Blackened amp settings — Fender Blues Junior IV

The Metallica guitar tone for “Blackened”, dialed in for a Fender Blues Junior IV with a Jackson JS22 Dinky. Main rhythm riff, studio version, ...And Justice for All (1988)

Original rig

Mesa Boogie Mark IIC++ / Quad Preamp into Marshall power amps, Mesa 4x12 cabs, ESP MX-220 with EMG 81, outboard parametric EQ

Aggressive, razor-sharp thrash tone with hyper-scooped mids, punchy low-end thud, and biting top-end attack

Amp settings — Fender Blues Junior IV

BOOSTon

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	9
Bass	7
Mid	2
Treble	8
Reverb	0
Master	4

Don’t have a Fender Blues Junior IV? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Mesa Boogie Throttle Box / High-Gain Distortion

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned; with this pedal, switch FAT boost off, drop amp gain to 2, and set amp bass/treble to 5

Level 7 · Gain 8 · Lo Cut 4 · Mid Cut 8 · Tone 7

Why these settings

A single-channel Fender tube amp naturally lacks the cascading preamp saturation and tight low-end of a Mesa Mark IIC++, so the FAT boost is engaged and gain pushed near maximum to provide the highest usable saturation today. The amp's natural midrange is cut hard down to 2 while treble is raised to mimic the iconic 'V-curve' outboard graphic EQ bite. The stock ceramic bridge humbucker on your JS22 helps drive the front end, but reaching the true ...And Justice for All compression requires a dedicated high-gain distortion pedal.

PRO TIPAnchor your picking hand firmly against the bridge saddles for strict, aggressive downpicked palm mutes, and angle a heavy pick (1.0mm+) sharply against the strings to emulate James Hetfield's percussive attack.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Fender Blues Junior IV. 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.