Floods
Haunting solid-state lead over clean arpeggios.
What is the Floods guitar tone?
The Floods guitar tone is haunting solid-state lead over clean arpeggios, heard on Pantera's 1990s groove metal recording. It is a distorted solo tone, and Pantera reportedly tracked it with Dimebag Darrell's Washburn signature guitars into the same carpeted Randall RG-100 head he recorded Cowboys from Hell with, the lead doubled with two takes stacked on top of each other and a DigiTech Whammy on the squeals of the final note. The character here comes from a hard upper-midrange attack and a fast note decay, which is why solid-state rigs suit it better than most players expect.
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.
Floods amp settings: a starting point
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 8.5, Bass 6, Middle 3, Treble 8, Presence 7, Reverb 1, with the bridge pickup.
- Gain 8.5
- Bass 6
- Middle 3
- Treble 8
- Presence 7
- Reverb 1
- Signal chain
- DigiTech Whammy (final squeals)
- The control that matters most
- Doubling, not chorus. Dimebag stacked two takes of the lead on top of each other, which he said can sound like a chorus effect, so a second take gets closer than modulation does.
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. Your first match is free with an account, and needs no card.
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.
What gear did Pantera use on Floods?
Dimebag Darrell's Washburn signature guitars into the same carpeted Randall RG-100 head he recorded Cowboys from Hell with, the lead doubled with two takes stacked on top of each other and a DigiTech Whammy on the squeals of the final note.
Sources: Guitar World: Dimebag Darrell on The Great Southern Trendkill, Wikipedia: Floods (Pantera song)
Tonelify 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 Floods tone on your own amp?
Tell us your guitar, amp, and pedals
AI researches the original tone of Floods
Get exact knob settings adapted to your rig
Floods tone questions
What amp settings do you need for Floods?
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 8.5, Bass 6, Middle 3, Treble 8, Presence 7, Reverb 1, 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 haunting solid-state lead over clean arpeggios from different positions.
What is the most important control for the Floods tone?
Doubling, not chorus. Dimebag stacked two takes of the lead on top of each other, which he said can sound like a chorus effect, so a second take gets closer than modulation does.
Can you get the Floods tone without the original gear?
Yes. The original was tracked with Dimebag Darrell's Washburn signature guitars into the same carpeted Randall RG-100 head he recorded Cowboys from Hell with, the lead doubled with two takes stacked on top of each other and a DigiTech Whammy on the squeals of the final note, but the parts that define the sound are the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup position and the effects order. Those translate to other equipment, which is what the adaptation step does.
Is Floods a rhythm or a lead tone?
It is a solo part with a distorted character, from Pantera's 1990s groove metal catalogue.
Does Tonelify cost anything to try?
Your first match for your own gear is free with an account, and needs no card. After that both plans start with a 7-day free trial: 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.
