Breaking All Illusions — Dream Theater1 / 2
Original RigYour Adaptation
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

Mids
5.5
Bass
6
Gain
7.5
Reverb
2
Treble
7
Presence
6.5

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

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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