No. 0711990·heavy-metal·5 blocks
Painkiller
Judas Priest's fastest, most violent statement. On the 1990 title track, Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing drove hot-humbucker Hamer solidbodies into cranked JCM800-era Marshalls, recorded by Chris Tsangarides at Miraval Studios in France. The rhythm is wall-of-Marshall high gain at roughly 200 BPM; Tipton's solo adds wah and screaming whammy dives. Standard tuning — the speed lives in the picking hand and a tight noise gate.
PainkillerSignal path · input → output · 9 blocksLive values · Line 6 Helix
Guitar
Hamer solidbody (Tipton/Downing, Painkiller era)
Pickups
HH
Tuning
bridge
Strings
standard
Noise Gate
Deluxe Comp
Chrome
Scream 808
Brit 2204
4x12 1960 V30
Plate
Tilt
Noise Gate
← Rack noise gate (FRFR essential)
Threshold
-52dB
Decay
0.2s
Level
0
Deluxe Comp
← Studio compression
Threshold
-32dB
Ratio
2:1
Knee
6dB
Attack
0.1s
Release
0.3s
Mix
0.3
Level
0dB
Chrome
← Dunlop Cry Baby
Mix
1
Level
0
Scream 808
← TS-style boost (FRFR tightener — not on the record)
Gain
0.2
Tone
0.6
Level
0.8
Brit 2204
← Marshall JCM800-era head
Drive
0.8
Bass
0.5
Mid
0.6
Treble
0.7
Presence
0.7
ChVol
0.6
Master
1
Bias
0.5
BiasX
0.5
Sag
0.5
Hum
0.5
Ripple
0.5
4x12 1960 V30
← Marshall 4x12 (Celestion-loaded)
LowCut90Hz
HighCut10500Hz
Level
0dB
Pan
0.5
Delay
0
Plate
← Studio plate (subtle)
LowCut200Hz
HighCut7000Hz
Mix
0.1
Decay
0.4s
Predelay
0.0ms
Level
0
Tilt
← Tilt EQ (global brightness)
Tilt
0.5
CenterFreq
1000Hz
Level
0
Engineer's note
File 071
Judas Priest's fastest, most violent statement. On the 1990 title track, Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing drove hot-humbucker Hamer solidbodies into cranked JCM800-era Marshalls, recorded by Chris Tsangarides at Miraval Studios in France. The rhythm is wall-of-Marshall high gain at roughly 200 BPM; Tipton's solo adds wah and screaming whammy dives. Standard tuning — the speed lives in the picking hand and a tight noise gate.
— Glenn Tipton
Sources · Verified by
Field notes for this tone
All field notes →What the Celestion G12T-75 Actually Does (And Why Marshall Chose It Over the Greenback)
The Marshall 1960A cabinet ships with G12T-75 speakers, not the Greenbacks everyone associates with vintage Marshall tone. The reason is engineering, not cost-cutting. Understanding it changes how you set up a high-gain rig.
JCM800 vs. JCM900: What Actually Changed and Which Is Right for You?
The JCM900 was supposed to modernize the JCM800. Here's what actually changed in the circuit, why players have opinions about it, and which one fits your playing.
Marshall JCM800 Settings: Sweet Spots for Every Style
Exact settings for the Marshall JCM800 across blues, classic rock, hard rock, and metal, on the real amp and on Helix, Quad Cortex, and Katana models.
