Symphony of Destruction
A single heavy riff that runs through the whole song.
What is the Symphony of Destruction guitar tone?
The Symphony of Destruction guitar tone is a single heavy riff that runs through the whole song, heard on Megadeth's 1990s metal recording. It is a distorted riff tone, and Megadeth reportedly tracked it with Dave Mustaine's rhythm guitar, which Bonedo says he played at the time on Jackson guitars through Bogner or Marshall amps, with Marty Friedman on Jackson KE1 Kelly models with Floyd Rose vibratos and Jeff Beck humbuckers; Bonedo adds that the amps on the record can only be guessed at, and lists a Bogner Triple Giant, a Tube Works preamp, VHT 2150 power amps and an ENGL Special Edition among the amps Friedman is known to have played; Mustaine doubles the guitar, and in the chorus he plays mostly power chords while Friedman arpeggiates them; the song opens with the sound of an orchestra tuning and a short vocal passage from Mozart's Requiem, then goes straight into a heavy riff that plays continuously to the end; Megadeth demoed it in 1992, and the first version was much longer before it was cut down in pre-production; Mustaine and Max Norman produced Countdown to Extinction at The Enterprise in Burbank, California, in the first half of 1992, while a curfew during the Rodney King riots sent the band out of the studio at six every evening, which Mustaine said was like a school bell ringing; critics noted the album's simpler sound next to Rust in Peace, and it came out on 14 July 1992. Here one riff carries the whole song, and a workshop on it advises a bridge humbucker and an amp with enough gain, with the mids turned down a little but not too far, so a tight, clear crunch gets closer than a scooped, saturated one.
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.
Symphony of Destruction amp settings: a starting point
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 7, Bass 5, Middle 4, Treble 7, Presence 6, Reverb 2, with the bridge humbucker, as a workshop on the riff advises.
- Gain 7
- Bass 5
- Middle 4
- Treble 7
- Presence 6
- Reverb 2
- Signal chain
- Noise gate → Amp distortion → Short reverb
- The control that matters most
- Middle, turned down only a little. Bonedo's workshop on the riff advises rolling the mids back a touch for a hint of metal, but not too far, so cut the middle a step from flat rather than scooping it. Mustaine doubles the riff on the record, so one guitar sounds thinner, and critics heard a simpler sound on this album than on Rust in Peace, so keep the gain where every note stays clear.
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 humbucker, as a workshop on the riff advises
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 Symphony of Destruction 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 Megadeth use on Symphony of Destruction?
Dave Mustaine's rhythm guitar, which Bonedo says he played at the time on Jackson guitars through Bogner or Marshall amps, with Marty Friedman on Jackson KE1 Kelly models with Floyd Rose vibratos and Jeff Beck humbuckers; Bonedo adds that the amps on the record can only be guessed at, and lists a Bogner Triple Giant, a Tube Works preamp, VHT 2150 power amps and an ENGL Special Edition among the amps Friedman is known to have played; Mustaine doubles the guitar, and in the chorus he plays mostly power chords while Friedman arpeggiates them; the song opens with the sound of an orchestra tuning and a short vocal passage from Mozart's Requiem, then goes straight into a heavy riff that plays continuously to the end; Megadeth demoed it in 1992, and the first version was much longer before it was cut down in pre-production; Mustaine and Max Norman produced Countdown to Extinction at The Enterprise in Burbank, California, in the first half of 1992, while a curfew during the Rodney King riots sent the band out of the studio at six every evening, which Mustaine said was like a school bell ringing; critics noted the album's simpler sound next to Rust in Peace, and it came out on 14 July 1992.
Sources: Wikipedia: Symphony of Destruction, Bonedo: Symphony of Destruction riff workshop (German), Wikipedia: Countdown to Extinction
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 Symphony of Destruction tone on your own amp?
Tell us your guitar, amp, and pedals
AI researches the original tone of Symphony of Destruction
Get exact knob settings adapted to your rig
Symphony of Destruction tone questions
What amp settings do you need for Symphony of Destruction?
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 7, Bass 5, Middle 4, Treble 7, Presence 6, Reverb 2, with the bridge humbucker, as a workshop on the riff advises. 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 single heavy riff that runs through the whole song from different positions.
What is the most important control for the Symphony of Destruction tone?
Middle, turned down only a little. Bonedo's workshop on the riff advises rolling the mids back a touch for a hint of metal, but not too far, so cut the middle a step from flat rather than scooping it. Mustaine doubles the riff on the record, so one guitar sounds thinner, and critics heard a simpler sound on this album than on Rust in Peace, so keep the gain where every note stays clear.
Can you get the Symphony of Destruction tone without the original gear?
Yes. The original was tracked with Dave Mustaine's rhythm guitar, which Bonedo says he played at the time on Jackson guitars through Bogner or Marshall amps, with Marty Friedman on Jackson KE1 Kelly models with Floyd Rose vibratos and Jeff Beck humbuckers; Bonedo adds that the amps on the record can only be guessed at, and lists a Bogner Triple Giant, a Tube Works preamp, VHT 2150 power amps and an ENGL Special Edition among the amps Friedman is known to have played; Mustaine doubles the guitar, and in the chorus he plays mostly power chords while Friedman arpeggiates them; the song opens with the sound of an orchestra tuning and a short vocal passage from Mozart's Requiem, then goes straight into a heavy riff that plays continuously to the end; Megadeth demoed it in 1992, and the first version was much longer before it was cut down in pre-production; Mustaine and Max Norman produced Countdown to Extinction at The Enterprise in Burbank, California, in the first half of 1992, while a curfew during the Rodney King riots sent the band out of the studio at six every evening, which Mustaine said was like a school bell ringing; critics noted the album's simpler sound next to Rust in Peace, and it came out on 14 July 1992, 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 Symphony of Destruction a rhythm or a lead tone?
It is a riff part with a distorted character, from Megadeth's 1990s 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 it takes a plan, charged when you subscribe: 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.
