Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple — Amp Settings & Guitar Tone
Reference tone dialed on a Squier Classic Vibe Stratocaster into a Fender Mustang LT25. Settings below are cited from real sources; open the page in a browser for the interactive version, or get this tone dialed for your exact gear.
To recreate the iconic tone of 'Smoke on the Water,' we'll use the Squier Classic Vibe Stratocaster '60s for its single-coil brightness and the Fender Mustang LT25 to emulate the Marshall Plexi character. The 'CLASSIC ROCK' preset on the Mustang LT25 provides a solid foundation for the crunchy, mid-forward tone typical of early '70s hard rock.
Signal chain settings
Squier Classic Vibe Stratocaster '60s — Main rhythm tone
| Control | Setting | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Pickup Selector | Neck Pickup | Select the neck pickup for a fuller, more rounded tone that matches the recording's main riff. |
| Master Volume | 8 | Set to 8 to maintain clarity and dynamics while driving the amp into crunch. |
| Tone 1 | 7 | Roll back slightly to tame any harshness from the single-coils. |
| Tone 2 | 10 | Tone wide open — roll it down to soften the high end. |
Fender Mustang LT25 — Main rhythm tone
| Control | Setting | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Preset | [04] CLASSIC ROCK | This preset closely matches the Marshall Plexi character needed for the song's crunchy tone. |
| Gain | 6 | Increase from the preset to achieve the saturated tube crunch typical of the recording. |
| Volume | 5 | Set to balance with the band mix, maintaining clarity without overpowering. |
| Treble | 7 | Boost to enhance the bright top end and articulate picking response. |
| Bass | 5 | Keep neutral to avoid muddying the mid-forward character. |
| Master | 6 | Output level — set to the volume you're playing at; this sets loudness, not tone. |
| Cabinet build | Not used | Not needed for this tone — leave it off. |
| Amp Models | Not used | Not needed for this tone — leave it off. |
| Effects | Not used | Not needed for this tone — leave it off. |
What Deep Purple actually used
Recorded in December 1971 at the Pavilion theater and the Grand Hotel in Montreux, Switzerland, using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. The song's iconic riff was played on a 1968 Fender Stratocaster through a Marshall Major 200 amplifier, with a Hornby Skewes Treble Booster to enhance the signal. Echo effects were added using a Revox tape recorder.
- 1968 Fender Stratocaster — main. plucked double-stop fourths, neck pickup
- Hornby Skewes Treble Booster — signal boost
- Marshall Major 200 — main
- Revox Tape Recorder — echo
Tuning: Standard
Sources
- https://www.fender.com/en-US/squier-electric-guitars/stratocaster/classic-vibe-stratocaster-60s/0303010500.html
- https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1547905/Fender-Mustang-Lt25.html
- https://www.fender.com/en-US/guitar-amplifiers/contemporary-digital/mustang-lt25/2311100000.html
- https://www.manualslib.com/manual/3126493/Fender-Mustang-Lt25.html
- https://www.guitarplayer.com/players/classic-tones-smoke-on-the-water-deep-purple
- https://www.fender.com/articles/artists/one-track-mind-theres-no-smoke-on-the-water-without-fire
- https://www.deep-purple.net/features/smoke/smoke-on-the-water.html