If you are a bass player or a follower of good music, you are likely to know who Duff McKagan is. He is a famous bass player who has played for several bands most notably Guns n’ Roses. Duff has also played bass for Jane’s Addiction and Velvet Revolver.
To become a top bass player, you don’t depend on your skills alone. Your bass amp settings also matter and they influence the quality of sound you produce. Duff has definitely stood out in this regard which is why we present to you Duff McKagan Bass Amp Settings.
Duff’s Equipment
Before we talk about his bass amp settings, it is best we tell you about his equipment. The main bass Duff uses is the very affordable mid-80s “Fender Jazz Special.” He uses this along with Roto sound strings and Seymour Duncan pickups.
According to him, he preferred playing the Music Man bass before his band started recording. This gave him more growl on stage. But for recording, the Fender Jazz Special did the magic.
Duff has been a devotee and fan of Gallien-Krueger amps. His current tone is the classic G-K but he has added some bite and rasp to it. Other pieces of equipment he uses include:
- 2001RB head
- G-K RBH 4 x 10s (2)
- 800RB head and G-K wx15 to achieve distortion
- Marshall JMP guitar head to achieve extra bite
- THD Hot-Plate power soak
- Marshall 1 x 12 guitar cabinet
He also uses Dunlop Tortex straps, strap locks, and picks. Sometimes, Duff makes use of an MXR-80 distortion box. According to him, the pedals are great and they create an amazing effect each time.
Duff McKagan’s Bass Amp Settings
Duff uses both a pick and his fingers to play. He makes use of several effects one of which is the Chorus Effect. To achieve this, he made use of the Ibanez CS-9 pedal before switching to the 1U rackmount Yamaha SPX-90. He makes use of the MXR Bass Chorus Deluxe to get a bass-specific chorus effect.
Immediately you use this, you’ll begin to achieve the famous “Duff Tone” bass chorus effect. So how do you adjust your MXR chorus effect to achieve the Duff Tone? It is pretty simple. Use the following:
- Slower rate
- Medium-to-wide width
- Medium intensity
Just so you know, there are no specific settings to achieve this effect. The idea is to adjust the pedal to suit the sound of your amp and bass. As you know, bass guitars don’t sound alike, some are more trebly. This means that the effect settings differ for different guitars.
Many players ask if they can achieve the same effects with the older Yamaha or Ibanez chorus units. Yes, you can. However, to get the best results, you should stick to the MXR. It produces a neater, clearer sound. By the way, the MXR comes with a switchable flanger making it more than a chorus unit.
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