Real AmpTuning: E StandardPickup: BridgeHigh GainEmo
Black Parade Sub-Octave Crush — Layered Heavy Riff
The album’s main Les Paul/JCM800 chain is combined with the two-octaves-down MIDI guitar-synth reinforcement Ray Toro said was used whenever a Black Parade riff needed extra weight. No song-specific knob sheet is available, so the amplifier, synth balance, and microphone settings are approximated from that documented studio method. Source: Seymour Duncan’s Ray Toro interview and Equipboard’s The Black Parade gear page.
Signal Chain
Gibson Les Paul Standard with Seymour Duncan Phat Cats→Marshall JCM800 2203→Marshall 4x12→Roland MIDI Guitar Synth Layer→Double-Tracked Rhythm→Output
GuitarGibson Les Paul Standard with Seymour Duncan Phat Cats
Tone
10
PickupBridge
TuningE Standard
Volume
10
AmpMarshall JCM800 2203
Bass
4
Gain
6.7
Mids
7.5
Master
7
Treble
6.5
Presence
6
Cab / IRMarshall 4x12
MicSM57-style dynamic
Mic PositionOff-axis, cap-edge transition
EffectRoland MIDI Guitar Synth Layer
Mix
2
Pitch-24 semitones
TrackingTight
EffectDouble-Tracked Rhythm
PanHard left and right
Layers2
Tightness10
Notes
Keep the real guitars brighter and louder than the octave layer. Tight doubles and controlled bass are more important than adding further saturation.
Don't have this gear?
See the same signal chain mapped to another platform. Knob values carry over as starting points — gain ranges differ between platforms.