Along for the Ride
Steve Lukather
A gritty, overdriven riff with a warble struck from the vibrato bridge.
What is the Along for the Ride guitar tone?
The Along for the Ride guitar tone is a gritty, overdriven riff with a warble struck from the vibrato bridge, heard on Steve Lukather's 2020s rock recording. It is a distorted riff tone, and Steve Lukather reportedly tracked it with an Ernie Ball Music Man Luke III with a maple top and an HSS layout, on its bridge humbucker, into a Bogner Helios 100, a Marshall-style head, and a Bogner 4x12 with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers, in Guitar World's account; Steve Lukather once relied on a rack of studio-quality processing but has moved to a simpler rig of his signature guitars, Helios half stacks and a few pedals; he got the riff's warble by striking the base of the guitar's vibrato bridge with his palm, and on the closing solo he added a boost from his signature ToneConcepts Distillery pedal for body, sustain and punch; the song opens his solo album I Found the Sun Again, which Guitar World says was recorded live in the studio without click tracks or multiple takes, and which Wikipedia says was cut in eight days in February 2020 with very few overdubs; the album came out on 26 February 2021. Here the grit is a Marshall-style head with plenty of gain and an even EQ, with a boost pedal kept back for the solo.
You do not need that exact gear to land in the same place. What carries this sound is the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup choice and the order of the effects, and all four can be rebuilt on equipment that costs a fraction of the original. The numbers change from amp to amp, because a high-gain head and a small practice amp reach the same voicing from different knob positions. That translation is what Tonelify works out for the rig you actually own.
Along for the Ride amp settings: a starting point
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 5, Bass 5, Middle 6, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 2 for the riff, with the bridge pickup. There is a second setting for the solo below.
- Gain 5
- Bass 5
- Middle 6
- Treble 6
- Presence 5
- Reverb 2
- Signal chain
- Straight into the Bogner for the riff → ToneConcepts Distillery boost on the solo
- The control that matters most
- An even EQ and plenty of gain. Guitar World's tip is that Lukather's settings give most frequencies equal weight, so leave the bass, mids and treble near the middle, go heavy on the gain, and save a boost for the solo.
These positions are free and they are a starting point. A Katana, a Spark and a valve head reach this voicing from different knob positions, so Tonelify rewrites every value above for the amp and guitar you own. A first plan starts with 7 days free, $0 today.
Adapt these to my amp- Pickup
- Bridge pickup
These are positions on a generic five-knob amp with gain, bass, middle, treble and presence, each running 0 to 10. They are a starting point, not the settings used on the record, and they will not transfer unchanged to an amp with a different gain structure or EQ voicing. If you tell Tonelify which amp you own, it rewrites every value above for the controls that amp actually has.
Second sound
Along for the Ride amp settings for the solo
For the solo, start at Gain 5.5, Bass 5, Middle 7, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 2, with the bridge pickup.
- Gain 5.5
- Bass 5
- Middle 7
- Treble 6
- Presence 5
- Reverb 2
- Signal chain
- ToneConcepts Distillery boost
- Where the song switches
- Guitar World has the closing solo on the same Bogner with Lukather's Distillery pedal added as a boost for body, sustain and punch.
- Pickup
- Bridge pickup
The same reference as the panel above: positions on a generic five-knob amp, a starting point rather than the settings on the record.
Does the Along for the Ride tone sound off on your amp?
Pick what you hear. You get the knobs to turn from the starting point above, and how far. It works from the setting for the riff.
Published settings
What amp settings did Steve Lukather use on Along for the Ride?
Gain II at 9, volume II at 3, presence 4, bass 5, mid 5.5 and treble 5.5 on channel 2 of a Bogner Helios 100 through its hot input, with the EQ in, the punch switch on and the bottom control at 3, into a Bogner 4x12 with Celestion Vintage 30s, and the Luke III's bridge humbucker with volume and tone on 10; on the solo only, a ToneConcepts Distillery at contour 0, edge 3, guts 6, bleed 10 and boost 3. That is Chris Gill's settings box in Guitar World's feature on the song, which does not say where the numbers came from, so read them as the magazine's reconstruction rather than a note from the session.
Source: Guitar World: the secrets behind Steve Lukather's guitar tone on Along for the Ride
What gear did Steve Lukather use on Along for the Ride?
An Ernie Ball Music Man Luke III with a maple top and an HSS layout, on its bridge humbucker, into a Bogner Helios 100, a Marshall-style head, and a Bogner 4x12 with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers, in Guitar World's account; Steve Lukather once relied on a rack of studio-quality processing but has moved to a simpler rig of his signature guitars, Helios half stacks and a few pedals; he got the riff's warble by striking the base of the guitar's vibrato bridge with his palm, and on the closing solo he added a boost from his signature ToneConcepts Distillery pedal for body, sustain and punch; the song opens his solo album I Found the Sun Again, which Guitar World says was recorded live in the studio without click tracks or multiple takes, and which Wikipedia says was cut in eight days in February 2020 with very few overdubs; the album came out on 26 February 2021.
Sources: Guitar World: the secrets behind Steve Lukather's guitar tone on Along for the Ride, Wikipedia: I Found the Sun Again
Tonelify's tone matcher reads that chain and translates it to the amp and guitar you already own, returning gain, bass, mids, treble and presence values along with a pickup position.
How do you get the Along for the Ride tone on your own amp?
Tell us your guitar, amp, and pedals
AI researches the original tone of Along for the Ride
Get exact knob settings adapted to your rig
Along for the Ride tone questions
What amp settings do you need for Along for the Ride?
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 5, Bass 5, Middle 6, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 2 for the riff, with the bridge pickup, and at Gain 5.5, Bass 5, Middle 7, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 2 for the solo, with the bridge pickup. These are positions on a generic five-knob amp with gain, bass, middle, treble and presence, each running 0 to 10. They are a starting point, not the settings used on the record, and they will not transfer unchanged to an amp with a different gain structure or EQ voicing. Tonelify rewrites the same values for the specific amp and guitar you own, because a high-gain head and a small solid-state combo reach the same gritty, overdriven riff with a warble struck from the vibrato bridge from different positions.
Does Along for the Ride use one amp setting or two?
Two. Guitar World has the closing solo on the same Bogner with Lukather's Distillery pedal added as a boost for body, sustain and punch. On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 5, Bass 5, Middle 6, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 2 for the riff, and at Gain 5.5, Bass 5, Middle 7, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 2 for the solo.
What amp did Steve Lukather use on Along for the Ride?
Amp: Bogner Helios 100 into a Bogner 4x12. Guitar: Ernie Ball Music Man Luke III, maple top, HSS. Sources: Guitar World and Wikipedia.
How do you get Steve Lukather's tone on Along for the Ride?
An even EQ and plenty of gain. Guitar World's tip is that Lukather's settings give most frequencies equal weight, so leave the bass, mids and treble near the middle, go heavy on the gain, and save a boost for the solo. Play it with the bridge pickup.
What tuning is Along for the Ride in?
Standard tuning: E A D G B E, low string to high, according to Guitar World.
Source: Guitar World: the secrets behind Steve Lukather's guitar tone on Along for the Ride
Can you get the Along for the Ride tone without the original gear?
Yes. The parts that define the sound are the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup position and the effects order, and those translate to other equipment. Tonelify's adaptation step works them out for the amp and guitar you own.
Does Tonelify cost anything to try?
A match for your own gear takes a plan, and a first plan starts with 7 days free with nothing charged that day: Stage is $6.99 a month for 20 matches, Headliner is $10.99 a month for unlimited matching within a fair use limit of 150 new matches a day, and yearly billing works out cheaper on both. Reading this page and the rest of the library costs nothing and needs no account.
