The Hysteria by Muse guitar tone is built on a Vox AC30 blended with Diezel VH4, dialed in at gain 7.5/10, bass 5, mid 6.5, treble 6.5, presence 6 (community-researched baseline). Full breakdown below — then adapt every knob to your exact guitar and amp, free.
fuzz-driven high-gain, saturated distortion. This shapes how hard the amp is pushed and where the EQ sits for the Hysteria sound.
What makes the Hysteria part tricky
fuzz/effects setup, wide-interval riffing, dynamics. GuitarToneAdapt gets the tone right so you can focus on the playing.
Note: Hysteria's relentless riff (bass-led, doubled on guitar) was cut on a 1962 Gibson SG — thick, saturated fuzz, mids up so it cuts., Matt Bellamy's Muse tone is a saturated, FUZZ-driven high-gain — a Vox AC30 blended with a Diezel VH4 (the Diezel for gain/sustain, the AC30 for chime), plus Marshall heads. The signature is a Z.Vex Fuzz Factory (built into his custom Manson guitars) — that erratic fuzz IS the Plug In Baby intro. Other fuzzes: Keeley Fuzz Head, ProCo Rat, Big Muff., Settings: gain 7-8, bass 4-5, mids 6-7, treble 6-8, presence to taste. But the tone lives in the FUZZ in front, not amp gain alone — a Fuzz Factory (or any gnarly fuzz) is the single most important piece. Manson guitars; a 1962 Gibson SG was used for the Hysteria / Time Is Running Out tremolo riffs., Settings are community-researched starting points, not official recall sheets — chase the fuzz character first.