FEX Amp Settings & Guitar Tone

Subways of Your Mind (1984)

Inferred: Japanese Fender Stratocaster copy or Squier JV/E-series Strat (c. 1982-1984); plausible alternatives include Ibanez Roadstar II RS-series, Aria Pro II TS-series, or a Hohner S-Series Strat-type (common affordable West German market options in 1984). No specific guitar named by the band. → Inferred: Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus (120W solid-state 2x12 combo) — most plausible given the characteristic stereo chorus swirl audible on the rhythm guitar; alternative candidates are a Roland JC-60

Clean, bright, glassy mid-'80s European new-wave rhythm tone sitting slightly behind the DX7 hook. The guitar is coated in a smooth chorus modulation and a long, plate-like reverb halo that makes it feel distant and melancholic. There is no overdrive or fuzz — the character is closer to Andy Summers, Johnny Marr or OMD rhythm textures than to post-punk grit. Spacious, wet, and nostalgic, which is precisely the sonic palette that fueled the song's 'liminal space' mythology.