How to Dial In "Fire and Water" by Free - Guitar Tone Settings
The Gear Behind "Fire and Water"
Original Knob Positions, Pickup, and Tuning
Where to set the knobs for this tone. Each value is on the standard 0–10 amp scale.
These numbers are for a Super Lead. On your amp, they won't sound the same.
Get the settings for my ampHow the artist had their guitar configured for this take.
Standard tuning. Recorded January to June 1970 at Trident and Island in London. Kossoff played a late-'50s Les Paul Standard — accounts differ over whether the album take used his stripped one or the darkburst he swapped with Eric Clapton on the 1969 Blind Faith tour — straight into Marshalls with no pedals at all. What makes this hard to copy is not the tone but the restraint: Free built their sound out of the gaps, and the guitar is silent for most of each bar. Set the gain low enough that a lightly struck chord stays clean and only digs in when you hit it, because the whole arrangement depends on that swing between nothing and everything. Kossoff's vibrato is fast and narrow, driven from the wrist rather than the fingers, and it is the main thing that identifies him.
Common Questions About the "Fire and Water" Tone
What guitar did Free use on "Fire and Water"?
Free tracked "Fire and Water" on a Les Paul (released 1970). The Gibson 1959 Les Paul Standard Reissue (Custom Shop) named above is a modern equivalent, not the guitar on the record. Pickup selector: bridge pickup on the guitar. Tuned to standard (E A D G B E).
What amp settings does "Fire and Water" need?
On a Super Lead: Gain 5.5, Bass 5, Mid 7, Treble 6.5, Presence 6, Volume 7. Each value is on the standard 0–10 amp scale; match them on your amp first, then nudge to taste. ToneMirror can translate these positions for whatever amp you actually own.
Can I play "Fire and Water" without a Super Lead?
Yes. ToneMirror takes the original recipe above and adapts it to your guitar, amp, and pedals - so you can chase the "Fire and Water" tone on a Katana, a Helix, a tube combo, or anything else. The translation accounts for EQ curve, gain structure, and pickup type so the result actually sounds like the record, not just the same knob numbers on different gear.
More Tones You Can Dial In
Tone references for "Fire and Water" by Free are provided for educational use. ToneMirror is not affiliated with the artists or labels referenced.