Live Forever
A Les Paul crunch under an optimistic anthem in G, with two melodic solos.
What is the Live Forever guitar tone?
The Live Forever guitar tone is a Les Paul crunch under an optimistic anthem in G, with two melodic solos, heard on Oasis' 1990s rock recording. It is a distorted solo tone, and Oasis reportedly tracked it with a Les Paul, which Ground Guitar identifies as the one Johnny Marr lent Noel Gallagher and MusicRadar calls one of his Les Pauls, through amps the two accounts give differently: MusicRadar names a Marshall with a Vox AC30 as probable, and Ground Guitar a Marshall Valvestate 8080 with a Watkins Dominator, the pair it says Gallagher used across Definitely Maybe, where his only pedal was a Roland Space Echo; MusicRadar thinks the core rhythm track was cut at Sawmills in Cornwall or at Marr's Clear studio in Manchester, with Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs on one of his Epiphone Rivieras, and an acoustic guitar sits under the mix; producer Owen Morris stripped away layers of Gallagher's guitar overdubs when he mixed the album, and on an early mix of the demo he muted the solo halfway, because when it went high in the second half all he could think of was Slash in leather trousers with a wind machine on the Grand Canyon, which left Gallagher bemused, and Morris says the finished version has essentially the same solo; the album version opens on Tony McCarroll's drums where the demo had an acoustic intro, and the song is in G, varispeeded up by less than half a semitone in the mix; Gallagher had part-written it before he joined his brother's band, working it out on a Gretsch Country Gentleman that had belonged to John Squire, and it came out on 8 August 1994 as Oasis' first UK top-ten single. Much of this character comes from an amp worked hard rather than from a pedal, so master volume and pickup output matter more than the gain knob.
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.
Live Forever amp settings: a starting point
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 5.5, Bass 5, Middle 7, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 2, with the neck pickup for body, bridge if the lead needs to cut.
- Gain 5.5
- Bass 5
- Middle 7
- Treble 6
- Presence 5
- Reverb 2
- Signal chain
- Amp distortion; Gallagher's only pedal on the album was a Roland Space Echo
- The control that matters most
- Volume and melody. The album's guitars came from loud amps rather than pedals, and the solo is a sung melody rather than a fast run, so set a warm, mid-forward crunch and let the notes sustain. The second half climbs high, the part producer Owen Morris once muted, so keep enough sustain there for the top notes to hold.
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
- Neck pickup for body, bridge if the lead needs to cut
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 Oasis use on Live Forever?
A Les Paul, which Ground Guitar identifies as the one Johnny Marr lent Noel Gallagher and MusicRadar calls one of his Les Pauls, through amps the two accounts give differently: MusicRadar names a Marshall with a Vox AC30 as probable, and Ground Guitar a Marshall Valvestate 8080 with a Watkins Dominator, the pair it says Gallagher used across Definitely Maybe, where his only pedal was a Roland Space Echo; MusicRadar thinks the core rhythm track was cut at Sawmills in Cornwall or at Marr's Clear studio in Manchester, with Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs on one of his Epiphone Rivieras, and an acoustic guitar sits under the mix; producer Owen Morris stripped away layers of Gallagher's guitar overdubs when he mixed the album, and on an early mix of the demo he muted the solo halfway, because when it went high in the second half all he could think of was Slash in leather trousers with a wind machine on the Grand Canyon, which left Gallagher bemused, and Morris says the finished version has essentially the same solo; the album version opens on Tony McCarroll's drums where the demo had an acoustic intro, and the song is in G, varispeeded up by less than half a semitone in the mix; Gallagher had part-written it before he joined his brother's band, working it out on a Gretsch Country Gentleman that had belonged to John Squire, and it came out on 8 August 1994 as Oasis' first UK top-ten single.
Sources: MusicRadar: the story of Oasis' Live Forever, Ground Guitar: Noel Gallagher's gear on Definitely Maybe, Wikipedia: Live Forever (Oasis song), Wikipedia: Definitely Maybe
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 Live Forever tone on your own amp?
Tell us your guitar, amp, and pedals
AI researches the original tone of Live Forever
Get exact knob settings adapted to your rig
Live Forever tone questions
What amp settings do you need for Live Forever?
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 5.5, Bass 5, Middle 7, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 2, with the neck pickup for body, bridge if the lead needs to cut. 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 Les Paul crunch under an optimistic anthem in G, with two melodic solos from different positions.
What is the most important control for the Live Forever tone?
Volume and melody. The album's guitars came from loud amps rather than pedals, and the solo is a sung melody rather than a fast run, so set a warm, mid-forward crunch and let the notes sustain. The second half climbs high, the part producer Owen Morris once muted, so keep enough sustain there for the top notes to hold.
Can you get the Live Forever tone without the original gear?
Yes. The original was tracked with a Les Paul, which Ground Guitar identifies as the one Johnny Marr lent Noel Gallagher and MusicRadar calls one of his Les Pauls, through amps the two accounts give differently: MusicRadar names a Marshall with a Vox AC30 as probable, and Ground Guitar a Marshall Valvestate 8080 with a Watkins Dominator, the pair it says Gallagher used across Definitely Maybe, where his only pedal was a Roland Space Echo; MusicRadar thinks the core rhythm track was cut at Sawmills in Cornwall or at Marr's Clear studio in Manchester, with Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs on one of his Epiphone Rivieras, and an acoustic guitar sits under the mix; producer Owen Morris stripped away layers of Gallagher's guitar overdubs when he mixed the album, and on an early mix of the demo he muted the solo halfway, because when it went high in the second half all he could think of was Slash in leather trousers with a wind machine on the Grand Canyon, which left Gallagher bemused, and Morris says the finished version has essentially the same solo; the album version opens on Tony McCarroll's drums where the demo had an acoustic intro, and the song is in G, varispeeded up by less than half a semitone in the mix; Gallagher had part-written it before he joined his brother's band, working it out on a Gretsch Country Gentleman that had belonged to John Squire, and it came out on 8 August 1994 as Oasis' first UK top-ten single, 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 Live Forever a rhythm or a lead tone?
It is a solo part with a distorted character, from Oasis' 1990s rock 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.
