Gary Moore Amp Settings
Gary Moore's tone is among the most emotionally charged in rock and blues — his vibrato, sustain, and expressive phrasing are inseparable from his equipment choices. Understanding his amp setup reveals why that singing quality was achieved.
The Guitar: 1959 Gibson Les Paul with Peter Green's PAFs
Before discussing amps, the guitar is critical context. Gary Moore played a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard — originally owned by Peter Green (Fleetwood Mac). This guitar has two original PAF humbuckers, but uniquely: the neck pickup's magnet is reversed. This produces partial phase cancellation when both pickups are selected — a subtle but tonally significant characteristic that contributed to Peter Green's and then Gary Moore's "woman tone" and midrange richness.
Moore bought the guitar from Peter Green in 1974. It is central to his tone in every era.
Era 1: Thin Lizzy / Hard Rock (1974–1982)
Amps: Marshall Super Lead 100W (Plexi and JMP variants)
Cabinet: Marshall 4×12
During the Thin Lizzy and early solo years, Moore used Marshall Super Lead heads — the standard high-volume British rock setup.
Settings:
| Control | Setting |
|---|---|
| Bright Vol | 8 |
| Normal Vol | 6 |
| Treble | 8 |
| Bass | 5 |
| Presence | 7 |
Both channels jumped (patch cable between inputs) for combined channel character.
Era 2: Still Got the Blues (1990) — The Definitive Tone
Album: Still Got the Blues (1990)
Amps: Marshall JCM800 2203 + Soldano SLO-100
Guitar: 1959 Les Paul (Peter Green's)
The Still Got the Blues tone is Moore's most iconic and most studied. He used two amps: the JCM800 for its Marshall character and the Soldano SLO-100 for its compressed, smooth high-gain channel.
Marshall JCM800 2203 Settings:
| Control | Setting |
|---|---|
| Preamp Volume | 8 |
| Treble | 8 |
| Middle | 6 |
| Bass | 5 |
| Presence | 7 |
Soldano SLO-100 Settings:
| Control | Setting |
|---|---|
| Gain (Lead) | 6 |
| Treble | 7 |
| Middle | 5 |
| Bass | 5 |
| Presence | 6 |
| Master | 6 |
The combination: The JCM800 provides the articulate attack and Marshall character; the Soldano SLO-100 adds smooth, singing sustain to the top end. Blended, they produce the warmth and expressiveness that defined "Parisienne Walkways" and "Still Got the Blues."
Key Pedals in the Still Got the Blues Rig
Ibanez Tube Screamer (TS808 or TS9): Moore used a Tube Screamer before the Marshall to push the input stage further into saturation. This added mid-forward compression and smoothed the attack.
Tube Screamer Settings:
- Drive: 6–7
- Tone: 12 o'clock
- Level: Unity or slightly above
Boss CE-2 Chorus: Used on specific clean/ballad sections for subtle shimmer. Rate: 9 o'clock, Depth: 9 o'clock.
Era 3: Blues Albums (1990s)
Albums: After Hours (1992), Blues for Greeny (1995)
Amps: Soldano SLO-100, Fender Dual Showman
Character: Cleaner, more dynamic, blues-focused
For the later pure blues recordings, Moore simplified the rig — more Soldano and less Marshall, producing a warmer, more responsive tone.
Soldano SLO-100 (Clean Channel) Settings:
| Control | Setting |
|---|---|
| Gain | 3 |
| Treble | 6 |
| Middle | 6 |
| Bass | 5 |
| Presence | 5 |
| Master | 6 |
How to Approximate Gary Moore's Tone
Budget approach:
- Les Paul (or any warm humbucker guitar)
- Ibanez Tube Screamer — Drive 6, Tone 12 o'clock, Level unity
- Marshall DSL40CR — Lead Channel: Gain 6, Treble 7, Middle 6, Bass 5, Presence 6
- Practice the vibrato — Moore's wide, deep vibrato is inseparable from his tone
The vibrato matters as much as the equipment. Moore's distinctive expressive quality comes from a slow, wide vibrato applied with intentional timing — technique first.
Why the Guitar Matters as Much as the Amps
Peter Green's reversed neck pickup magnet is a genuinely unusual detail — when both pickups are selected together, the out-of-phase wiring produces partial cancellation that thins out certain frequencies while emphasizing others, creating the nasal, vocal "woman tone" quality that both Green and later Moore became known for. This isn't something a JCM800 or Soldano SLO-100 setting can reproduce on its own — it's a property of the specific guitar's wiring, present regardless of which amp it's plugged into.
This is worth understanding because it explains why Moore's tone retained a consistent emotional signature across dramatically different amp setups — from the raw Marshall Super Lead era with Thin Lizzy to the more refined JCM800/Soldano blend on Still Got the Blues to the cleaner Soldano-and-Fender blues albums. The guitar's specific character carried through every amp change; the amps shaped the surrounding gain and warmth, but the core vocal quality came from the Les Paul itself.
Common Mistakes
Assuming the JCM800 alone produces the Still Got the Blues tone. As the guide explains, this is specifically a two-amp blend — the JCM800 provides Marshall bite and attack while the Soldano SLO-100 adds smooth sustain. Using only one of the two amps gets you part of the picture, not the full sound.
Skipping the Tube Screamer boost before the Marshall. As the pedals section notes, Moore pushed the JCM800's input stage further into saturation with a Tube Screamer at Drive 6-7 — without this boost, the amp alone produces a noticeably less compressed, less smooth attack character.
Underestimating how much of the tone comes from vibrato technique, not gear. As the "how to approximate" section states directly, Moore's wide, slow, deliberately-timed vibrato is inseparable from his sound — accurate gear settings without developing this specific technique will sound noticeably less like him.
Trying to source an exact reversed-pickup Les Paul before addressing amp and technique. The Peter Green pickup phase quirk is a genuinely rare, specific detail that's difficult and expensive to replicate exactly — for most players, a quality Les Paul (or Les Paul-style guitar) with the amp settings and vibrato technique covered here gets meaningfully closer to the sound than chasing this one specific vintage detail.
ToneStakr's Take
For players chasing this tone at a practical budget, prioritize the vibrato technique and the Tube Screamer-into-Marshall combination over hunting for exact vintage gear — a Les Paul-style guitar into a Marshall DSL40CR's lead channel (gain around 6) with a Tube Screamer boost gets genuinely close, and the specific reversed-pickup Les Paul detail matters far less than developing Moore's distinctive wide, slow vibrato.
Frequently Asked Questions
What amp did Gary Moore use on Still Got the Blues?
A Marshall JCM800 2203 and a Soldano SLO-100, used together simultaneously — his Les Paul's signal was split and run into both amps at once, blending Marshall bite with Soldano smoothness.
What guitar did Gary Moore play?
His primary guitar from 1974 onwards was a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard originally owned by Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac, featuring original PAF pickups with a reversed neck pickup magnet that produces a distinctive partial phase cancellation when both pickups are selected.
Can I get Gary Moore's tone with a Les Paul and a Marshall DSL?
Reasonably closely — set the DSL's lead channel at moderate gain (around 6), add a Tube Screamer before the amp for extra saturation and smoothness, and dedicate real practice time to developing a wide, slow vibrato. The gear gets you in the right territory; the vibrato technique closes most of the remaining gap.
Why does Gary Moore's tone sound different from a typical Marshall-driven rock tone?
The combination of the Soldano SLO-100's smooth sustain blended with the Marshall's attack, plus the reversed-pickup Les Paul's vocal midrange character and his exceptionally expressive vibrato, produces something warmer and more emotionally vocal than a standard single-amp Marshall crunch tone.
Did Gary Moore's amp setup change much across his career?
Yes, considerably — the Thin Lizzy and early solo years used a more straightforward Marshall Super Lead setup, the Still Got the Blues era introduced the JCM800/Soldano blend, and the later pure blues albums shifted toward a cleaner, more dynamic Soldano-and-Fender-based setup as his music moved further from hard rock.
Is the Tube Screamer setting the same for Gary Moore as for other blues players who use one, like Stevie Ray Vaughan?
Similar in concept but not identical in settings — Moore used higher drive (6-7) as more of a genuine gain-adding stage into the Marshall, while SRV used much lower drive (0-3) purely as a clean boost into his Fender-style amps. Both use the Tube Screamer's midrange push, but for different purposes.