Tosin Abasi — £500 · Sweet Spot Tone

• On the Boss Katana 50 MkII: use the Brown channel — the closest model to a Marshall-voiced preamp at this price. Set character to 8, gain to 5. For Tosin Abasi's lead volume jump, use the Boost mode rather than adding a separate boost pedal.
• String gauge matters more than any pedal — use .010–.074 or heavier on 8-string for tight low end
• Palm muting must be precise: too much muting kills the percussive chug, too little creates mud
• Standard 8-string tuning: F#-B-E-A-D-G-B-E for Animals as Leaders material
• High-pass filter everything below 80Hz — essential for low-string clarity at the mix level
• Amp gain at 6–7 out of 10 — tight and controlled, not fully saturated
• High-output Ibanez humbuckers into a Peavey 6505 high-gain channel: the output level of the pickup directly affects how the amp's gain structure reacts. A pickup with DC resistance above 15kΩ can push the amp into uncomfortably saturated territory — try the neck pickup before the bridge for comparison
• The output level of the modeller matters more than any internal setting — set it to unity with the board around it, not at maximum. Consistent levels between patches prevents the perception that some tones are "better" when they're simply louder

• ✗Running the Peavey 6505's gain channel at maximum — above 8 on most high-gain channels, palm mutes lose note separation and become an indistinct wall. The target is the minimum gain for the target saturation, not maximum
• ✗Using the cab simulation on when running into a real guitar cabinet — cab simulation is for FRFR speakers or direct recording. Running a simulated cab into a real guitar cab double-simulates the cabinet sound, which sounds wrong
• ✗Forgetting to adjust technique for the different neck profile — thinner, faster necks require less grip pressure. Playing with the same pressure as on a thicker neck causes note choke.
• ✗Not using a noise gate — self-noise at metal gain levels is continuous between notes. A gate is not stylistic; it is required for professional-sounding silence between riffs.
• ✗Maximum gain on the amp channel — this is the most common mistake in high-gain playing. The clarity and note separation that makes fast playing readable degrades at maximum gain.

If you like Tosin Abasi's tone, these players use a similar approach — same gear philosophy, comparable sound characteristics.