GuitarDistortedSolo
Breaking All Illusions Solo Guitar Tone Settings — Dream Theater
Dream Theater · 2010s+ · metal
studio
Original Recording
Guitar
Ernie Ball Music Man JPXI 6
Pickups
DiMarzio Crunch Lab (bridge), DiMarzio LiquiFire (neck) humbuckers
Amp
Mesa/Boogie Mark V
Pickup Position
Bridge pickup
Studio recording, 2011 (A Dramatic Turn of Events). Gear inferred from Petrucci's documented studio rig for this album; no direct source for this specific solo, but all available evidence and era-appropriate interviews point to this setup.
Amp Settings
Mids5.5
Bass6
Gain7.5
Reverb2
Treble7
Presence6.5
Effects Chain
- Delay pedal (model unknown) · delay
- Noise gate (model unknown) · noise_gate
Guitar → Noise gate → Delay pedal → Mesa/Boogie Mark V (with digital reverb)
Tone Matcher
Match This Tone to Your Gear
Tell us your guitar and amp — we’ll calculate the settings for your specific rig.
Plans from $2.92/mo · Cancel anytime.
Tone Character
- singing sustain
- liquid lead tone
- tight low end
- articulate pick attack
- smooth legato
- clear note separation
- high-gain saturation
- rich harmonics
- controlled feedback
- modern progressive metal lead
Sources
Tone Story / Why This Tone Works
studio