Tone Settings for Today by Smashing Pumpkins (guitar and amp)

1. Volume

• Keep guitar volume knob at or near 10 for full signal strength
• Amp volume should be set loud enough to drive the tubes if using a tube amp
• You may use a volume pedal or knob for dynamic control during verse/chorus transitions

2. Tone

• Guitar tone knob at full (10) to retain brightness and clarity
• Amp EQ: Mids slightly scooped, bass and treble moderately boosted
• Use a Big Muff-style distortion pedal to recreate the saturated, fuzzy tone
• Consider stacking overdrive or fuzz pedals for more sustain and compression

3. Pickup Selector

• Bridge position preferred for aggressive, cutting distorted tones
• Middle position can be used if using a humbucker in bridge and single coil in middle to tame brightness

4. Humbucker or Single Coil Preferred?

• Humbuckers are strongly preferred, especially high-output models
• They help drive heavier distortion and produce the thick, creamy sustain needed
• Single coils may sound too thin or noisy for this style

5. Ideal Guitar Type (Strat-Style)

• Strat-style body with a humbucker in the bridge position (HSS or HSH configuration)
• Rosewood or maple neck depending on personal preference for feel and brightness
• Floating tremolo not necessary—can use a hardtail or blocked tremolo for tuning stability
• Example: Fender Player Stratocaster HSS or a modified Stratocaster with a bridge humbucker

• Fender Jaguar: Known for its jangly tone and short scale, similar to what was used in the original recording.
• Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi: Essential for achieving the thick, sustaining fuzz tones present throughout the track.
• Boss DS-1 Distortion: Adds additional grit and bite; used in Smashing Pumpkins-style layering.
• Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler: Provides ambient textures for bridge and outro sections.
• Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer: Helps boost mids for solos and tighten up distorted rhythm tones.
• MXR Phase 90: Adds subtle swirling modulation for dynamic depth.
• Ernie Ball Volume Pedal: Useful for controlling gain stack and swells.
• Marshall JCM800 Amp: Delivers the midrange-driven high-gain tones typical of the song’s tone.
• Fender Twin Reverb Amp: Great for clean intro tones before switching to dirty channel or pedal distortion.

• Use moderate overdrive for main rhythm guitar tone
• Scoop mids slightly to achieve 90s alternative rock sound
• Set gain at medium level to retain chord articulation
• Apply light compression to smooth guitar dynamics
• Use humbucker pickups for thicker tone
• Layer clean guitar with chorus effect for intro texture
• Keep lead tone warm with slight delay and reverb
• Tune guitar down half step (Eb standard) for authenticity
• Maintain consistent palm muting during verse sections
• Balance distortion level to avoid masking vocal frequencies