Sunshine of Your Love Amp Settings
by Cream
Sunshine of Your Love features Clapton's legendary 'woman tone' — a thick, creamy, vocal-like sustain achieved by rolling off the tone knob on his SG through a cranked Marshall. The riff is instantly recognizable and the tone is warm, fat, and endlessly singing.
What Makes This Tone Iconic
This is the tone that earned Clapton the nickname 'God.' By rolling the tone knob almost completely off on his Gibson SG, he removed the harsh treble frequencies and created a round, warm, vocal quality that was revolutionary at the time. Combined with a cranked Marshall, the tone sustains and sings in a way that changed how guitarists thought about lead playing.
Key Tone Elements
- Marshall JTM45 cranked for natural tube overdrive
- Gibson SG with neck humbucker and tone knob rolled to 0-1
- 'Woman tone' — heavy tone knob roll-off for creamy warmth
- Natural amp compression from cranked Marshall
- Smooth, singing sustain with minimal pick attack
Original Recording Settings
Original Gear
- Guitar
- 1964 Gibson SG Standard
- Pickups
- Gibson PAF humbuckers (neck (tone knob rolled off))
- Amplifier
- Marshall JTM45 / Marshall 1959 100W
- Channel
- Jumpered channels, cranked
- Tuning
- standard
- Pickup Selector
- neck
- Strings
- Not documented
Clapton's 'woman tone' came from cranked Marshall with guitar tone knob rolled down.
Amp Settings
Effects Chain
Playing Technique
Guitar tone knob at 0-2 for 'woman tone'. Medium-heavy pick attack. Clapton's signature vibrato.
Sources+
- Guitar World: Clapton Cream era interviews
- Equipboard.com - Eric Clapton
Get This Tone on Your Gear
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Frequently Asked Questions
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