🎸 Alternative Rock · 1990s

Plush by Stone Temple Pilots (Riff · Distorted) — Guitar Tone

by Stone Temple Pilots · riff

The Plush by Stone Temple Pilots guitar tone is built on a Marshall 4x12, dialed in at gain 5.5/10, bass 5.5, mid 6.5, treble 6, presence 5.5 (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)

5.5

GAIN

5.5

BASS

6.5

MID

TREBLE

5.5

PRESENCE

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 5.5 sits right around the rock average (4.8); mids at 6.5 are right around average (6.2).

Guitar controls

VOLUME

TONE

Original gear

Amp: Marshall 4x12 (V30) driven by a VHT/Demeter rig; record tone: ’57 Les Paul TV into a ’66 Marshall 18-watt combo; clean Vox AC30 in the mix

1978 Gibson Les Paul Standard / ’57 TV Special (P-90s) / Fender Telecaster; tone rides the guitar volume.

Gear used on this tone

🎚️ Marshall songs & tones →🎚️ Vox AC30 songs & tones →🎚️ Gibson Les Paul songs & tones →🎚️ Fender Telecaster songs & tones →🎚️ humbucker guitars songs & tones →🎚️ P-90 pickups songs & tones →

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

Pickups

bridge humbucker (Les Paul) / P-90

Effects / signal chain

distortion, reverb

Tone character

warm crunch, mid-forward, dynamic, singing sustain

Recording context

studio

How it’s played

warm, mid-forward crunch (dynamic) distortion. This shapes how hard the amp is pushed and where the EQ sits for the Plush sound.

Difficulty

5/5 · Riff

Very playable; the tone is a Les Paul into a cranked Marshall with the volume knob doing the clean-to-crunch work.

Worth knowing

Plush rides the clean-to-crunch dynamic — a Les Paul into a cranked Marshall, gain moderate, mids up. Roll the volume back for the verses, dig in for the chorus.
Stone Temple Pilots' Dean DeLeo is a warm, DYNAMIC, mid-forward 90s alt-rock tone built on Gibson Les Pauls (a 1978 Standard, a '57 TV Special with P-90s) into Marshalls — live a VHT/Demeter rig into Marshall 4x12s (V30), plus a clean Vox AC30 up the middle. On records, a '57 LP into a '66 Marshall 18-watt combo.
The signature is dynamics: a semi-clean that cleans up with the guitar volume, a big mid-rich rhythm crunch, and a singing lead. Keep gain moderate (it is crunch, not high-gain), mids up, and use your volume knob — DeLeo rides it constantly.
Settings are community-researched starting points, not official recall sheets.

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

🎧 Can you guess the tone?

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Plush guitar tone — FAQ

What amp settings do I need for the Plush guitar tone?

Set your amp to roughly: gain 5.5, bass 5.5, mid 6.5, treble 6, presence 5.5, reverb 2. These are community-researched baselines — GuitarToneAdapt re-dials them for your exact guitar and amp.

What gear was used for the Plush tone?

Original gear/effects: Amp: Marshall 4x12 (V30) driven by a VHT/Demeter rig; record tone: ’57 Les Paul TV into a ’66 Marshall 18-watt combo; clean Vox AC30 in the mix; distortion, reverb.

Can I get the Plush 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 Stone Temple Pilots on Plush — what gear and pedals?

Start with bridge humbucker (Les Paul) / P-90, the amp EQ above (gain 5.5, bass 5.5, mid 6.5, treble 6, presence 5.5, reverb 2), and distortion, reverb. Then let GuitarToneAdapt compensate for the guitar, amp and pedals you actually own so it sits like the record.

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More like this

🎸 How to get Stone Temple Pilots’s guitar tone → · 🎸 more Alternative Rock guitar tones → · 🎛️ best rock amp settings → · 🎸 more iconic guitar riffs → · 🎚️ Distortion tone guide → · 🎚️ Reverb tone guide → · 🎯 more singing sustain tones → · 📖 New to amp settings? What every knob does →

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