🎸 Hard Rock · 1970s

Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple (Riff · Distorted) — Guitar Tone

by Deep Purple · riff

The Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple guitar tone is built on a Marshall Major, dialed in at gain 5/10, bass 5, mid 6, treble 6, 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

MID

TREBLE

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 70 hard rock tones in our researched catalog: Gain 5 sits right around the hard rock average (6.0); mids at 6 are right around average (6.1).

Original gear

Guitar: Fender Stratocaster · Amp: Marshall Major (cranked)

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

bridge/neck single-coil

Signal chain

Fender Stratocaster → Marshall Major (cranked)

Tone character

Edge-of-breakup, mid-forward, gritty-but-clear classic-rock riff tone with the pick attack of fingerstyle.

Worth knowing

Settings are a community-researched starting point for this classic tone; adapt to your own amp and pickups by ear.

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

🎧 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 →

Smoke on the Water guitar tone — FAQ

What amp settings do I need for the Smoke on the Water guitar tone?

Set your amp to roughly: gain 5, bass 5, mid 6, treble 6, presence 5, reverb 2. These are community-researched baselines — GuitarToneAdapt re-dials them for your exact guitar and amp.

What gear was used for the Smoke on the Water tone?

Original gear/effects: Guitar: Fender Stratocaster · Amp: Marshall Major (cranked).

Can I get the Smoke on the Water 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 Smoke on the Water — what gear and pedals?

Start with bridge/neck single-coil, the amp EQ above (gain 5, bass 5, mid 6, treble 6, presence 5, 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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Free practice tools

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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 riffs → · 🎯 more mid forward tones → · 📖 New to amp settings? What every knob does →

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