Okay so you’ve sussed the Formula No.5’s Tone control and it’s kinda cool right? Now crank that
Gain control (you’ve been wanting to do that since you unboxed it, haven’t you? We admire your
self-restraint!) - OMG WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TONE CONTROL IT DOESNT WORK
ANYMORE?!?!? Relax! It’s supposed to work that way - same as on the amps! At the max Gain
setting there is so much saturation happening no Tone control is gonna bail you out of that pickle -
so again use your guitar’s tone control if you feel the need to soften things a bit.!
GUITARS
Like the actual amp, the Formula No. 5 is responsive to the type of guitar you’re playing into it. If
you’re playing vintage style Fender guitars, you’ll get the classic Fender into Fender tone and the
tone will stay cleaner longer as you turn up the Gain knob. If you’re playing a humbucker or other
higher-output style of pickup, the FN5 will break up sooner on the Gain knob. But you’ll always be
able to get cleans by turning your guitar’s volume down!"
AMPLIFIERS
Generally speaking, the Formula No. 5 works best into a tube guitar amp set relatively clean and
neutral. However, it can work great to further overdrive an amp that is already overdriven as well,
although this was not its design intention. If you are running a Fender style amp, try setting the
tone controls as follows:"
Treble 6, Middle (if your amp has it) 6, Bass 3, and Volume between 2-4"
This is generally the best response from a Fender amp and in fact are the basic settings used in
the development lab when voicing our pedals. A note about tubes in your amp. For the best tone
and response from your FN5 (and your whole pedal chain, really) make sure you have good
sounding tubes in your amp. In particular, the first tube in the preamp stage of your amp is
critically important as your FN5 will be driving this tube. A cheap or faulty tube can make your
FN5 sound weak, too gritty, farty, or just plain uninspiring. Do some research on tubes for your
amp and experiment with different first stage preamp tubes in conjunction with the FN5 to really
fine-tune your tone.
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