Nail the ToneGuns N' Roses

Knockin' on Heaven's Door

Guns N' Roses · Days of Thunder soundtrack (1990); reissued on Use Your Illusion II (1991) · 1990

The rhythm bed is two electrics: a clean, chorus-tinged arpeggiated part through the verses and a fatter, lightly overdriven strum that opens up in the choruses, all in Eb standard. Slash's documented studio rig of the period is his Kris Derrig '59 Les Paul replica with Alnico II Pro pickups into the modded Marshall JCM 800 2203 known as "#34," while credited rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin favored a P-90 doublecut Les Paul Special or a Telecaster into a small tube combo. Keep the gain low, roll to the neck pickup for the verses and jump to the bridge for the choruses — the dynamic swing does more than any knob here.

Where these numbers come from: worked out from the documented rig and the sound of the record

Tuning

Eb standard (down a half step)

With the guitar down a half step you play the familiar G–D–Am7–C shapes and land in the record's key of F#; the verses are arpeggiated rather than strummed, and a second rhythm guitar doubles the chorus.

Part: Rhythm

Guitar

  • Gibson Les Paul Standard '59 replica (Kris Derrig) · Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro · neck pickup for clean verses, bridge for chorus crunch
  • Gibson Les Paul Special (early-'60s doublecut) · P-90 soapbars · bridge pickup
  • Fender Telecaster · single-coils · bridge pickup

Amp

Marshall JCM 800 2203 ("#34", Frank Levi/S.I.R. mod)

GAIN
3.0
BASS
7.0
MID
4.0
TREBLE
6.0
PRESENCE
3.0

Slash's tech Adam Day has reported this amp's Use Your Illusion settings as roughly Presence 0, Bass 8, Middle 3, Treble 0, Master 8, Preamp 1.5 — power-amp-driven at studio volume through 25W Greenback 4x12s; the values above are a playable translation for the song's light crunch. Another common account credits a Marshall 2555 Silver Jubilee, which was his live head of that era.

Amp

Carvin XV-112EV tube combo

GAIN
3.0
BASS
5.0
MID
6.0
TREBLE
6.0
REVERB
3.0

Reported by fan-compiled Izzy Stradlin gear histories as his studio amp in the Use Your Illusion period; use it for the clean, slightly compressed verse chords sitting under Slash's lines.

Pedals

  • Chorus (model unconfirmed) · chorus · Slow rate, low depth — just enough shimmer on the clean verse chords; off for the chorus sections
  • Boss GE-7 Equalizer · graphic EQ · Slight mid push as a boost; documented in Slash's rig generally, not confirmed on this track

Tone character

chimey clean verses · light Marshall crunch · forward mids · slow chorus shimmer · fat half-step-down low end

easy

Four open chords in a fixed rotation, but the verses are arpeggiated one string at a time and have to stay quiet and even while the choruses are strummed hard, and the whole thing has to be retuned a half step down to sit with the record.

Want this on your own amp?

These are the record's settings. Tell us what you play through and we'll translate every knob to the amp you actually own — free.

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Sources