This Love by Pantera (Riff · Clean) — Guitar Tone

The This Love by Pantera guitar tone is built on a Randall RG-100ES solid-state head, dialed in at gain 0/10, bass 5.5, mid 4, treble 7, presence 6.5 (community-researched baseline). Full breakdown below — then adapt every knob to your exact guitar and amp, free.

Amp settings (0–10)

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 284 metal tones in our researched catalog: Gain 0 sits well below the metal average (7.3) — cleaner and more dynamic than typical metal; mids at 4 are below average (5.2).

Guitar controls

Original gear

Guitar: Dean ML (likely 1981 model, as used by Dimebag Darrell in studio) · Amp: Randall RG-100ES solid-state head

Studio recording, 1992. Gear based on Dimebag's known studio rig for 'Vulgar Display of Power' era. No direct source confirms the exact neck pickup model, but bridge is Bill Lawrence L-500XL. Clean section likely used neck pickup for warmer tone.

Gear used on this tone

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

Pickups

Neck pickup

Signal chain

Dean ML (likely 1981 model, as used by Dimebag Darrell in studio) → Randall RG-100ES solid-state head

Effects

reverb

Amp effects: Reverb (spring, level 2)

Tone character

glassy and bell-like, warm and rounded highs, clear note separation, slightly compressed attack, lush ambient reverb, minimal breakup, full-bodied chords, dynamic response to picking, articulate and present mids, tight low end

Recording context

studio

How it’s played

straight, medium tempo, soft dynamics · clean distortion. This shapes how hard the amp is pushed and where the EQ sits for the This Love sound.

Difficulty

2.5/5 · Riff

The clean riff requires accurate chord voicings and dynamic control for clarity, but does not involve advanced techniques or fast passages.

Worth knowing

• Gain adjusted to 0 for clean tone
• No direct source lists exact clean amp settings for 'This Love' clean section; settings estimated based on typical Randall RG-100ES clean tone and genre/era.
• No explicit confirmation of effects used on clean section; reverb inferred from audible ambience and typical studio practice.
• Pickup choice inferred from tone and common practice for clean sections; Dimebag often used neck pickup for cleans.
• No evidence of chorus, delay, or modulation effects on the clean riff; only reverb is clearly audible.
• Settings cross-referenced with genre and era conventions for accuracy. Dimebag used a Randall solid-state amp with extreme gain, tight bass, scooped mids, and aggressive treble/presence for a razor-sharp, percussive metal tone. The track is very dry with no audible reverb, matching 90s groove metal production.

This Love guitar tone — FAQ

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Sources

• Dimebag Darrell’s guitars: the Pantera legend’s gear in depth | Guitar World
• How to pantera tone? - Reddit
• Does anyone know what equipment Dimebag was using for their ...

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