Japanese Guitar Tone - Amp Settings, Gear, and Songs
1 iconic Japanese tones with the exact settings behind them - gain, EQ, pickup, tuning, and pedal chain per song, plus the median amp settings across the whole style. Built to be dialled in on whatever gear you own.
Translate any Japanese tone to the rig you already own
Median knob positions across the 1 catalog tones in this genre, on the amps they were recorded with. A starting point for the sound - then pick a song below for the exact recipe.
- Gain
- 8.5
- Bass
- 7
- Mid
- 5
- Treble
- 5.5
- Presence
- 5
- Volume
- 8
Gear That Defines the Japanese Sound
Artists With the Most Japanese Tones
Japanese Tones You Can Dial In
Common Questions About Japanese Tone
What amp settings do I need for Japanese?
Across the 1 Japanese tones in our catalog the median is gain 8.5 (range 8.5–8.5), with bass 7, mid 5, treble 5.5 - on a 0–10 scale. That's the window, not a recipe: pick any song below for the exact knob positions it was recorded with, then let ToneMirror re-voice them for your amp.
What gear gives you the Japanese sound?
In our catalog the Japanese tones lean most on the Orange OR120 (Vintage), the Gibson Les Paul Custom, the Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi (NYC). You don't need any of it - the match engine translates each recipe onto the gear you already own, compensating for a different EQ curve, gain structure, and pickup type.
Which artists best represent Japanese?
Boris have the most Japanese tones catalogued here. Each artist page breaks down their full rig and how their tone changed across records.
Can I get these tones without buying vintage gear?
Yes - that's the point of ToneMirror. Every setting on this page was dialled in on the original artist's rig, and the match engine re-voices it for whatever guitar, amp, and pedals you actually have, including modellers like the Helix, Katana, and Kemper.