Fade to black amp settings — Boss Katana 50 MkII

The Metalica guitar tone for “Fade to black”, dialed in for a Boss Katana 50 MkII with a Epiphone L Les Paul SL. Studio version, Ride the Lightning (1984) — iconic clean intro into heavy distorted section; settings below target the famous distorted rhythm/lead tone

Original rig

Gibson Flying V (1979, stock humbuckers) → Boss DS-1 (boost) → Marshall JCM800 2203 head with 4x12 cab. Kirk Hammett used neck pickup with cocked wah for the solo. Tuning: E♭ Standard.

Warm mid-forward crunch with singing sustain, less scooped than later Metallica — 1984 Ride the Lightning era is thicker and more organic than the Master of Puppets tone

Amp settings — Boss Katana 50 MkII

CHANNELBrownBRIGHToffBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	6
Bass	5
Mid	6
Treble	6
Presence	5
Reverb	1

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10

Why these settings

Brown amp type on Katana emulates the JCM800 voice. Your Epiphone LP SL has hotter ceramic humbuckers than the vintage Flying V PAFs, so gain dropped from 7→6 and treble from 7→6 to avoid harshness. Mid pushed +1 to match the warm 1984 production. No external pedal needed — the Katana's Brown channel delivers JCM800-style saturation natively. Boss DS-1 was used as a boost on the original but the Katana's gain structure reaches that saturation without it.

PRO TIPRoll your tone knob to 8 and dig in with downstrokes near the bridge for Hetfield's tight pick attack — the Ride the Lightning tone breathes more than later albums, so let notes ring slightly longer than you would on Master of Puppets riffs.

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These settings are for a Boss Katana 50 MkII. 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.