Where Is My Mind
Pixies
Grinding two-note lead line over a loose, roomy band sound.
What is the Where Is My Mind guitar tone?
The Where Is My Mind guitar tone is grinding two-note lead line over a loose, roomy band sound, heard on Pixies' 1980s alt rock recording. It is a distorted riff tone, and Pixies reportedly tracked it with Joey Santiago's 1970s reissue Gibson Les Paul Goldtop with its pickup covers taken off, straight into a Peavey or a Marshall and shaped with the guitar's own knobs and pickup selector, with Steve Albini recording some of the amps in a large, echoey studio bathroom in Boston in late 1987. The sound depends on compression and pick attack more than on gain, so a lightly driven amp with the tone rolled back gets closer than a high-gain setting.
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.
Where Is My Mind 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.
- Signal chain
- Straight into the amp, no pedals
- The control that matters most
- The guitar's own controls. Santiago went straight into the amp and set his tone with the Goldtop's knobs and pickup selector, so shape the sound there before reaching for a pedal.
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.
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 Pixies use on Where Is My Mind?
Joey Santiago's 1970s reissue Gibson Les Paul Goldtop with its pickup covers taken off, straight into a Peavey or a Marshall and shaped with the guitar's own knobs and pickup selector, with Steve Albini recording some of the amps in a large, echoey studio bathroom in Boston in late 1987.
Sources: MusicRadar: the story of Pixies' Where Is My Mind?, Wikipedia: Where Is My Mind?
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 Where Is My Mind tone on your own amp?
Tell us your guitar, amp, and pedals
AI researches the original Where Is My Mind tone
Get exact knob settings adapted to your rig
Where Is My Mind tone questions
What amp settings do you need for Where Is My Mind?
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 grinding two-note lead line over a loose, roomy band sound from different positions.
What is the most important control for the Where Is My Mind tone?
The guitar's own controls. Santiago went straight into the amp and set his tone with the Goldtop's knobs and pickup selector, so shape the sound there before reaching for a pedal.
Can you get the Where Is My Mind tone without the original gear?
Yes. The original was tracked with Joey Santiago's 1970s reissue Gibson Les Paul Goldtop with its pickup covers taken off, straight into a Peavey or a Marshall and shaped with the guitar's own knobs and pickup selector, with Steve Albini recording some of the amps in a large, echoey studio bathroom in Boston in late 1987, 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 Where Is My Mind a rhythm or a lead tone?
It is a riff part with a distorted character, from Pixies' 1980s alt rock catalogue.
Does Tonelify cost anything to try?
Both plans start with a 7-day free trial and nothing is charged until it ends. Stage is metered and Headliner is unlimited within a fair use limit of 150 new matches a day, and yearly billing works out cheaper on both; the current prices are on your account page once you have one. Reading this page and the rest of the library costs nothing and needs no account.