Heavy Metal amp settings — Positive Grid Spark 40
The Judas Priest guitar tone for “Heavy Metal”, dialed in for a Positive Grid Spark 40 with a Gibson Les Paul Studio. Studio version, Ram It Down (1988)
Marshall JCM800 2203 / JMP 1959 heads pushed with Boss OD-1 overdrive, Hamer and Gibson guitars with hot humbuckers/EMGs
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 7 |
| Bass | 4 |
| Mid | 7 |
| Treble | 7 |
| Reverb | 2 |
| Master | 6 |
01Onboard Booster (Overdrive block)
Spark app onboard OD block in front of the amp model (boost/tighten mode)
02Onboard Noise Gate
Spark app onboard gate block to tame high-gain hiss
The Spark 40 has a boomy low-end resonance through its 4-inch stereo speakers, so the bass is trimmed down to 4 while mids and treble are pushed to 7 to recreate the aggressive 800Hz-3kHz bite of a cranked JCM800. Since the Spark 40 faceplate lacks a presence knob, top-end sizzle is balanced directly via the treble control. The onboard overdrive block acts as Glenn and KK's classic OD-1 boost to tighten the attack for fast palm mutes.
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These settings are for a Positive Grid Spark 40. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
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