(Don't Fear) The Reaper
Blue Öyster Cult
A clean, ringing arpeggio riff with the open G string tolling on every beat.
What is the (Don't Fear) The Reaper guitar tone?
The (Don't Fear) The Reaper guitar tone is a clean, ringing arpeggio riff with the open G string tolling on every beat, heard on Blue Öyster Cult's 1970s rock recording. It is a clean riff tone, and Blue Öyster Cult reportedly tracked it with a Gibson ES-175 belonging to producer Murray Krugman, which Buck Dharma played at Krugman's suggestion instead of his preferred 1969 Gibson SG Standard for the riff and the basic rhythm tracks, through his Music Man 410-65 combo set to a pristine clean tone, with room-distance miking and the studio's EMT plate reverb for depth, in Guitar World's account; for the fills and the solo section he switched to the SG and turned up the Music Man's power amp for overdrive and sustain, with the plate reverb and a subtle tape delay made by cascading the solo across the tracks of a separate four-track recorder, and he got feedback where he wanted it by holding the SG's headstock against the amp; Wikipedia also has Krugman's ES-175 into a Music Man 410 combo on the riff, an A minor, G and F progression; Dharma wrote and sang the song, and the band recorded it at the Record Plant in New York for Agents of Fortune (May 1976) with producers Murray Krugman, David Lucas and Sandy Pearlman; the edited single reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1976. Here the riff is a clean hollowbody arpeggio with plate reverb around it, and the grit arrives only in the solo section, where the amp's power section is turned up.
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 clean channel on a modelling combo 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.
(Don't Fear) The Reaper amp settings: a starting point
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 2, Bass 5, Middle 6, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 3 for the riff, with the bridge pickup. There is a second setting for the fills and the solo below.
- Gain 2
- Bass 5
- Middle 6
- Treble 6
- Presence 5
- Reverb 3
- Signal chain
- Clean Music Man combo → Studio plate reverb
- The control that matters most
- The amp's headroom. Guitar World has the riff on a hollowbody into a Music Man set pristine clean, with plate reverb and room sound for depth, so keep the gain near zero, let the open G ring against the moving chords, and add reverb rather than drive.
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
(Don't Fear) The Reaper amp settings for the fills and the solo
For the fills and 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
- Studio plate reverb → Subtle tape delay
- Where the song switches
- Guitar World has the riff and rhythm tracks on the ES-175 into a clean Music Man, then Dharma's SG with the amp's power section turned up for the fills and the solo section.
- 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 (Don't Fear) The Reaper 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 Buck Dharma use on (Don't Fear) The Reaper?
Volume 4, treble 6, middle 8, bass 3 and master 5 with the bright switch on and the reverb and tremolo off, on channel 2 of a 1975 Music Man 410-65 combo, for the riff on the bridge pickup of a Gibson ES-175 with volume and tone on 10; for the solo, volume 6, treble 7.5, middle 8, bass 4 and master 10, on the bridge pickup of the 1969 SG. 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 the guitar tone on (Don't Fear) The Reaper
What gear did Blue Öyster Cult use on (Don't Fear) The Reaper?
A Gibson ES-175 belonging to producer Murray Krugman, which Buck Dharma played at Krugman's suggestion instead of his preferred 1969 Gibson SG Standard for the riff and the basic rhythm tracks, through his Music Man 410-65 combo set to a pristine clean tone, with room-distance miking and the studio's EMT plate reverb for depth, in Guitar World's account; for the fills and the solo section he switched to the SG and turned up the Music Man's power amp for overdrive and sustain, with the plate reverb and a subtle tape delay made by cascading the solo across the tracks of a separate four-track recorder, and he got feedback where he wanted it by holding the SG's headstock against the amp; Wikipedia also has Krugman's ES-175 into a Music Man 410 combo on the riff, an A minor, G and F progression; Dharma wrote and sang the song, and the band recorded it at the Record Plant in New York for Agents of Fortune (May 1976) with producers Murray Krugman, David Lucas and Sandy Pearlman; the edited single reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1976.
Sources: Guitar World: the secrets behind the guitar tone on (Don't Fear) The Reaper, Wikipedia: (Don't Fear) The Reaper
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 (Don't Fear) The Reaper tone on your own amp?
Tell us your guitar, amp, and pedals
AI researches the original tone of (Don't Fear) The Reaper
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(Don't Fear) The Reaper tone questions
What amp settings do you need for (Don't Fear) The Reaper?
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 2, Bass 5, Middle 6, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 3 for the riff, with the bridge pickup, and at Gain 5.5, Bass 5, Middle 7, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 2 for the fills and 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 clean, ringing arpeggio riff with the open G string tolling on every beat from different positions.
Does (Don't Fear) The Reaper use one amp setting or two?
Two. Guitar World has the riff and rhythm tracks on the ES-175 into a clean Music Man, then Dharma's SG with the amp's power section turned up for the fills and the solo section. On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 2, Bass 5, Middle 6, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 3 for the riff, and at Gain 5.5, Bass 5, Middle 7, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 2 for the fills and the solo.
What amp did Buck Dharma use on (Don't Fear) The Reaper?
Amp: Music Man 410-65 combo. Guitar: Gibson ES-175 (riff); 1969 Gibson SG Standard (fills and solo). Sources: Guitar World and Wikipedia.
How do you get Buck Dharma's tone on (Don't Fear) The Reaper?
The amp's headroom. Guitar World has the riff on a hollowbody into a Music Man set pristine clean, with plate reverb and room sound for depth, so keep the gain near zero, let the open G ring against the moving chords, and add reverb rather than drive. Play it with the bridge pickup.
What tuning is (Don't Fear) The Reaper in?
Standard tuning: E A D G B E, low string to high, according to Guitar World.
Source: Guitar World: the secrets behind the guitar tone on (Don't Fear) The Reaper
Can you get the (Don't Fear) The Reaper 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.
