The Sails of Charon
A neoclassical, wah-voiced lead on an amp only just breaking up.
What is The Sails of Charon guitar tone?
The Sails of Charon guitar tone is a neoclassical, wah-voiced lead on an amp only just breaking up, heard on Scorpions' 1970s hard rock recording. It is a distorted solo tone, and Scorpions reportedly tracked it with a 1975 Fender Stratocaster with a maple fingerboard, on the bridge pickup for the leads and solos and the neck pickup for the rhythm parts, into a 1972 Marshall 1959T Super Lead Tremolo 100-watt head and a 1960B 4x12, with an early 1970s Vox Cry Baby wah, in Guitar World's account; Uli Jon Roth kept this song simple, with only the Strat, the Marshall half stack and the wah, and used little gain, turning the volume up just to the brink of overdrive for sustain while keeping the tone dynamic, from a bridge pickup he found hotter than on most Strats; he used the wah only on the leads and solos, mostly parked about two-thirds of the way down as a midrange control, and played the rhythm tracks clean on the neck pickup, with the strings tuned a half step down; Guitar World thinks the rising, synth-like pitch effect late in the song was probably added in the mix with an MXR Pitch Transposer, and says the Roland AP-7 Jet Phaser Roth used on other songs is not on this one; the song is on Taken by Force (1977), Roth's last studio album with the Scorpions, and Dave Mustaine has called it the song that paved the way for him in lead guitar playing. Here the lead is a Marshall turned up only to the edge of overdrive, with a parked wah shaping the mids, so the body and sustain come from volume and the wah rather than from 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.
The Sails of Charon amp settings: a starting point
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 6.5, Bass 5, Middle 7, Treble 6, Presence 6, Reverb 2 for the solos, with the bridge pickup. There is a second setting for the clean rhythm parts below.
- Gain 6.5
- Bass 5
- Middle 7
- Treble 6
- Presence 6
- Reverb 2
- Signal chain
- Vox Cry Baby wah, parked about two-thirds down
- The control that matters most
- The wah's position, and restraint on the gain. Guitar World has Roth's lead cleaner than most expect, with a wah parked about two-thirds down as a midrange control, so set the amp just at the edge of breakup, park a wah partway down, and let the volume do the sustaining.
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
The Sails of Charon amp settings for the clean rhythm parts
For the clean rhythm parts, start at Gain 2, Bass 5, Middle 6, Treble 6, Presence 6, Reverb 3, with the neck pickup.
- Gain 2
- Bass 5
- Middle 6
- Treble 6
- Presence 6
- Reverb 3
- Signal chain
- Marshall half stack, played clean
- Where the song switches
- Guitar World has Roth's rhythm tracks clean on the Strat's neck pickup, with the wah kept for the leads and solos.
- Pickup
- Neck 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 Sails of Charon 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 solos.
Published settings
What amp settings did Uli Jon Roth use on The Sails of Charon?
Presence 5, bass 3, middle 8, treble 7, volume I at 6 and volume II at 0, with the tremolo's speed and intensity at 0, on the top input I of a 1972 Marshall 1959T Super Lead Tremolo into a 1960B 4x12; a Vox Cry Baby wah about two-thirds toe down; and the Strat's bridge pickup with its volume and both tones on 10, tuned a half step down. 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 Uli Jon Roth's guitar tone on The Sails of Charon
What gear did Scorpions use on The Sails of Charon?
A 1975 Fender Stratocaster with a maple fingerboard, on the bridge pickup for the leads and solos and the neck pickup for the rhythm parts, into a 1972 Marshall 1959T Super Lead Tremolo 100-watt head and a 1960B 4x12, with an early 1970s Vox Cry Baby wah, in Guitar World's account; Uli Jon Roth kept this song simple, with only the Strat, the Marshall half stack and the wah, and used little gain, turning the volume up just to the brink of overdrive for sustain while keeping the tone dynamic, from a bridge pickup he found hotter than on most Strats; he used the wah only on the leads and solos, mostly parked about two-thirds of the way down as a midrange control, and played the rhythm tracks clean on the neck pickup, with the strings tuned a half step down; Guitar World thinks the rising, synth-like pitch effect late in the song was probably added in the mix with an MXR Pitch Transposer, and says the Roland AP-7 Jet Phaser Roth used on other songs is not on this one; the song is on Taken by Force (1977), Roth's last studio album with the Scorpions, and Dave Mustaine has called it the song that paved the way for him in lead guitar playing.
Sources: Guitar World: the secrets behind Uli Jon Roth's guitar tone on The Sails of Charon, Wikipedia: Taken by Force
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 Sails of Charon tone on your own amp?
Tell us your guitar, amp, and pedals
AI researches the original tone of The Sails of Charon
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The Sails of Charon tone questions
What amp settings do you need for The Sails of Charon?
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 6.5, Bass 5, Middle 7, Treble 6, Presence 6, Reverb 2 for the solos, with the bridge pickup, and at Gain 2, Bass 5, Middle 6, Treble 6, Presence 6, Reverb 3 for the clean rhythm parts, with the neck 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 neoclassical, wah-voiced lead on an amp only just breaking up from different positions.
Does The Sails of Charon use one amp setting or two?
Two. Guitar World has Roth's rhythm tracks clean on the Strat's neck pickup, with the wah kept for the leads and solos. On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 6.5, Bass 5, Middle 7, Treble 6, Presence 6, Reverb 2 for the solos, and at Gain 2, Bass 5, Middle 6, Treble 6, Presence 6, Reverb 3 for the clean rhythm parts.
What amp did Uli Jon Roth use on The Sails of Charon?
Amp: 1972 Marshall 1959T Super Lead Tremolo 100-watt head. Guitar: 1975 Fender Stratocaster with a maple fingerboard. Sources: Guitar World and Wikipedia.
How do you get Uli Jon Roth's tone on The Sails of Charon?
The wah's position, and restraint on the gain. Guitar World has Roth's lead cleaner than most expect, with a wah parked about two-thirds down as a midrange control, so set the amp just at the edge of breakup, park a wah partway down, and let the volume do the sustaining. Play it with the bridge pickup.
What tuning is The Sails of Charon in?
Half a step down: Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb, low string to high, according to Guitar World.
Source: Guitar World: the secrets behind Uli Jon Roth's guitar tone on The Sails of Charon
Can you get The Sails of Charon 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.
