This Charming Man
The chiming intro of This Charming Man is one of the most recognizable sounds in British guitar pop — and it's a beautiful studio illusion. What everyone hears as a Rickenbacker is mostly producer John Porter's 1954 Telecaster, double-tracked with Johnny Marr's Rickenbacker 330 and layered across roughly fifteen guitar tracks. The amp was a Roland JC-120 blended with a Fender Twin Reverb: the JC-120's glassy solid-state top and onboard chorus for the jangle, the Twin's tube warmth underneath.
The Smiths
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 5 blocks replaced with a stand-in model
Which ones
Replaced with a stand-in: LA Compressor, Vintage Chorus, Jazz 120, 2x12 Fender, Plate. 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: Clean, Chorus, 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.
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.
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.
