I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It album cover - The 1975
Guitar tone settings

How to Dial In "She's American" by The 1975 - Guitar Tone Settings

The rig

Gear for "She's American"

Suggested rig · the original isn't documented.

The settings

Knob Positions, Pickup, and Tuning

Amp settings

Where to set the knobs for this tone. Each value is on the standard 0–10 amp scale.

Gain3
Bass5
Mid5.5
Treble7
Presence6
Volume6.5

On your amp, these numbers won't sound the same.

Get the settings for my amp
Guitar setup

How the artist had their guitar configured for this take.

TuningE♭ Standard(E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭)
Pickup selector
NeckNk+MdMiddleBr+MdBridge
Guitar knobs
Tone8
Volume9
Recording notes

From I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It (2016). I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It (stylised in sentence case) is the second studio album by English band the 1975, released on 26 February 2016 through Dirty Hit and Polydor. No source we found ties a guitar or amp to this recording, so a Fender American Professional II Stratocaster through a Vox AC30 C2, the rig we use for The 1975's other songs from I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It, stands in. Keep the amp clean, just at the edge of breakup, and use the neck and middle pickups together. Published transcriptions put it in E♭ standard (E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭), a half step below standard.

FAQ

Common Questions About the "She's American" Tone

  1. What guitar did The 1975 use on "She's American"?

    The guitar on "She's American" (released 2016) isn't documented; the Fender American Professional II Stratocaster above gets the sound. Pickup selector: neck + middle (position 2) on the guitar. The track is in E♭ Standard (E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭), so retune before you dial anything in.

  2. What amp settings does "She's American" need?

    Settings for this sound: Gain 3, Bass 5, Mid 5.5, Treble 7, Presence 6, Volume 6.5. 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.

  3. Can I play "She's American" without the original gear?

    Yes. ToneMirror takes the settings above and adapts it to your guitar, amp, and pedals - so you can chase the "She's American" 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.

Related tones

Tone references for "She's American" by The 1975 are provided for educational use. ToneMirror is not affiliated with the artists or labels referenced.

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