People overthink the Mac DeMarco guitar tone. They go looking for the rare amp or the secret pedal, when the truth is almost funny: it is a clean guitar, a chorus turned up further than most players are comfortable with, and a guitar that is allowed to sit a little out of tune. That is the whole trick. The looseness is the point.
Below is the short version with starting settings, then a breakdown of each move. If you want the deeper read on why vintage chorus sounds the way it does, our BBD chorus guide covers the circuit side. This page is the settings cheat sheet.
The short version: a starting recipe
- Clean guitar in. A cheap or offset-style guitar suits it. Neck pickup, tone rolled back a touch.
- Clean amp: a bright clean voicing, no drive, just headroom.
- Chorus: rate around 0.8 to 1.2 Hz, depth 35 to 45 percent, mix 45 to 60 percent, dual voice. This is the centerpiece, so let it be obvious.
- Tuning: leave it very slightly off, or just lean on a deeper chorus to fake the wobble.
- Tape: a light pass for glue. Warmth 40 percent, drift 15 percent, texture 20 percent.
That gets you most of the way there in about two minutes. Here is what each piece is actually doing.
It starts and ends with the chorus
Most guitarists use chorus as a subtle shimmer they can barely hear. This tone does the opposite. The chorus is loud, slow, and deep enough that the pitch is clearly moving, which gives the guitar that swimmy, slightly drunk feel. You are not trying to be tasteful here. You are trying to make the note sway.
The character that matters is the vintage bucket brigade style of chorus, the kind that gently darkens the high end as it modulates instead of staying glassy and digital. That darkening is a big part of why the tone feels warm and old rather than clinical. We use CST-1 for this in chorus mode, pushed deeper and wetter than you would normally dare. If you have only ever used chorus quietly, turn it up until it feels like too much, then back off slightly. That is the zone.
Let it be a little out of tune
Part of the signature is that the guitar is not perfectly in tune, and the deep chorus exaggerates every bit of that. You do not have to play out of tune to get it, though. A deeper, slower chorus produces most of the same seasick movement on its own. If you want to lean in, detune very slightly and let the modulation do the rest. The goal is a tone that sounds relaxed to the point of falling over, but never actually sour.
Keep the amp clean and simple
This is not a gain sound. The amp stays clean and bright, just enough headroom that the chorus has a clear signal to work on. The records lean on a cheap, simple, clean setup on purpose, which is good news, because it means you are not chasing an expensive rig. We use Roomtone Amp Sim on a clean, slightly bright voicing and let the chorus be the star. No drive, no scooped metal EQ, just a clean platform.
Lo-fi glue on top
The last touch is the lo-fi softness. A lot of these records were tracked simply, often to tape or with tape-style processing, which rounds off the top end and adds a gentle wow and flutter that makes everything feel hazy and glued together. A light pass of 4TRK cassette emulation does this without muddying the tone. Keep it subtle. You want softness, not noise.
The chorus is the sound. Start there.
CST-1 is the vintage bucket brigade chorus and vibrato at the center of this tone, the warm, darkening kind, not a clinical digital one. $29, or grab it with 4TRK and DV-1 in the Indie Guitar Chain bundle for the wider indie palette and save $18.
See CST-1The order, quickly
Guitar into clean amp, then chorus, then a light tape pass. The chorus goes after the amp so it modulates a clean, full signal, and the tape goes last so it softens the whole thing into one cohesive, hazy take. If you want the bigger picture of how clean indie tones get built stage by stage, the indie guitar chain breakdown walks through the full architecture, and the Mk.gee tone guide covers the pitched-down, gated-reverb cousin of this sound.
Frequently asked questions
What chorus does Mac DeMarco use?
The wobble comes from a heavy, obvious chorus rather than a subtle one. The exact pedal varies, but the sound is a vintage bucket brigade style chorus pushed harder than most players would dare, slow and deep with a high wet mix. In a plugin, set the rate slow, the depth deep, and the mix high enough that you clearly hear the movement.
Is Mac DeMarco's guitar out of tune on purpose?
Largely, yes. The loose, drunk-sounding character is a guitar that is slightly out of tune combined with a deep chorus that exaggerates the pitch movement. You do not have to detune to fake it. A deeper, slower chorus gives you the same wobble without playing out of tune.
What amp and gear does Mac DeMarco use?
He is known for a deliberately cheap and simple setup, clean amp tones, and inexpensive guitars. The tone is not about an expensive rig, which is exactly why it is easy to reproduce with plugins.
Why does the tone sound so lo-fi?
Many of those records were tracked simply, often to tape or with tape-style processing, which rounds off the high end and adds gentle wow and flutter. A light cassette emulation over a clean chorused guitar recreates that softness and glue.
How do I get the tone with plugins?
Clean amp, a deep slow chorus as the centerpiece, slightly loose tuning, and a light tape emulation to finish. In our setup that is Roomtone Amp Sim clean, CST-1 in chorus mode pushed deep, and a touch of 4TRK on top.
For more on the chorus itself, our chorus effect guide covers the basics and our BBD chorus guide goes deep on why vintage modulation sounds vintage.