🎸 Hard Rock · 1970s

Highway Star by Deep Purple (Solo · Distorted) — Guitar Tone

by Deep Purple · solo

The Highway Star by Deep Purple guitar tone is built on a Marshall Major, dialed in at gain 6/10, bass 5, mid 6, treble 7, 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)

6
GAIN
5
BASS
6
MID
7
TREBLE
6
PRESENCE
2
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 70 hard rock tones in our researched catalog: Gain 6 sits right around the hard rock average (6.0); mids at 6 are right around average (6.1).

Original gear

Amp: Marshall Major

Fender Strat into a Marshall Major, sometimes through an AIWA tape preamp for extra push.

Gear used on this tone

🎚️ Marshall songs & tones →🎚️ Fender Stratocaster songs & tones →🎚️ single-coil guitars songs & tones →

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

Pickups

Strat single-coil

Tone character

Bright, cutting single-coil drive with fast classical-influenced runs. Treble-forward, moderate gain.

Worth knowing

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

🎸 All Highway Star guitar tones — every part & section →

🎧 Can you guess the tone?
Recognise famous songs from just the amp dials — a quick 10-round game. Beat your friends. Play free →
🎸 Which guitar legend is your tone twin? Take the quiz & share your result →

Highway Star guitar tone — FAQ

What amp settings do I need for the Highway Star guitar tone?

Set your amp to roughly: gain 6, bass 5, mid 6, treble 7, 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 Highway Star tone?

Original gear/effects: Amp: Marshall Major.

Can I get the Highway Star 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 Deep Purple on Highway Star — what gear and pedals?

Start with Strat single-coil, the amp EQ above (gain 6, bass 5, mid 6, treble 7, presence 6, reverb 2). Then let GuitarToneAdapt compensate for the guitar, amp and pedals you actually own so it sits like the record.

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

More like this

🎸 How to get Deep Purple’s guitar tone →  ·  🎸 more Hard Rock guitar tones →  ·  🎛️ best hard rock amp settings →  ·  🎸 more iconic guitar solos →  ·  🎯 more bright tones →  ·  📖 New to amp settings? What every knob does →

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