No. 2011978·hard-rock·4 blocks

Gates of Babylon

Rainbow's orchestral epic, cut at the Chateau d'Herouville in December 1977 and finished with a Bavarian string ensemble scored by Rainer Pietsch. The front end is the same AIWA-tape-deck-into-Marshall-Major rig as the rest of Long Live Rock 'n' Roll, but this solo asks something different of it: a harmonic-minor melody that has to sing over real strings. The tone sits darker and wetter than the album's riffs, because the orchestra already owns the top end.

Long Live Rock 'n' Roll coverLong Live Rock 'n' Roll
Settings for
Signal path · input → output · 9 blocksLive values · Line 6 Helix
Guitar
Fender Stratocaster (1974, sunburst)
Pickups
SSS
Tuning
bridge
Strings
standard
Deluxe Comp
Kinky Boost
Scream 808
Brit Plexi Brt
4x12 Greenback 25
Transistor Tape
Plate
Tilt
Deluxe Comp
← Tape-deck compression / studio comp
Dynamics
Threshold
-34dB
Ratio
2:1
Knee
8dB
Attack
60ms
Release
350ms
Mix
35
Level
0dB
Kinky Boost
← AIWA TP-1011 tape preamp (boost stage)
Distortion
Gain
7
Tone
5.5
Level
7.5
Scream 808
← Modern lead boost (alternate)
Distortion
Gain
3.5
Tone
5
Level
7
Brit Plexi Brt
← Marshall Major 200W (modified)
Amp
Drive
5.5
Bass
3
Mid
6.5
Treble
7
Presence
5
ChVol
7
Master
10
Bias
6
BiasX
5
Sag
6.5
Hum
5
Ripple
5
4x12 Greenback 25
← Marshall 4x12 (Celestion-loaded)
Cab
LowCut110Hz
HighCut6500Hz
Resonance
5
Level
0dB
Pan
0.5
Delay
0
Transistor Tape
← AIWA TP-1011 echo section
Delay
LowCut180Hz
HighCut3600Hz
Time
380ms
Feedback
28
Mix
22
Level
0
Plate
← Studio plate on the solo
Reverb
LowCut200Hz
HighCut6000Hz
Mix
24
Decay
2.4s
Predelay
40ms
Level
0
Tilt
← Global tilt EQ
EQ
Tilt
0.4
CenterFreq
900Hz
Level
0

What we checked

Computed by a program, on this recipe, every time this page is built. How this works

Preset files — 1 of 3 complete
  • Helix builds complete — every block in the recipe is in the file
  • Quad Cortex 4 blocks replaced with a stand-in model
    Which ones

    Replaced with a stand-in: Studio Comp, Tape Preamp Boost, Plexi 100, 4x12 Greenback. These load cleanly but are not the model named above — the file will sound wrong here until we map them. Set these blocks by hand.

  • Katana 1 block missing from the file; 4 blocks replaced with a stand-in model
    Which ones

    Not in the file: Reverb. The recipe calls for this block, but we have no verified model ID for it on this platform, so the preset is written without it. Add it by hand using the settings above.

    Replaced with a stand-in: Crunch, Booster, Delay, Reverb. These load cleanly but are not the model named above — the file will sound wrong here until we map them. Set these blocks by hand.

Helix DSP
56.6% of one chip — fits
Sources
4 cited, 0 from publications that do original gear reporting — every source here is an aggregator, tab site, video, or wiki. Treat the gear list as less settled than usual.
Attribution
Not yet rated — This recipe predates the attribution-confidence field and hasn't been reviewed for it.
What we didn't check
  • Nobody played this through a real amp. There is no human listening test behind any number on this page.
  • The settings are reasoned from the sources below, not measured off the record.
  • No audio has been rendered for this recipe yet, so you cannot hear it before you load it.
  • 3 platforms on this page (TONEX, Kemper, Fractal) get a model pointer, not a preset file — nothing was built or checked for them.
The mic in this chain

Shure SM57

Still made, still the studio default. The cheapest part of this chain to get right.

Affiliate links — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you, and as an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. The mic is listed because the chain uses it, not because anyone paid for the placement.

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