Mayonaise
A slow, fuzz-soaked ballad with a squealing feedback note left in.
What is the Mayonaise guitar tone?
The Mayonaise guitar tone is a slow, fuzz-soaked ballad with a squealing feedback note left in, heard on The Smashing Pumpkins' 1990s alt rock recording. It is a distorted riff tone, and The Smashing Pumpkins reportedly tracked it with a pawnshop Kimberly with what Billy Corgan called microphone pickups, bought for 65 dollars, which he showed Guitar World in 1995 as the Mayonaise guitar and said he had used on about four songs; Rolling Stone says the squealing high note in the song comes from that guitar, which made the noise whenever Corgan stopped playing it, so the band decided to use it, and that, as Corgan told Guitar World in 1997, James Iha had been trying different tunings and came up with the chord progression, after which Corgan wrote the melody and lyrics; no source read here places an amp on the song, but Corgan told Guitar World his 1984 Marshall JCM800, the 'soul head', had been used on everything the band had done, and Andertons' Sound Like feature describes the Siamese Dream fuzz as an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff into that amp's low-gain input with the master volume cranked; Mayonaise is on Siamese Dream, recorded mainly between December 1992 and March 1993 at Triclops Studios in Marietta, Georgia with Butch Vig producing, and came out as a single in 2023 for the album's 30th anniversary. Here the sound is a fuzz-heavy rhythm with a cheap guitar's feedback left in, so volume and sustain matter more than the amp's gain.
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.
Mayonaise amp settings: a starting point
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 3, Bass 5, Middle 5, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 3, with the bridge pickup.
- Gain 3
- Bass 5
- Middle 5
- Treble 6
- Presence 5
- Reverb 3
- Signal chain
- Feedback from the Kimberly, kept on the take → Big Muff style fuzz (the album's sound, not placed on this song)
- The control that matters most
- Letting it feed back. Rolling Stone puts the song's squealing high note down to a cheap guitar that fed back whenever Corgan stopped playing, and the band kept it, so play loud enough for a held note to bloom into feedback, and use the fuzz for sustain rather than more amp gain.
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.
Does the Mayonaise tone sound off on your amp?
Pick what you hear. You get the knobs to turn from the starting point above, and how far.
What gear did The Smashing Pumpkins use on Mayonaise?
A pawnshop Kimberly with what Billy Corgan called microphone pickups, bought for 65 dollars, which he showed Guitar World in 1995 as the Mayonaise guitar and said he had used on about four songs; Rolling Stone says the squealing high note in the song comes from that guitar, which made the noise whenever Corgan stopped playing it, so the band decided to use it, and that, as Corgan told Guitar World in 1997, James Iha had been trying different tunings and came up with the chord progression, after which Corgan wrote the melody and lyrics; no source read here places an amp on the song, but Corgan told Guitar World his 1984 Marshall JCM800, the 'soul head', had been used on everything the band had done, and Andertons' Sound Like feature describes the Siamese Dream fuzz as an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff into that amp's low-gain input with the master volume cranked; Mayonaise is on Siamese Dream, recorded mainly between December 1992 and March 1993 at Triclops Studios in Marietta, Georgia with Butch Vig producing, and came out as a single in 2023 for the album's 30th anniversary.
Sources: Guitar World: the Smashing Pumpkins on '80s Marshalls and their essential pedals (1995), Rolling Stone: Siamese Dream, 10 things you didn't know, Andertons: Sound Like the Smashing Pumpkins, Wikipedia: Siamese Dream
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 Mayonaise tone on your own amp?
Tell us your guitar, amp, and pedals
AI researches the original tone of Mayonaise
Get exact knob settings adapted to your rig
Mayonaise tone questions
What amp settings do you need for Mayonaise?
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 3, Bass 5, Middle 5, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 3, 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 slow, fuzz-soaked ballad with a squealing feedback note left in from different positions.
What amp did Billy Corgan use on Mayonaise?
Amp: Not placed on the song (the album's main amp: Corgan's 1984 Marshall JCM800). Guitar: Kimberly with microphone pickups, a $65 pawnshop buy (the 'Mayonaise guitar'). Sources: Guitar World, Rolling Stone, Andertons and Wikipedia.
What were Billy Corgan's amp settings on Mayonaise?
None of the sources cited on this page gives Billy Corgan's full amp settings on Mayonaise. The numbers here are a starting point for that kind of part, not the settings from the session, and Tonelify rewrites them for the amp and guitar you own.
How do you get Billy Corgan's tone on Mayonaise?
Letting it feed back. Rolling Stone puts the song's squealing high note down to a cheap guitar that fed back whenever Corgan stopped playing, and the band kept it, so play loud enough for a held note to bloom into feedback, and use the fuzz for sustain rather than more amp gain. Play it with the bridge pickup.
What tuning is Mayonaise in?
Alternate tuning: Eb Bb Bb Gb Bb D, low string to high, on James Iha's chord part, while Billy Corgan's guitar is tuned down half a step, Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb, according to MusicRadar.
Can you get the Mayonaise 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.
