🎸 Rock · 1990s

Only Shallow (Riff · Distorted) — Guitar Tone

by My Bloody Valentine · riff

The Only Shallow by My Bloody Valentine guitar tone is built on a Amp distortion, dialed in at gain 6/10, bass 5, mid 5, treble 6, presence 5 (community-researched baseline). Full breakdown below — then adapt every knob to your exact guitar and amp, free.

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Amp settings (0–10)

6
GAIN
5
BASS
5
MID
6
TREBLE
5
PRESENCE
4
REVERB

Community-researched baseline. Your rig is different — GuitarToneAdapt re-dials every knob for your specific guitar, amp and pickups.

Original gear

Amp: Amp distortion (Fender Showman / Burman) with amp TREMOLO running

Pickups

bridge/neck (Jazzmaster, washed)

Effects / signal chain

reverb, tremolo, distortion

Tone character

washed wall of sound, tremolo-warped pitch, reverse-reverb swell, dreamy & thick

Recording context

studio

How it’s played

washed, tremolo-warped shoegaze distortion distortion. This shapes how hard the amp is pushed and where the EQ sits for the Only Shallow sound.

What makes the Only Shallow part tricky

glide (trem-bar) technique, modal tuning, wall-of-sound layering. GuitarToneAdapt gets the tone right so you can focus on the playing.

Note: Only Shallow is the shoegaze blueprint — thick amp DISTORTION with REVERSE REVERB, played with the "glide" technique (strum a Jazzmaster while constantly bending the TREMOLO BAR so the pitch warps). Use a modal tuning; it’s a washed, dreamy wall, not a tight riff., Use amp/pedal distortion + a reverse (or big) reverb, and ride the tremolo bar as you strum. A Jazzmaster/offset with a trem helps. Wash over precision., Settings are community-researched starting points, not official recall sheets.

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