🎸 Rock · 1970s

Ziggy Stardust (Riff · Distorted) — Guitar Tone

by David Bowie · riff

The Ziggy Stardust by David Bowie guitar tone is built on a Marshall Major "The Pig", dialed in at gain 5.5/10, bass 5, mid 7, treble 6, presence 5.5 (community-researched baseline). Full breakdown below — then adapt every knob to your exact guitar and amp, free.

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Amp settings (0–10)

5.5
GAIN
5
BASS
7
MID
6
TREBLE
5.5
PRESENCE
1.5
REVERB

Community-researched baseline. Your rig is different — GuitarToneAdapt re-dials every knob for your specific guitar, amp and pickups.

Original gear

Amp: Marshall Major "The Pig" (200W) — cranked

Pickups

bridge (Les Paul Custom)

Effects / signal chain

wah

Tone character

thick glam crunch, mid-forward, vocal cocked-wah, singing sustain

Recording context

studio

How it’s played

thick mid-forward glam crunch distortion. This shapes how hard the amp is pushed and where the EQ sits for the Ziggy Stardust sound.

What makes the Ziggy Stardust part tricky

power chords, bends, wah placement. GuitarToneAdapt gets the tone right so you can focus on the playing.

Note: This is the Mick Ronson glam-rock tone — a Gibson Les Paul Custom into a cranked Marshall with a Cry Baby wah PARKED (cocked) at a fixed spot for the vocal, mid-forward honk. Thick and mids-up, not scooped., Push the mids, moderate gain, and try a half-cocked wah held in one position for that nasal Ronson voice., Settings are community-researched starting points, not official recall sheets.

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