Sweet Child O' Mine (Guns N' Roses) bass tone and bass amp settings
Sweet Child O' Mine bass tone on a Fender Rumble 40 V3: low gain (Gain 3), scooped low-mids (Low Mid -2), balanced lows (Bass 1), both pickups.
Tuning: Eb standard
Settings for your amp
Sweet Child O' Mine settings on a Fender Rumble 40 V3
Fender Rumble 40 V3 settings for every songAmpFender Rumble 40 V3
BassPassive P/J bass
The same settings in text
Amp
- Gain
- 3
- Bright
- On
- Contour
- On
- Vintage
- Off
- Overdrive
- Off
- Bass
- +1
- Low Mid
- -2
- High Mid
- -1
- Treble
- +1
- Master
- Set to your room
Passive P/J bass
- Neck Volume (P)
- 7
- Bridge Volume (J)
- 9
- Tone
- 8
Add a chorus effect to approach the track’s chorus-heavy bass sound.
Sweet Child O' Mine settings on an Ampeg Rocket Bass RB-108
Ampeg Rocket Bass RB-108 settings for every songAmpAmpeg Rocket Bass RB-108
BassPassive P/J bass
The same settings in text
Amp
- SGT
- Off
- Volume
- Set to your room
- Bass
- +1
- Midrange
- -1
- Treble
- +2
Passive P/J bass
- Neck Volume (P)
- 8
- Bridge Volume (J)
- 8
- Tone
- 8
Add a chorus pedal to reproduce the track’s prominent bass modulation.
Sweet Child O' Mine settings on any bass amp with Bass, Mid, Treble, Drive
Amp
BassPassive P/J bass
The same settings in text
Amp
- Bass
- 5
- Mid
- 3.5
- Treble
- 7.5
- Drive
- 1
Passive P/J bass
- Neck Volume (P)
- 7.5
- Bridge Volume (J)
- 9
- Tone
- 8
Add an Ibanez CS9-style chorus for the track’s chorus-heavy bass tone.
Why it sounds like that
McKagan says the Fender he bought in 1986 was the core of his Appetite for Destruction sound. He landed on it with Rotosound strings and a Gallien-Krueger rig. He did not want a fuzz-tone bass where the notes could not be heard. The pick gives the tone very high presence, the sound is described as very chorus-heavy, and McKagan says he used an Ibanez stompbox chorus throughout the album. The song is tuned down a semitone, to E flat standard. Over the intro, his four-bar upper-register solo is the part he is best known for.
- Enter the intro melody after eight bars of guitar and play it high on the D and G strings.
- After the intro, keep the verse figure going for eight bars, then ease back when the vocal enters.
What amp did Duff McKagan use on Sweet Child O' Mine?
- Intro: Guitar World reports that McKagan’s best-known bass moment is a slinky four-bar solo in the upper register over the intro. (on this song)[1]
- McKagan said the Fender bass he bought in 1986 was the core of his Appetite for Destruction sound. (on the album Appetite for Destruction)[1]
- McKagan said his sound came from a Japanese-made Fender Precision Bass Special with Seymours. (in a later era)[2]
- Accounts differ: Fender’s press says the signature bass is based on the ’80s Jazz Bass Special McKagan used while recording Appetite for Destruction, while McKagan says his sound came from a Japanese-made Fender Precision Bass Special with Seymours. (on the album Appetite for Destruction)[3][2]
- McKagan said his signature bass is basically a copy of the ’80s Jazz Bass Special he used in the GN’R years. (in a later era)[4]
- Bonedo reports that McKagan played a Fender Jazz Bass Special through a Gallien Krueger 800RB during the album period and in the years afterward. (on the album Appetite for Destruction)[5]
- Accounts differ: Bonedo’s Sweet Child article names a Gallien Krueger 800RB for the album period, while its Play-Alike article says McKagan first used a 400RB and later moved to the 800RB and 2001RB. (on the album Appetite for Destruction)[5][6]
- McKagan said he landed on his sound with that bass, Rotosound strings and a Gallien-Krueger rig. (on the album Appetite for Destruction)[1]
- Guitar World reports that Duff’s tone was scooped, with a crisp top end that stood out among the layers of screaming guitars. (on the album Appetite for Destruction)[1]
- McKagan said he did not want a big fuzz-tone bass, one where you could not hear the notes. (on the album Appetite for Destruction)[1]
- McKagan said Izzy’s guitar had a thin, sparse sound and Slash’s a big Marshall-plus-Les Paul sound, leaving a spot for him. (on the album Appetite for Destruction)[1]
- Bonedo reports that McKagan’s pick gives the sound very high presence on the track. (on this song)[5]
- Bonedo reports that the bass sound on “Sweet Child O’ Mine” is very chorus-heavy. (on this song)[5]
- McKagan said he used an Ibanez stompbox chorus throughout Appetite for Destruction, and Guitar.com names that pedal as the Ibanez CS-9 Stereo Chorus. (on the album Appetite for Destruction)[7]
- Intro: Bonedo reports that the bass enters after eight bars with a melody in the upper register, mainly on the D and G strings. (on this song)[5]
- Verse: Bonedo reports that after the intro the bass plays the verse figure for eight more bars, then eases off once the vocal enters. (on this song)[5]
- Chorus: Bonedo reports that in the chorus McKagan plays short staccato notes on beat one of the first two bars. (on this song)[5]
- Bridge: Bonedo reports that in the C-part the bass mostly plays short staccato accents, and in bar 42 it plays continuous quarter-note triplets. (on this song)[5]
- Bonedo reports that “Sweet Child O’ Mine” is played in Drop Eb, with all bass strings tuned a semitone below standard. (on this song)[5]
- Bonedo reports that bass and guitars are tuned a semitone down on all songs in its Guns N’ Roses play-alike. (on this song)[6]
- McKagan said he has always played Seymour Duncan pickups, on guitar and bass. (in a later era)[2]
- Bonedo reports that McKagan replaced the single-coil bridge pickup of his Fender bass with a Seymour Duncan Hotstack. (in a later era)[6]
Questions
What amp did Duff McKagan use on Sweet Child O' Mine?
The sources on this page document Duff McKagan's gear on Sweet Child O' Mine by Guns N' Roses: bass, Fender Jazz Bass Special [1]; amp, Gallien-Krueger [1]; effects, Ibanez CS9 stereo chorus [7]. Each value cites the numbered source it comes from, listed at the foot of the page.
What are the Sweet Child O' Mine settings on a Fender Rumble 40 V3?
For the Sweet Child O' Mine bass tone on a Fender Rumble 40 V3, set Gain 3, Bright On, Contour On, Bass +1, Low Mid -2, High Mid -1, Treble +1; on the passive P/J bass, Neck Volume (P) 7, Bridge Volume (J) 9, Tone 8. Set Master to your room. They are AI-assisted starting points; adjust them by ear on your own amp.
What are the Sweet Child O' Mine settings on an Ampeg Rocket Bass RB-108?
For the Sweet Child O' Mine bass tone on an Ampeg Rocket Bass RB-108, set Bass +1, Midrange -1, Treble +2; on the passive P/J bass, Neck Volume (P) 8, Bridge Volume (J) 8, Tone 8. Set Volume to your room. They are AI-assisted starting points; adjust them by ear on your own amp.
What tuning is Sweet Child O' Mine in?
Sweet Child O' Mine by Guns N' Roses is played in Eb standard, according to the cited source [5][6]. Tune to it before you set the amp, or the riff will not sit right against the record.
Can I get the Sweet Child O' Mine tone on my own amp?
Yes. The settings above cover 2 reference amps and any amp with the basic controls. For your exact rig, KnobMaster, an iPhone app, sets every knob of your own amp, bass and pedals for Sweet Child O' Mine, using only the controls your gear has.
Get it for your exact rig
KnobMaster sets every knob of your own amp, bass and pedals for this song.
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