Tone Decoded
Inside the rigs behind the sounds you keep chasing
Amp settings, pickup choices and studio tricks pulled apart signal by signal.
Members onlyThe Guitar Plugged
Premium
ToneMD. Exclusive stories. Member tools.
A deeper guitar experience. Recreate legendary guitar tones using the gear you already own with ToneMD — then unlock exclusive stories, the Time Machine archive, Vinyl Wall, Rock Court and member-only tools.
THE GUITAR PLUGGED
Premium Member
Established
EST. 2026
Access
All Areas
Cancel anytime • Instant access
Subscriptions renew automatically until canceled. Payments are processed by Stripe, our Merchant of Record. By subscribing you agree to our Terms, Refund Policy and Privacy Notice.
Preview today's Rock CourtYOU
Be the judge
DECADES
Of guitar history
ZERO
Display ads
1
Guitar community
The headline featureIncluded with Premium
Recreate the tone.
Tell ToneMD what guitarist or song tone you want, what guitar and pickups you own, and what amp, modeler or platform you play through. ToneMD then builds a gear-specific tone recipe designed around the equipment you actually own.
Stop searching through endless forum threads and YouTube videos. Tell ToneMD the sound you want and the gear you own. Get a custom tone recipe built for your setup — amp settings, gain structure, EQ, effects, signal chain and pickup guidance.
ToneMDFree tone matchFull recipe: Premium
01 · Your guitar & pickups
02 · Your amp, modeler or platform
03 · The tone you want
Awaiting your rig
Stop searching through endless forum threads and YouTube videos. Tell ToneMD the sound you want and the gear you own.
What a ToneMD result looks like
A real recipe, not a vague description.
Target tone
Eddie Van Halen — Unchained
Your gear
Boss Katana · Humbucker guitar
Tone accuracy
88%
Signal chain
Guitar→Overdrive→Amp→Cab / IR→EQ→Delay→Reverb
AmpPlexi 100W — high-treble input
Cabinet4x12 greenback, 57 off-axis
Gain7.5 (amp) + light OD at 3.0
Bass / Mid / Treble5.0 · 6.5 · 7.0
Presence6.0
Delay340 ms · 22% mix · 2 repeats
ReverbPlate · 14% · short decay
ModulationPhaser 90 — slow, 18% depth
PickupBridge humbucker, tone at 8
Included with Premium
Example output. Every recipe is generated for the exact rig you enter.
Welcome to the inner circle.
Premium isn’t a donation. It’s where The Guitar Plugged goes deeper. Tone recreation. Long-form guitar journalism. Interactive experiences. Member tools. A growing library built for people who genuinely love guitar.
It's the part of The Guitar Plugged built for people who still care about the records, guitars, players, riffs and stories that made rock music matter.
Feature 01 — Rock Court
You Be the Judge.
Settle the arguments guitar fans have been having for decades. Vote on legendary matchups, make your case, see how the community votes, and earn recognition for participating in Rock Court.
Rock Court
Members vote dailyThe People vs. The Guitar Solo
Which body shape owns the argument? Cast your vote, then defend it in the room.
VS
A new debate every single day
Feature 02 — The Time Machine
Read guitar history like it just happened.
Travel back through guitar history and experience landmark albums, guitars, amps, pedals, players and moments through magazine-style coverage presented as if you were reading it on the day it happened.
Feature 03 — Ad-free
Just the music. None of the clutter.
Read without ads or affiliate promotions. Premium members can optionally turn gear and shopping links back on whenever they want.
Regular experience
Advertisement
Advertisement
Premium experience
Available NowFeature 04 — Exclusive stories
Go beyond the headlines.
Members get access to deeper guitar stories, long-form features, forgotten moments, gear history and editorial content created specifically for Premium.
History of the Riff
How a handful of bars became permanent
The writing, the takes and the gear behind riffs that never left the radio.
Members onlyForgotten Players
The guitarists the story left out
Long-form features on the players whose fingerprints outlived their headlines.
Members onlyPremium archive
Members-only features you won't find in the homepage feed.
Feature 05 — Member status
You're not just reading it. You're part of it.
Your profile carries your Rock Court record, your badges and your standing in the room — membership as identity, not just access.
Your member profile
Member since 2026
Debates voted
Every day counts
Arguments posted
Defend your pick
Reputation
Earned, not bought
Badges
Roadie → Hall of Fame
Your membership also includes
Free digital Guitar Goal Planner
Premium members receive the digital edition of The Guitar Plugged Guitar Goal Planner included with membership — goals, practice structure and progress tracking in one place.
Free vs Premium
What changes when you join
Everything free stays free. Premium adds the members-only side on top.
Free
- Free guitar news
- Selected features
- Practice resources
- Public articles
- No ToneMD recipes, member tools or archives
Premium
$4.99/mo · $49.99/yr
- Everything in Free
- ToneMD
- Premium-exclusive stories
- Magazine Time Machine
- Vinyl Wall
- Rock Court member participation
- Premium tools
- Early access to selected new features
- Additional member experiences as they launch
What you get
Free
Premium
Guitar news
Gear stories
Artist features
Selected articles
Rock Court
Time Machine archive
Exclusive features
Ad-free browsing
Premium member badge
Guitar Goal Planner
Future Premium features
New in Premium
The latest additions to the members’ side.
Premium storyPremium
The Last 10%: Why You Can Copy a Famous Guitarist’s Entire Rig and Still Miss the Tone
You bought the guitar, the amp, and the pedals — so why doesn’t it sound right? The last 10 percent of guitar tone is the most important part, and it’s almost never about the gear list.
OpenPremium storyPremium
Eddie Van Halen: The Man Who Took the Electric Guitar Apart — and Rebuilt What It Could Be
From an immigrant kid learning piano by ear in Pasadena to the homemade guitar that changed an industry, the impossible sound of "Eruption," 5150, the Brown Sound and a legacy that still defines electric guitar: this is the complete story of Edward Van Halen.
OpenPremium storyPremium
The Riffs They Almost Threw Away: 10 Classic Guitar Parts That Nearly Never Made the Record
A placeholder for a horn section. A warm-up exercise treated as a joke. A microphone left in the wrong place. Ten of the most recognisable guitar parts in rock arrived by accident, argument or last-minute panic.
OpenMember toolPremium
ToneMD
Recreate legendary tones on the amp, modeler and guitar you already own — full signal chain and real numbers.
OpenArchivePremium
Magazine Time Machine
Back issues and era-by-era guitar history, continually expanded for members.
OpenInteractivePremium
Vinyl Wall
Build and browse the records that shaped the players you love.
OpenPricing
Two ways to join.
$4.99/month · $49.99/year — Best value
Ready to go deeper?Unlock The Guitar Plugged Premium.
ToneMD. Exclusive stories. Member tools. A deeper guitar experience.
$4.99/month · $49.99/year — Best value
Instant access • Cancel anytime
Billing is handled securely by our payments partner. Manage or cancel any time from your dashboard.