🎸 Rock · 1980s

Where Is My Mind? by Pixies (Riff · Distorted) — Guitar Tone

by Pixies · riff

The Where Is My Mind? by Pixies guitar tone is built on a Marshall JCM800 50W, dialed in at gain 5/10, bass 6, mid 4, treble 7, 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 540 rock tones in our researched catalog: Gain 5 sits right around the rock average (4.8); mids at 4 are well below average (6.2) — a real scoop; it sounds huge alone but can vanish in a band mix.

Guitar controls

VOLUME

TONE

Original gear

Amp: Marshall JCM800 50W (dirty) / Fender Vibrolux Reverb on 7 (clean intro)

Joey Santiago plays a Les Paul Standard (Bare Knuckle pickups). The clean arpeggiated intro/verse runs through a Fender Vibrolux Reverb (set ~7) for definition and reverb; the louder chorus uses a Marshall JCM800 for natural overdrive. Classic quiet-loud Pixies dynamics.

Gear used on this tone

🎚️ Marshall JCM800 songs & tones →🎚️ Marshall songs & tones →🎚️ Gibson Les Paul songs & tones →

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

Pickups

bridge/neck (Les Paul)

Effects / signal chain

reverb, overdrive

Tone character

clean reverby arpeggio, natural overdrive chorus, quiet-loud, definition

Recording context

studio

How it’s played

clean intro into natural JCM800 overdrive distortion. This shapes how hard the amp is pushed and where the EQ sits for the Where Is My Mind? sound.

Difficulty

3/5 · Riff

The clean intro arpeggio is the iconic part and is approachable; the tone needs reverb on the clean parts and natural amp overdrive for the chorus.

Level: Beginner-friendly — see more easy guitar songs to play →

Worth knowing

Where Is My Mind? is quiet-loud — a CLEAN, reverby arpeggiated intro (Fender Vibrolux on ~7) that opens into a naturally-overdriven chorus (Marshall JCM800). Bass up (~6), mids back (~4), treble up (~7), reverb for depth. Les Paul.
Set a clean reverby tone for the intro and let the amp break up for the chorus — moderate gain, not high. Mids scooped a touch.
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?

Recognise famous songs from just the amp dials — a quick 10-round game. Beat your friends. Play free →

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Where Is My Mind? guitar tone — FAQ

What amp settings do I need for the Where Is My Mind? guitar tone?

Set your amp to roughly: gain 5, bass 6, mid 4, treble 7, presence 5, reverb 3. These are community-researched baselines — GuitarToneAdapt re-dials them for your exact guitar and amp.

What gear was used for the Where Is My Mind? tone?

Original gear/effects: Amp: Marshall JCM800 50W (dirty) / Fender Vibrolux Reverb on 7 (clean intro); reverb, overdrive.

Can I get the Where Is My Mind? 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 Pixies on Where Is My Mind? — what gear and pedals?

Start with bridge/neck (Les Paul), the amp EQ above (gain 5, bass 6, mid 4, treble 7, presence 5, reverb 3), and reverb, overdrive. Then let GuitarToneAdapt compensate for the guitar, amp and pedals you actually own so it sits like the record.

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Sources

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More like this

🎸 more Rock guitar tones → · 🎚️ Marshall JCM800 settings → · 🎛️ best rock amp settings → · 🎸 more iconic guitar riffs → · 🎚️ Overdrive tone guide → · 🎚️ Reverb tone guide → · 🎯 more clean tones → · 📖 New to amp settings? What every knob does →

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