Expectation — Tame Impala1 / 2
Original RigYour Adaptation
GuitarDistortedRiff

Expectation Riff Guitar Tone Settings — Tame Impala

Tame Impala · 2010s+ · rock

studio

Original Recording

Guitar
Fender Stratocaster (likely Japanese or Mexican, as used by Kevin Parker on InnerSpeaker era recordings)
Pickups
Fender single-coil Strat pickups
Amp
Vox AC30H2 combo (studio recording, as confirmed for InnerSpeaker era)
Pickup Position
Neck pickup (typical for Kevin Parker's riff tones, confirmed by forum consensus and audio analysis)

Studio recording, 2010 (InnerSpeaker era). Kevin Parker is known to record direct or through amp sims at times, but for the main riff/distorted sections, sources and pedalboard photos indicate use of a Stratocaster into a Vox AC30H2 with a pedalboard including Blues Driver, Small Stone Phaser, Diamond Vibrato, and EHX Holy Grail Reverb. Pedal order and settings are based on multiple pedalboard photos and forum consensus for this song/era.

Amp Settings

Mids
7
Bass
6
Gain
6
Reverb
4.5
Treble
7
Presence
6

Effects Chain

  • Boss BD-2 Blues Driver · overdrive
  • Electro-Harmonix Small Stone Phaser · phaser
  • Diamond Vibrato · vibrato
  • MXR Dyna Comp · compression
  • Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Reverb · reverb

Fender Stratocaster → MXR Dyna Comp → Boss BD-2 Blues Driver → EHX Small Stone Phaser → Diamond Vibrato → EHX Holy Grail Reverb → Vox AC30H2

Tone Matcher

Match This Tone to Your Gear

Tell us your guitar and amp — we’ll calculate the exact settings translated to your specific rig.

7-day free trial · Cancel anytime.

Tone Character

  • fuzzy and saturated
  • swirling phaser movement
  • compressed and punchy
  • thick, harmonically rich
  • psychedelic and modulated
  • pronounced midrange
  • spacious reverb
  • vibrato shimmer
  • cranked overdrive/fuzz
  • dense, layered sound

Sources