No. 1781997·post-grunge·4 blocks

My Own Prison

The Drop-D title track from Creed's 1997 debut — Mark Tremonti's first signature riff, tracked on his 1986 red Gibson Les Paul (the famous 'My Own Prison' guitar, stolen on tour that year and returned to him in 2024). The album was cut cheaply with producer John Kurzweg, then remixed for the Wind-up reissue by Ron Saint-Germain. Tremonti has said he used 'three different rigs' and never named them; the most-cited reconstruction — a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier for the heavy parts blended with a Fender Twin for cleans — is era-typical, not session-confirmed, and is flagged as such.

My Own Prison coverMy Own Prison
Settings for
Signal path · input → output · 8 blocksLive values · Line 6 Helix
Guitar
Gibson Les Paul (1986, red)
Pickups
HH
Tuning
bridge
Strings
Drop D (D-A-D-G-B-E)
Noise Gate
Deluxe Comp
Scream 808
Cali Rectifire
4x12 Cali V30
Plate
Tilt
Noise Gate
← Noise gate
Cab
Threshold
-50dB
Decay
0.3s
Level
0
Deluxe Comp
← Light tracking compression
Dynamics
Threshold
-32dB
Ratio
2:1
Knee
6dB
Attack
38ms
Release
200ms
Mix
35
Level
0dB
Scream 808
← Tube Screamer (era-plausible boost)
Distortion
Gain
2
Tone
6
Level
7
Cali Rectifire
← Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier (community-attributed)
Amp
Drive
7.5
Bass
6
Mid
5
Treble
6
Presence
5
ChVol
6
Master
7
Bias
5
BiasX
5
Sag
5
Hum
5
Ripple
5
4x12 Cali V30
← Mesa Recto 4x12 (V30)
Cab
LowCut90Hz
HighCut8000Hz
Resonance
0.5
Level
0dB
Pan
0.5
Delay
0
Plate
← Studio ambience
Reverb
LowCut200Hz
HighCut6500Hz
Mix
8
Decay
1s
Predelay
14ms
Level
0
Tilt
← Global brightness EQ
EQ
Tilt
0.5
CenterFreq
1000Hz
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 6 blocks replaced with a stand-in model
    Which ones

    Replaced with a stand-in: Noise Gate, Studio Comp, Recto2 Modern, 4x12 Recto, Plate, Tilt EQ. 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 3 blocks replaced with a stand-in model
    Which ones

    Replaced with a stand-in: Lead, Noise Gate, 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.

Helix DSP
49.2% of one chip — fits
Sources
2 cited, 1 from publications that do original gear reporting
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.

Rate This Tone

...

(0 ratings)

Sign in to rate this recipe.

Comments

Sign in to leave a comment.