Aviator Mach 3 Settings Guide — 20 Genres, Two Channels Each

The whole point of the Mach 3 is that you get two independent channels — each with its own voice, gain, limiter and EQ — and a footswitch between them. A guide that handed you one sound per genre would be selling the amp short. So every entry below is a complete rig: a clean channel and a dirty channel that belong together, plus the shared reverb and tremolo to sit them in a room. Twenty genres, forty panels. How to read this - The six voices. 1957 — tweed: fat, gainy, no mid scoop. 1961 — blonde: bell-like chime, scooped. 1965 — black-panel: silky, and the cleanest of the six. Plexi — British lower-mid push. Sweet — singing high-end harmonics that survive being overdriven. Top Bst — bright, incisive, aggressive. - Limiter. The autopilot, and the control most people leave alone for too long. At 0 you get full overdrive and it will fall over if you push it. Around 3–5 it holds the dirt at a rolling boil. Near 10 it hovers just below breakup — which is how you get sustain that never actually distorts. - Dist Bst. Breakup added before the Voice and EQ — think of it as a pedal built into the front end. It wakes up above 20% and is clearly overdriving by 50%. - CH Out. The channel sub-master. Leave the clean channel at 100% and pull the dirty channel down to 25–50% so the two match when you stomp between them. Spkr Vol then sets the room and Sig Out feeds the house — neither is in the panels, because both depend on the night, not the genre. - Reverb and Tremolo are shared across both channels, so they're stated once per genre. Gain, Limit, Bass, Mid and Treb are 0–10. Dist Bst and CH Out are percentages. Rock Classic Rock — Black-panel clean → Plexi crunch

Gain

4

Limit

3

Dist Bst

0%

Bass

5

Mid

6

Treb

6

CH Out

100%

Voice

1965

Gain

7

Limit

4

Dist Bst

25%

Bass

5

Mid

7

Treb

6

CH Out

40%

Voice

Plexi

Reverb — Mix 3, Dwell 5 · Tremolo — Depth 0, Rate 0 > Plexi on CH 2 is the whole classic-rock stack in one footswitch. Limiter at 4 keeps the crunch at a rolling boil instead of falling apart. Hard Rock — Plexi both sides, boost does the lifting

Gain

6

Limit

3

Dist Bst

0%

Bass

5

Mid

7

Treb

6

CH Out

100%

Voice

Plexi

Gain

8

Limit

3

Dist Bst

45%

Bass

5

Mid

7

Treb

7

CH Out

35%

Voice

Plexi

Reverb — Mix 2, Dwell 4 · Tremolo — Depth 0, Rate 0 > Same voice on both channels. Dist Bst is the difference — rhythm bites, lead roars, and the tone stays family. Modern Rock — Silky clean → Top Boost bite

Gain

4

Limit

4

Dist Bst

0%

Bass

6

Mid

5

Treb

6

CH Out

100%

Voice

1965

Gain

7

Limit

4

Dist Bst

35%

Bass

6

Mid

6

Treb

7

CH Out

40%

Voice

Top Bst

Reverb — Mix 3, Dwell 4 · Tremolo — Depth 0, Rate 0 > Top Bst cuts through a dense mix without getting shrill. Keep bass at 6 so the low end stays tight under distortion. Southern Rock — Tweed rhythm → tweed lead

Gain

5

Limit

3

Dist Bst

0%

Bass

5

Mid

6

Treb

5

CH Out

100%

Voice

1957

Gain

8

Limit

4

Dist Bst

30%

Bass

5

Mid

7

Treb

5

CH Out

45%

Voice

1957

Reverb — Mix 3, Dwell 5 · Tremolo — Depth 0, Rate 0 > 1957 is a tweed with no mid scoop — fat, honest, and full of gain. Humbuckers into this voice is the whole genre. Punk & Metal Punk — Clean → Plexi, limiter off

Gain

5

Limit

2

Dist Bst

0%

Bass

6

Mid

5

Treb

7

CH Out

100%

Voice

1965

Gain

8

Limit

0

Dist Bst

60%

Bass

6

Mid

6

Treb

7

CH Out

45%

Voice

Plexi

Reverb — Mix 1, Dwell 3 · Tremolo — Depth 0, Rate 0 > Limiter at zero on purpose. You want it to fall over. Treble up, Dist Bst past half, and don't look back. Modern Metal — Tight clean → scooped Plexi

Gain

3

Limit

5

Dist Bst

0%

Bass

6

Mid

4

Treb

6

CH Out

100%

Voice

1965

Gain

9

Limit

2

Dist Bst

70%

Bass

7

Mid

4

Treb

7

CH Out

40%

Voice

Plexi

Reverb — Mix 1, Dwell 3 · Tremolo — Depth 0, Rate 0 > Mid at 4 scoops CH 2. Dist Bst does the saturating so Gain doesn't have to — less noise, tighter low end. Doom & Sludge — Tweed on the edge → tweed collapsed

Gain

6

Limit

2

Dist Bst

20%

Bass

7

Mid

6

Treb

4

CH Out

100%

Voice

1957

Gain

10

Limit

0

Dist Bst

85%

Bass

8

Mid

7

Treb

4

CH Out

50%

Voice

1957

Reverb — Mix 4, Dwell 7 · Tremolo — Depth 0, Rate 0 > Limiter to zero, Gain to 10, Dist Bst to 85. Treble down to 4. This is the setting the manual quietly warns you about. Blues & Roots Blues — Black-panel → tweed, riding the edge

Gain

5

Limit

4

Dist Bst

0%

Bass

5

Mid

6

Treb

5

CH Out

100%

Voice

1965

Gain

7

Limit

5

Dist Bst

15%

Bass

5

Mid

7

Treb

5

CH Out

45%

Voice

1957

Reverb — Mix 4, Dwell 5 · Tremolo — Depth 0, Rate 0 > Limiter at 5 is the magic. It lets you linger right at the edge of breakup instead of tipping over on every hard note. Blues Rock — Tweed rhythm → Sweet lead

Gain

6

Limit

4

Dist Bst

0%

Bass

5

Mid

6

Treb

6

CH Out

100%

Voice

1957

Gain

8

Limit

5

Dist Bst

20%

Bass

5

Mid

7

Treb

6

CH Out

45%

Voice

Sweet

Reverb — Mix 3, Dwell 5 · Tremolo — Depth 0, Rate 0 > Sweet is the singing-lead voice — it holds the musical harmonics under overdrive instead of turning to fizz. Country — Blonde chime, both channels

Gain

3

Limit

6

Dist Bst

0%

Bass

5

Mid

4

Treb

7

CH Out

100%

Voice

1961

Gain

5

Limit

5

Dist Bst

15%

Bass

5

Mid

5

Treb

7

CH Out

60%

Voice

1961

Reverb — Mix 4, Dwell 5 · Tremolo — Depth 0, Rate 0 > 1961 is the blonde-era voice — bell-like, scooped, made for a Tele bridge pickup. High Limiter keeps chicken-pickin' even. Rockabilly — Blonde slap → tweed grit

Gain

4

Limit

5

Dist Bst

0%

Bass

5

Mid

5

Treb

7

CH Out

100%

Voice

1961

Gain

6

Limit

4

Dist Bst

20%

Bass

5

Mid

6

Treb

6

CH Out

55%

Voice

1957

Reverb — Mix 5, Dwell 6 · Tremolo — Depth 0, Rate 0 > The manual names 1961 as the rockabilly voice outright. Bring your own slapback delay; the amp brings the chime. Surf — Drenched, both channels clean

Gain

3

Limit

6

Dist Bst

0%

Bass

6

Mid

4

Treb

7

CH Out

100%

Voice

1961

Gain

4

Limit

5

Dist Bst

0%

Bass

6

Mid

4

Treb

7

CH Out

90%

Voice

1965

Reverb — Mix 8, Dwell 7 · Tremolo — Depth 5, Rate 6 > Reverb Mix to 8, Dwell to 7. Tremolo Depth 5, Rate 6. This is the one card where the effects section is the whole point. Jazz & Clean Jazz — Sweet → black-panel, treble down

Gain

3

Limit

7

Dist Bst

0%

Bass

6

Mid

6

Treb

3

CH Out

100%

Voice

Sweet

Gain

3

Limit

7

Dist Bst

0%

Bass

6

Mid

5

Treb

4

CH Out

100%

Voice

1965

Reverb — Mix 3, Dwell 5 · Tremolo — Depth 0, Rate 0 > Treble at 3 is the manual's 'woman tone.' Neck pickup, tone rolled back, Limiter high so nothing ever breaks up. Jazz Fusion — Sweet clean → Sweet lead

Gain

4

Limit

6

Dist Bst

0%

Bass

5

Mid

6

Treb

5

CH Out

100%

Voice

Sweet

Gain

7

Limit

6

Dist Bst

15%

Bass

5

Mid

7

Treb

6

CH Out

55%

Voice

Sweet

Reverb — Mix 3, Dwell 6 · Tremolo — Depth 0, Rate 0 > Sweet on both. It sustains without fizzing, which is exactly what a fusion lead line needs at the top of the neck. Funk Rhythm — Headroom → Top Boost snap

Gain

3

Limit

6

Dist Bst

0%

Bass

4

Mid

6

Treb

7

CH Out

100%

Voice

1965

Gain

5

Limit

5

Dist Bst

10%

Bass

4

Mid

6

Treb

8

CH Out

70%

Voice

Top Bst

Reverb — Mix 2, Dwell 3 · Tremolo — Depth 0, Rate 0 > Bass at 4 keeps it out of the bass player's lane. Limiter at 6 evens out your pops so the sixteenths sit flat. Steel Guitar — Full headroom, both channels

Gain

4

Limit

6

Dist Bst

0%

Bass

6

Mid

5

Treb

6

CH Out

100%

Voice

1965

Gain

4

Limit

6

Dist Bst

0%

Bass

6

Mid

5

Treb

6

CH Out

100%

Voice

1961

Reverb — Mix 4, Dwell 6 · Tremolo — Depth 0, Rate 0 > Straight from the manual's steel section: full Spkr Vol, Ch Out at 100%, then set Gain for your peak level. Both channels clean. Modern & Atmospheric Indie & Alternative — Top Boost jangle → Top Boost push

Gain

5

Limit

4

Dist Bst

0%

Bass

5

Mid

6

Treb

6

CH Out

100%

Voice

Top Bst

Gain

7

Limit

4

Dist Bst

30%

Bass

5

Mid

6

Treb

6

CH Out

50%

Voice

Top Bst

Reverb — Mix 3, Dwell 5 · Tremolo — Depth 3, Rate 4 > Top Bst is the jangle voice. A touch of tremolo on both channels — Depth 3, Rate 4 — and it breathes. Shoegaze & Ambient — Clean bed → Sweet wall

Gain

4

Limit

5

Dist Bst

0%

Bass

6

Mid

4

Treb

6

CH Out

100%

Voice

1965

Gain

7

Limit

3

Dist Bst

40%

Bass

6

Mid

5

Treb

6

CH Out

55%

Voice

Sweet

Reverb — Mix 8, Dwell 9 · Tremolo — Depth 2, Rate 3 > The FX Loop sits after the overdrive, so delays stack on top of the dirt like a studio mix, not a muddy mess. That's the trick here. Pop & Worship — Clean headroom → Sweet lead

Gain

3

Limit

6

Dist Bst

0%

Bass

5

Mid

5

Treb

6

CH Out

100%

Voice

1965

Gain

6

Limit

5

Dist Bst

15%

Bass

5

Mid

6

Treb

6

CH Out

60%

Voice

Sweet

Reverb — Mix 5, Dwell 6 · Tremolo — Depth 0, Rate 0 > Set Sig Out once with your engineer, then use Spkr Vol for stage level. The XLR feed never changes, night to night. Pedal Platform — Flat and clean, twice

Gain

3

Limit

5

Dist Bst

0%

Bass

5

Mid

5

Treb

5

CH Out

100%

Voice

1965

Gain

4

Limit

5

Dist Bst

0%

Bass

5

Mid

5

Treb

5

CH Out

80%

Voice

1965

Reverb — Mix 2, Dwell 4 · Tremolo — Depth 0, Rate 0 > EQ flat at 5, Gain low, no boost. A blank canvas at the edge of breakup. Let your pedals do the talking. The manual Aviator Mach 3 manual One last thing These are starting points, not rules. Your guitar, your strings, your hands and your room all get a vote. Dial one in, play for five minutes, then start moving things around until it sounds like you — that last part is the whole point. If you find a two-channel pairing that works — especially one we missed — post it here. The composer has an Insert settings button, so you can drop in panels just like these. We'll add the good ones to this guide.