Guitarist
Slash's amp settings and rig, album by album
Slash is Guns N' Roses' lead guitarist. His rig on 4 records and periods from Appetite for Destruction (1987) on, with the sources for each, and 5 of his songs with starting points.
What amp does Slash use?
"The sound that I'm recognized for is my Les Paul through a Marshall half-stack," Slash has said. On Appetite for Destruction (1987) his main guitar was a Les Paul replica hand-built by Kris Derrig with Seymour Duncan Alnico II pickups, and his amp a Marshall rented from S.I.R. and modded by Frank Levi, which he kept a while by claiming it had been stolen. Which Marshall it was is disputed: Guitar.com names S.I.R.'s #36, a Model 1959 Super Lead with an extra gain stage, while Paul Marshall of Marshall Amplification thinks a pre-JCM800 2203 more likely. On Use Your Illusion (1991) he played #34, a JCM800 2203 also modded by Levi, which he bought and kept using. Marshall built his 2555SL signature head in 1996 and the AFD100, with modes based on #34 and the Appetite amp, in 2010. Since 2023 he has played Magnatone amps, on the Guns N' Roses tour as well. The table below goes record by record, with the sources for each.
Tonelify's library has 5 songs with Slash on guitar, each with a reference starting point on a generic five-knob amp. They run from Gain 6 on Welcome To The Jungle to Gain 6.5 on November Rain, so set the amp for the song, not for the player.
Sources: Guitar Player: how Slash recorded Use Your Illusion; Guitar.com: five myths about Slash's gear; Guitar.com: the gear Slash used on Appetite for Destruction; Guitar World: Slash, Appetite for Reconstruction; MusicRadar: the story of Slash's signature Marshall amps; Guitar World: Slash on switching to Magnatone
Slash's rig by album
| Record | Guitar | Amp | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appetite for Destruction1987 | GuitarA Les Paul replica hand-built by Kris Derrig, with Seymour Duncan Alnico II pickups | AmpA Marshall rented from S.I.R. and modded by Frank Levi: #36, a 1959 Super Lead, by Guitar.com's account, a pre-JCM800 2203 by Marshall's; into a 4x12 with Celestion Vintage 30s | EffectsRoland SRV-2000 as a delay on the Welcome to the Jungle intro, MXR Analog Chorus, Dunlop Cry Baby |
| Use Your Illusion I and II1991 | GuitarThe Derrig Les Paul on most of the heavier songs; about 20 guitars in all, a 1958 Flying V and a 1958 Explorer among them | AmpMarshall #34, a JCM800 2203 modded by Frank Levi; a Mesa/Boogie Mark III combo in the control room for feedback | EffectsNo wah on Knockin' on Heaven's Door or Locomotive: the nasal sound is the Flying V's tone control |
| Signature Marshalls1996 to 2010 | GuitarLes Pauls; in 1991 he said Gibson had given him only three Goldtops he could use live | AmpMarshall 2555 Silver Jubilee heads on the tours after Appetite; his 2555SL signature head from 1996 and the AFD100 from 2010 | EffectsA talk box, by his tech Ace Bergman's account |
| Orgy of the Damned and Magnatone2023 on | GuitarNot documented in the sources read for this page, beyond a Strat or two on Orgy of the Damned | AmpMagnatone; now his own 100-watt SL-100, with Guns N' Roses too | EffectsNone documented |
From interviews with Slash, producers and guitar techs, and from gear histories. Where they disagree, the table gives both accounts. Each row's sources are in its section below.
1987
What amp did Slash use on Appetite for Destruction?
By the time Guns N' Roses recorded Appetite for Destruction, Slash had pawned many of his guitars, and Guitar.com says the ones he had left all sounded terrible. "When our former manager showed up with this one, it became my main studio guitar," he told Guitar Player of a hand-made replica of a 1959 Les Paul with Seymour Duncan Alnico II pickups: "For almost everything on Appetite and then for most of the heavier songs on Use Your Illusion." Kris Derrig built it, and died of throat cancer a few months before the album came out in 1987.
The amp came from S.I.R. (Studio Instrument Rentals) in Los Angeles. Slash asked for Stock #39, a Marshall 1959T Super Lead Tremolo he had found there in spring 1986, but S.I.R. supervisor Glenn Buckley says they sent #36, a Model 1959 Super Lead that Frank Levi had modded with an extra gain stage, without telling him. He ducked their calls and told them it had been stolen, until they came to the band's rehearsal space and took it back.
Slash has called it a JCM800; Paul Marshall of Marshall Amplification thinks a pre-JCM800 2203 more likely, hot-rodded by the mod. Producer Mike Clink used a Roland SRV-2000 Digital Reverb as a delay on the Welcome to the Jungle intro, and Guitar World says the SRV plays a crucial role throughout the album.
- Guitar
- A Les Paul replica hand-built by Kris Derrig, with Seymour Duncan Alnico II pickups
- Amp
- A Marshall rented from S.I.R. and modded by Frank Levi: #36, a 1959 Super Lead, by Guitar.com's account, a pre-JCM800 2203 by Marshall's; into a 4x12 with Celestion Vintage 30s
- Effects
- Roland SRV-2000 as a delay on the Welcome to the Jungle intro, MXR Analog Chorus, Dunlop Cry Baby
Appetite songs in the library
- Welcome To The Jungle · distorted riffStart at Gain 6, Bass 5, Middle 6, Treble 6, Presence 6, Reverb 2, with the bridge pickup.
- Nightrain · distorted riffStart at Gain 6, Bass 5, Middle 6, Treble 6, Presence 6, Reverb 2, with the bridge pickup.
- Paradise City · distorted riffStart at Gain 6, Bass 5, Middle 6, Treble 6, Presence 6, Reverb 2, with the bridge pickup.
- Sweet Child O' Mine · distorted riffStart at Gain 6, Bass 5, Middle 6, Treble 6, Presence 6, Reverb 2, with the bridge pickup.
Gear pages for this rig or its current versions: Gibson Les Paul Standard, Epiphone Les Paul Standard, Marshall JCM800 2203, Dunlop Cry Baby GCB95.
Sources: Guitar.com: five myths about Slash's gear; Guitar Player: how Slash recorded Use Your Illusion; Guitar.com: the gear Slash used on Appetite for Destruction; Guitar World: Slash, Appetite for Reconstruction; Guitar World: the secrets behind Slash's tone on Welcome to the Jungle
1991
What amp did Slash use on Use Your Illusion?
Slash played "maybe 20 different guitars" on the Use Your Illusion albums, released on September 17, 1991, he told Guitar Player: a Strat, a Dobro, a six-string bass, a banjo, acoustics, a 1958 Flying V and a 1958 Explorer, and a Travis Bean for the slide on Bad Obsession. The Derrig Les Paul stayed his main guitar for most of the heavier songs. The nasal lead sound on Knockin' on Heaven's Door and Locomotive is "just the tone control on the V, no wah pedal."
His amp was #34, another Marshall modded by Frank Levi, which Slash bought and used for Use Your Illusion and many subsequent albums, Guitar.com says. He recorded his overdubs standing in front of the control room monitors, "just blasting as loud as possible". To get his stage feedback there, his techs split the signal: one side ran through a volume pedal into a Mesa/Boogie Mark III combo in front of him, the other to a miked Marshall half stack in the studio, heard back through the monitors.
- Guitar
- The Derrig Les Paul on most of the heavier songs; about 20 guitars in all, a 1958 Flying V and a 1958 Explorer among them
- Amp
- Marshall #34, a JCM800 2203 modded by Frank Levi; a Mesa/Boogie Mark III combo in the control room for feedback
- Effects
- No wah on Knockin' on Heaven's Door or Locomotive: the nasal sound is the Flying V's tone control
Use Your Illusion songs in the library
- November Rain · distorted soloStart at Gain 6.5, Bass 5, Middle 7, Treble 6, Presence 6, Reverb 2, with the neck pickup for body, bridge if the lead needs to cut.
Gear pages for this rig or its current versions: Marshall JCM800 2203, Gibson Les Paul Standard.
Sources: Guitar Player: how Slash recorded Use Your Illusion; Guitar.com: five myths about Slash's gear
1996 to 2010
What are Slash's signature Marshall amps?
Slash played Marshall 2555 Silver Jubilee heads on the tours after Appetite; the Jubilee came out in 1987, so it cannot have been on the album, Guitar.com points out. A year before the 2555SL's launch he was fast running out of Jubilee heads, and Jim Marshall suggested a limited run of 3000. Unveiled in January 1996, it was the first Marshall with a signature on the front other than Jim Marshall's.
The AFD100, announced in early 2010 and limited to 2300, has two modes: #34, based on his favorite JCM800 2203, and AFD, which adds gain modeled on the #36 amp rented from S.I.R. It is not an exact replica, because nobody knows where #36 is; Slash and Santiago Alvarez built its tone by listening to his tracks from the original master tapes. His tech Ace Bergman says the AFD100's power attenuator was only ever used with the talk box, "so it doesn't rattle your teeth so bad."
- Guitar
- Les Pauls; in 1991 he said Gibson had given him only three Goldtops he could use live
- Amp
- Marshall 2555 Silver Jubilee heads on the tours after Appetite; his 2555SL signature head from 1996 and the AFD100 from 2010
- Effects
- A talk box, by his tech Ace Bergman's account
Gear pages for this rig or its current versions: Marshall JCM800 2203.
Sources: Guitar.com: five myths about Slash's gear; MusicRadar: the story of Slash's signature Marshall amps; Guitar Player: how Slash recorded Use Your Illusion
2023 on
What amp does Slash use now?
Slash switched to Magnatone in 2023, Guitar World says, while making his blues record Orgy of the Damned. In the studio he had "a couple of Fender Twins, a couple of Fender Deluxes, a Vox half-stack, and a vintage Vox combo." "I went through different amps, and when I got to the Magnatone, which had been given to me but I'd never used before, I ended up using it for every song."
It gave him "a kind of clarity", he says, and he admits he was "starting to get tired" of "the very predictable Marshall sound, which I'm sort of known for." The record was also a chance to play a Strat or two.
"Unbeknownst to anyone else, I actually replaced my Marshalls on the next Guns N' Roses tour with the Magnatones, and that became my thing," he says. "I got together with Magnatone a little later, and we designed the 100-watt [SL-100] model, which is what I'm using now."
- Guitar
- Not documented in the sources read for this page, beyond a Strat or two on Orgy of the Damned
- Amp
- Magnatone; now his own 100-watt SL-100, with Guns N' Roses too
- Effects
- None documented
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.
What amp settings did Slash use?
The one set of numbers a named source has printed is below, with who printed it and how far it reaches. It is kept apart from the starting points above.
What amp settings did Slash use on Welcome to the Jungle?
Presence 8, bass 5, middle 8.5 and treble 7, with volume 1 on 10, on a 1977 100-watt Marshall Super Lead 1959 carrying the Superkill modification by Frank Levi and Glenn Buckley, the guitar in the top input of channel 1, into a Marshall 1960 4x12 with Celestion Vintage 30s. For the intro, a Roland SRV-2000 reverb in its hidden delay mode, with a 318ms delay, feedback on 30 and the output on 50. That is the settings box in Chris Gill's 2020 Guitar World feature on the song, which does not say where the numbers come from, so read them as the magazine's reconstruction rather than a note from the session. The same box has the bridge pickup of his Kris Derrig Les Paul replica.
Source: Guitar World: the secrets behind Slash's tone on Welcome to the Jungle · Welcome To The Jungle page →
How do you get Slash's tone on your amp?
1.Keep the mids up
"Slash's tone is predominantly mids," Guitar World says of Welcome to the Jungle, at a time when metal guitar tones were all about scooping the midrange out. Set the middle at least as high as the bass and the treble.
Sources: Guitar World: the secrets behind Slash's tone on Welcome to the Jungle
2.Clean up with the volume knob
For the clean middle section of Welcome to the Jungle Slash simply rolled down the guitar's volume control, Guitar World says, which works best with low or medium-output pickups and an amp without a master volume. Set the amp for the lead sound and turn the guitar down for the cleaner parts.
Sources: Guitar World: the secrets behind Slash's tone on Welcome to the Jungle
3.Keep the riffs dry
For most of Welcome to the Jungle Slash's tone is bone dry: Mike Clink used the Roland SRV-2000 on the intro and a few stab and slide effects, and Guitar World says the SRV plays a crucial role throughout Appetite, the Sweet Child O' Mine intro included. Put the delay on the intros and leave the riffs dry.
Sources: Guitar World: the secrets behind Slash's tone on Welcome to the Jungle
4.Try the tone knob before a wah
The nasal lead sound on Knockin' on Heaven's Door and Locomotive is "just the tone control on the V, no wah pedal," Slash says. Roll the guitar's tone back on a lead before you reach for a wah.
Sources: Guitar Player: how Slash recorded Use Your Illusion
5.Tune down for Sweet Child O' Mine
On the original recording Slash tuned down a semitone, to E flat standard (Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb). Tune down to play along with the record.
Tonelify rewrites any of these songs for the amp and guitar you own. Match a Slash song on your gear →
Slash gear questions
What amp did Slash use on Appetite for Destruction?
A Marshall rented from S.I.R. and modded by Frank Levi, which Slash told S.I.R. had been stolen so he could keep it, and a Les Paul replica hand-built by Kris Derrig. Which Marshall it was, a 1959 Super Lead or a pre-JCM800 2203, is disputed.
What amp did Slash use on Use Your Illusion?
Marshall #34, a JCM800 2203 modded by Frank Levi that Slash bought and used on many later albums, with the Derrig Les Paul on most of the heavier songs and about 20 other guitars.
What are Slash's signature Marshall amps?
The 2555SL, unveiled in January 1996 as the first Marshall with a signature on the front other than Jim Marshall's and based on the Silver Jubilee he had toured with, and the AFD100 of 2010, with one mode based on #34 and one on the Appetite amp.
What amp does Slash use now?
Magnatone amps since 2023: a Magnatone ended up on every song of his blues record Orgy of the Damned, he then replaced his Marshalls with Magnatones on the next Guns N' Roses tour, and he now plays his own 100-watt SL-100.
What guitar does Slash play?
Mostly Les Pauls. His main studio guitar on Appetite for Destruction, and on most of the heavier songs of Use Your Illusion, was a hand-made replica of a 1959 Les Paul by Kris Derrig with Seymour Duncan Alnico II pickups. He played about 20 guitars on Use Your Illusion, and a Strat or two on Orgy of the Damned.
What is Slash's Marshall #34?
A Marshall JCM800 2203 modded by Frank Levi, which Slash bought and used on Use Your Illusion and many albums after it. It is one of the two modes of his AFD100 signature head; the other, AFD, adds gain modeled on the #36 amp he rented from S.I.R. for Appetite for Destruction.
What are good amp settings for a Slash tone?
On a generic five-knob amp, November Rain starts at Gain 6.5, Bass 5, Middle 7, Treble 6, Presence 6, Reverb 2; Welcome To The Jungle starts at Gain 6, Bass 5, Middle 6, Treble 6, Presence 6, Reverb 2. These are starting points for the kind of part, not Slash's own settings. The one set of numbers a named source has printed is for Welcome To The Jungle, on the song's page.