used on this tone

🎚️ humbucker guitars songs & tones →🎚️ Roland JC-120 songs & tones →

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

Pickups

Neck pickup

Signal chain

1959 Gibson ES-355 TDSV → Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus

Effects

chorus, reverb

Amp effects: Chorus · Reverb (spring, level 4.5)

Tone character

shimmering and jangly, bright and articulate, lush chorus modulation, crisp attack, clear note separation, chiming highs, warm but not muddy, dynamic and responsive, clean with no audible overdrive, airy and spacious

Recording context

studio

How it’s played

straight, medium tempo, medium dynamics · clean distortion. This shapes how hard the amp is pushed and where the EQ sits for the Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now sound.

Difficulty

4/5 · Riff

The riff requires advanced chord shapes, precise arpeggiated picking, and dynamic control to maintain clarity and articulation with a clean, chorus-heavy tone.

Worth knowing

Gain adjusted to 0 for clean tone
No direct numeric amp settings found in sources; settings estimated based on typical Roland JC-120 clean tone for 1980s jangle-pop/rock.
No explicit pedalboard or effect settings for this song's riff section; chorus effect inferred from amp's built-in chorus and genre/era.
Some sources mention other guitars (Telecaster, Rickenbacker) but ES-355 is directly cited as the writing/recording guitar for this track.
No evidence of overdrive/distortion pedals or amp gain for the riff section; tone is clean and chorus-heavy.
Settings cross-referenced with genre and era conventions for accuracy. Johnny Marr used a very clean, jangly tone for this era, likely with a Fender Twin Reverb or Roland JC-120, emphasizing bright, chiming highs and forward mids. The gain is low for clarity, bass is restrained to avoid muddiness, mids and treble are pushed for articulation, and reverb is subtle but present for space.

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

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Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now guitar tone — FAQ

What amp settings do I need for the Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now guitar tone?

Set your amp to roughly: gain 0, bass 5, mid 6.5, treble 7.5, presence 5, reverb 3.5. These are community-researched baselines — GuitarToneAdapt re-dials them for your exact guitar and amp.

What gear was used for the Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now tone?

Original gear/effects: Guitar: 1959 Gibson ES-355 TDSV · Amp: Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus; chorus, reverb.

Can I get the Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now 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 The Smiths on Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now — what gear and pedals?

Start with Neck pickup, the amp EQ above (gain 0, bass 5, mid 6.5, treble 7.5, presence 5, reverb 3.5), and chorus, reverb. 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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More like this

🎸 How to get The Smiths’s guitar tone → · 🎸 more Rock guitar tones → · 🎚️ Roland JC-120 settings → · 🎛️ best rock amp settings → · 🎸 more iconic guitar riffs → · 🎚️ Chorus tone guide → · 🎯 more articulate tones → · 📖 New to amp settings? What every knob does →

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