An epic, beautiful Landau session-into-lead tone built around the Venus tube preamp — set once, ride the volume knob forever.
SET & FORGET
This is the tone that does everything. Set the rig once. Don't touch a knob again. Everything that needs to change — from whispered chord work to screaming sustained leads — happens at the guitar volume knob. That's how Landau actually plays. "There's something about turning the guitar down a little bit — having it live in that 7 to 8 range where it's got a sweetness to it and it's a little bit darker sounding."
The Philosophy
Landau's tone is built on a single principle: the amp is a transparent canvas, the pedals paint everything. The Badger 18 stays clean. The Venus tube preamp adds warmth, body, and just enough push to bloom when you hit it harder. The AC+ is always-on, shaping the upper-mid presence Landau is known for. The Mobius dBucket chorus widens everything into three dimensions. The wet path — Timeline tape echo into BigSky Hall — floats in from the Mesa beside you, never competing with the dry signal.
The Venus replacing the SD-9 is the upgrade. The SD-9 is a clipping diode pedal — punchy but cold. The Venus is a real-tube preamp with NOS tube character — squishy, alive, blooming. It responds to your pick attack and guitar volume like an old Hiwatt does. This is why Eric Johnson and David Gilmour use Tube Driver-style preamps for "always on" voicing. It's not a drive pedal — it's a tone shaper that adds a tube stage to your signal before the amp.
Signal Chain — Dry & Wet Paths
Suhr S w/ ML pickups→Venus Tube Preamp→Xotic AC+→Badger 18 input→FX Send→Mobius→FX Return (DRY)
The Mobius is the wet/dry splitter — its output returns to the Badger FX loop AND feeds the Timeline → BigSky → Mesa wet path. Mesa Channel 1 clean, 5W Class A, onboard reverb OFF (BigSky owns the room). Dry sound stays present and immediate from the Badger. Wet path floats in from the Mesa in a different physical space. This is Landau's actual studio rig in miniature.
The Setup
Venus Tube Preamp
Crazy Tube Circuits · NOS tube preamp · ALWAYS ON
Drive10 o'clock
Bass11 o'clock
Treble12 o'clock
Output1 o'clock
Bias2 o'clock (creamy)
Tight switchOUT (fat)
Line DriverIN (authority)
The heart of the tone. Drive at 10 o'clock = clean tube warmth, blooming under hard picking but staying glassy under soft. Bias clockwise to 2 o'clock = smooth, creamy harmonic character. Tight switch OUT keeps the low end fat. Line Driver IN gives the signal authority into the AC+. This is your "always on" preamp — replaces the SD-9 entirely.
Xotic AC+
Channel A only · ALWAYS ON · The Jan Ray shimmer
ChannelA only (active)
Gain A8 o'clock (almost off)
Volume A1 o'clock
Tone A11 o'clock (warm)
Boost switch+15dB ON
Acts as Landau's always-on Jan Ray. Min gain, hot volume, Boost engaged for top-end shimmer. This isn't a drive — it's a transparent buffer-with-character that shapes the upper mids and adds the "expensive" quality to your signal before it hits the amp. Tone at 11 o'clock keeps it warm.
Suhr Badger 18
Clean platform · EL84 + 5Y3GT sag · Bedroom-friendly
ModeHi (full output)
Power4 (~1-2W)
Drive5 (Power+1)
Gain3 (pristine)
Bass3.5
Mid6
Treble5
Presence3.5
Amp stays pristine. Power 4 + Drive 5 = Suhr's golden rule (Drive within 2 of Power) for power-tube character at bedroom volume. Gain at 3 keeps the preamp clean — all character comes from Venus + AC+ + the 5Y3GT rectifier sag. Mids at 6 give the vocal cut. Bass pulled back because at low voltage the EL84s produce more relative low end.
Mobius — Chorus dBucket
In Badger FX loop · The Landau widener
TypeChorus
ModedBucket
Speed9 o'clock (slow)
Depth1 o'clock (deep)
Mix35-40%
Tone11 o'clock
Low EndHigh
Headroom1 o'clock
The Landau chorus. dBucket emulates a vintage bucket-brigade analog chorus — warm, slightly grainy. Slow speed + deep depth = wide, lush, three-dimensional. Mix at 35-40% so you HEAR the dimension but don't SOUND chorused. Test: turn it off, the tone collapses flat. Turn it on, the room opens up.
Strymon Timeline
Wet path · 100% wet · dTape
MachinedTape
Time425ms (dotted 8th @ 85bpm)
Repeats11 o'clock (~30%)
Mix100% wet
Wow/Flutter10 o'clock
Bias11 o'clock (warm)
Filter1 o'clock (dark)
Warm tape echo with subtle wow & flutter — organic motion, each repeat slightly darker. 425ms is the Landau sweet spot — rhythmic enough to lock to phrasing, long enough to float. Filter dark so each repeat recedes gracefully.
Strymon BigSky
Wet path · 100% wet · Hall
MachineHall
Decay12 o'clock (~2.8s)
Pre-delay10 o'clock (~30ms)
Mix100% wet
Tone10 o'clock (warm)
Mod9 o'clock (subtle)
Param (size)11 o'clock
Medium Hall — the place behind the music. Pre-delay at 30ms creates space between dry attack and wet tail so notes stay defined. Tone warm so the reverb doesn't add ice on top of the ML pickups' natural shimmer. Subtle mod keeps the long tail alive — never static.
Mesa 5:25 (Wet Amp)
Channel 1 · 5W Class A · Transparent receiver
Channel1 (Clean)
Power5W Class A
Gain2
Bass / Mid / Treble5 / 5 / 5
Onboard reverbOFF
ContourOFF
VolumeMatch Badger room level
The Mesa does as little as possible. It's a transparent speaker for your delay and reverb. EQ flat, gain low, onboard reverb OFF (BigSky owns the room — never double-reverb). 5W Class A keeps the EL84s sweet and adds gentle harmonic character to the wet signal only.
Suhr S — Guitar
With ML pickups · The control surface
PickupPos 4 (neck+mid) default
Volume7-8 default (RIDE IT)
Tone8 (don't go below 6)
The volume knob does everything. Position 4 is the Landau session-clean default — hollow, glassy, three-dimensional. Tone at 8 keeps the ML pickups' deliberate sparkle alive. Don't roll tone below 6 — Suhr designed the MLs with that top-end shimmer on purpose. Ride the volume knob from 4 to 10 instead.
Why this is THE Landau tone
Four character layers stack on a pristine amp: (1) Venus NOS tube preamp adds tube saturation and bloom before any pedal — this is why Gilmour uses Tube Drivers. Real-tube circuit means your pick attack and guitar volume directly feed the tube's response. (2) AC+ Channel A with Boost on adds the Jan Ray top-end shimmer Landau is famous for — never crosses into drive, just adds presence. (3) Badger 18 EL84s at Power 4 with 5Y3GT rectifier compress and bloom every note — that's the "amp working" feel without volume. (4) Mobius dBucket chorus widens the whole picture into 3D space.
Then the wet/dry split puts the tape delay and Hall reverb in a different physical position in the room from your dry signal. Your brain perceives genuine depth — not a pedal effect. This isn't a tone you set, it's a tone you live in.
The Guitar Settings
Position 4 (neck+mid)Position 2 (bridge+mid)Volume: 7-8 defaultTone: 8 (NEVER below 6)Ride the volume knobPick near the neck for warmthPick near the bridge for bite
The Volume Knob — Your Whole Tone Palette
3
Whisper Clean
Pristine, glassy, three-dimensional. Background chord work. The Venus is barely engaged — pure clean shimmer from the AC+ and the slight EL84 sag. This is the Pat Metheny "ECM" zone.
5
Session Clean
The classic Landau session-clean. Wide, sweet, vocal. Chorus shimmers, tape delay floats, the room opens up. This is "Angelia" comp work — what he plays on a thousand pop records.
7
Warm Edge
The Venus tube starts to bloom under hard picking. Soft strokes stay clean, hard strokes break up slightly. Perfect for jazz-into-blues phrasing. Notes have weight and authority.
9
Singing Lead
Full Venus tube saturation. Sustained notes bloom forever, fed by the Badger's sag and the tape delay holding the trail. Bends sing. This is where the slow vocal phrases live.
10
Screaming Landau
Everything maxed. Venus pushed into full creamy saturation, AC+ Boost adding the last 3dB of authority, EL84s compressing. Every note has tail, weight, and cry. Slow blues solo territory.
How It Works In Practice
You walk to the amp. You set every knob exactly as listed above. You never touch them again.
You start playing comp work at guitar volume 5. The tone is sweet, wide, sparkling. The chorus is barely audible — it's just there, making the sound three-dimensional. Tape echoes float from the Mesa to your right. The Hall reverb wraps everything in atmosphere.
You ramp up to a chorus section. You roll the guitar volume up to 7. The Venus tube starts to cook — your pick attack now has weight. Sustained chords bloom and breathe.
It's time for the solo. You roll the volume to 9. The Venus is in full singing mode. The Badger's EL84s are sagging on every accent. The 425ms tape delay is locking with your phrasing. Long notes sustain into the Hall reverb tail.
For the climax: volume to 10, dig in. Full saturation. Every note has a 3-second tail. This is the Landau "scream" — not metal-screaming, but vocal screaming. Like a singer pushing into their upper register.
Then the song calms. You roll back to 6. Without touching anything else, the tone returns to sweet session clean. That's the magic.
The Five Principles of THE Landau Tone
Set the rig once. Don't touch it. The Venus, AC+, Mobius, Timeline, and BigSky have ONE setting each in this preset. Your hands belong on the guitar, not the pedals.
The Badger stays pristine. Gain at 3. The amp's job is to receive and amplify, not to distort. All character comes from before the amp (Venus, AC+) and the natural 5Y3GT rectifier sag in the power section.
The Venus replaces the SD-9 for a reason. Real NOS tubes respond to dynamics like an amp does. The SD-9 is a clipping diode — fixed character. The Venus blooms with your pick attack and volume knob. THIS is why it's Landau-correct.
Wet/dry physical separation is mandatory. Mobius splits dry to Badger, wet through Timeline+BigSky to Mesa. Your brain perceives genuine 3D depth from two amps in two positions. A single amp can't do this.
The volume knob is your tone control. 3 = whisper, 5 = session, 7 = edge, 9 = lead, 10 = scream. Same pedals, same amp, infinite tones. This is the entire Landau technique distilled.