Tone library / Megadeth / Holy Wars... The Punishment Due

Holy Wars... The Punishment Due amp settings — Mini Amp

The Megadeth guitar tone for “Holy Wars... The Punishment Due”, dialed in for a Mini Amp with a Magnum Stratocaster. Studio version, Rust in Peace (1990)

Original rig

Jackson King V with Seymour Duncan JB/active pickups, modified Marshall Super Lead 100W / JCM800 2203, Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor

Tight, aggressive, articulate thrash with razor-sharp mid bite and dry, controlled low end

Amp settings — Mini Amp

CHANNELOverdrive / DriveBOOSTon

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	8
Bass	5
Treble	7
Reverb	0
Master	6

Don’t have a Mini Amp? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01ProCo Rat 2 or Boss DS-1

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned; tightens low-end tracking and provides authentic thrash saturation

Distortion 7 · Filter/Tone 5 · Volume 7

Why these settings

Because generic mini amps lack high-headroom cascaded gain stages and a dedicated midrange EQ, push the amp's drive channel to 8 while keeping bass moderate to prevent the small speaker from flubbing out. Single-coil pickups on a Strat require slightly rolled-off treble compared to Mustaine's high-output humbuckers to avoid piercing fizz. Adding a dedicated distortion pedal in front will provide the tight, compressed chug that a battery-powered mini amp cannot fully generate on its own.

PRO TIPAnchor your palm firmly across the bridge saddles for hyper-tight palm-muting and use a stiff, heavy pick (1.0mm+) angled slightly downward to emulate Dave Mustaine's aggressive alternate-picking attack.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Mini Amp. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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Song, artist and gear names are used to identify the tone being matched; ToneAdapt is not affiliated with or endorsed by the artists or manufacturers mentioned. Settings are AI-generated starting points — trust your ears.