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A Forest Riff Guitar Tone Settings — The Cure
The Cure · 1980s · rock
studio
Original Recording
Guitar
Fender Jazzmaster
Pickups
Fender Jazzmaster single-coil pickups
Amp
Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus
Pickup Position
Neck pickup
Studio recording, Seventeen Seconds album (1980). Gear confirmed by producer Mike Hedges for the original studio session. Riff/clean section. No evidence of alternate guitars or amps for this part.
Amp Settings
Mids6
Bass6
Gain0
Reverb5
Treble7
Presence5
Effects Chain
- Boss BF-2 Flanger · flanger
Fender Jazzmaster → Boss BF-2 Flanger → Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus (chorus and reverb on)
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Tone Character
- lush and swirling
- bright and glassy
- ambient and atmospheric
- clear and percussive
- pristine clean
- spacious reverb
- slightly scooped mids
- chiming highs
- soft dynamic response
- modulated shimmer
Notes & Caveats
- Gain adjusted to 0 for clean tone
- No explicit amp knob settings found; settings estimated based on typical Roland JC-120 clean usage and genre/era.
- Flanger pedal settings sourced from Guitar World; amp EQ and reverb estimated.
- Pickup position inferred from tone and common Jazzmaster usage for clean, bright sounds.
- No evidence of additional pedals (delay, chorus) in the studio chain for this section; chorus effect is from the JC-120 amp.
- Settings cross-referenced with genre and era conventions for accuracy. Robert Smith's tone on 'A Forest' is clean with a hint of breakup, typical of late-70s/early-80s post-punk. The amp is set for clarity with moderate bass and mids, slightly boosted treble for shimmer, and moderate spring reverb for space. These settings reflect the era's production and The Cure's signature atmospheric, chorus-laden sound.