Unfamiliar by Currents (Riff · Distorted) — Guitar Tone

The Unfamiliar by Currents guitar tone is built on a JST Toneforge Guilty Pleasure, dialed in at gain 9/10, bass 6, mid 4.5, 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 9 sits above the metal average (7.3) — a hotter, more saturated take than most metal tones; mids at 4.5 are right around average (5.2).

Guitar controls

Original gear

Guitar: Ibanez RGD71AL 7-string · Amp: JST Toneforge Guilty Pleasure (amp modeler plugin)

Studio recording for 'Unfamiliar' (2020, The Way It Ends). Guitarist Chris Wiseman confirmed use of Ibanez RGD71AL 7-string with Seymour Duncan Fusion Edge pickups through JST Toneforge Guilty Pleasure amp sim. Drop E tuning. No explicit mention of pedals or analog amp/cab used for the riff section; all evidence points to in-the-box amp sim for the studio recording.

Gear used on this tone

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

Pickups

Bridge pickup

Signal chain

Ibanez RGD71AL 7-string → Noise gate (model unknown) → JST Toneforge Guilty Pleasure (amp modeler plugin)

Effects

noise_gate, reverb

Amp effects: Reverb (digital, level 2)

Tone character

super thick low end, tight and percussive, aggressive palm muting, articulate and clear, high-gain saturation, modern, polished, punchy attack, low, extended range, minimal ambience, focused midrange

Recording context

studio

How it’s played

straight, fast tempo, aggressive dynamics · high-gain distortion. This shapes how hard the amp is pushed and where the EQ sits for the Unfamiliar sound.

Difficulty

4/5 · Riff

The riff requires tight, fast palm muting and precise picking on a 7-string in Drop E, with complex rhythm changes typical of modern metalcore.

Worth knowing

• No explicit numeric amp settings found for JST Toneforge Guilty Pleasure on 'Unfamiliar'; settings estimated based on genre, amp sim, and typical modern metal production.
• No evidence of pedals or external effects used for the riff section; all tone appears to be from amp sim and pickups.
• Pickup selector not explicitly stated, but bridge pickup is standard for tight, percussive metal riffing.
• Reverb setting is estimated low, as modern metalcore rhythm tones are typically dry/tight.
• Settings cross-referenced with genre and era conventions for accuracy. Currents' 'Unfamiliar' features a modern djent/metalcore tone: extremely high gain, tight low end, slightly scooped but not hollow mids, bright but not harsh treble, and a clear, articulate presence. The tone is very dry with no audible reverb, matching contemporary metal production trends.

Unfamiliar guitar tone — FAQ

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Sources

• Currents' Chris Wiseman serves up destructive 7-string riffs ...
• Currents Members, Gear & Sound

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