Blues Rock1973Tres Hombres
La Grange Amp Settings
by ZZ Top
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Original Recording Settings
Well-SourcedResearched tone data for "La Grange" by ZZ Top
Original Gear
- Guitar
- 1955 Fender Stratocaster (intro) and 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard “Pearly Gates” (main riff)
- Pickups
- Fender single-coils; Gibson PAF humbuckers (Strat neck/middle for intro; Les Paul bridge humbucker for main riff)
- Amplifier
- 1968 Marshall Super Lead 100W (often approximated with JTM45/JMP Plexi-type heads)
- Channel
- High Treble input, cranked
- Tuning
- E standard
- Pickup Selector
- bridge (Les Paul) for main riff
- Strings
- Not documented
Guitar Player interview confirms a 100W 1968 Marshall Super Lead for the overdriven riff; Guitarchalk uses a JTM45 as a close stand‑in with suggested settings.[web:27][web:18]
Amp Settings
Gain
7.0
Bass
5.0
Mid
4.0
Treble
6.0
Presence
6.0
Volume
7.0
Numerical values from Guitarchalk’s La Grange page (Bass 5, Mid 4, Treble 6, Presence 6, Volume I 7, Volume II 3) normalized to a 0–10 scale. Original Super Lead has no master volume.[web:18]
Effects Chain
No effects - straight into the amp
Playing Technique
Loose Texas shuffle feel with strong swing, touch-sensitive right hand, and light palm muting; volume rolled back for cleaner parts, up full for thick crunch.
Sources+
- How Billy Gibbons Wrote “La Grange” — https://www.guitarplayer.com/players/how-billy-gibbons-wrote-zz-tops-la-grange — Details use of 1955 Strat for intro, Pearly Gates Les Paul into 100W 1968 Marshall Super Lead for the riff.[web:27]
- La Grange Settings Resource — https://www.guitarchalk.com/amp-settings-la-grange-zz-top/ — Provides JTM45-based cover settings used here as numeric approximations.[web:18]
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