Blackened amp settings — Fender Frontman 15G

The Metallica guitar tone for “Blackened”, dialed in for a Fender Frontman 15G with a Squier Affinity Stratocaster. Studio version, ...And Justice for All (1988) — main rhythm riff

Original rig

Mesa Boogie Mark IIC++ / Quad Preamp slaved into Marshall power amps, Mesa 4x12 cabs, ESP MX-220 / Gibson Explorer with EMG 81 active humbuckers, outboard parametric EQ (severe 750Hz mid-scoop)

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

Amp settings — Fender Frontman 15G

CHANNELDrive Select ON

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	7
Bass	6
Mid	2
Treble	7
Master	4

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01ProCo Rat 2 or Boss DS-1 Distortion

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned; necessary to achieve the authentic tight Mesa pre-amp saturation on this practice amp

Distortion 7 · Filter 5 · Volume 6

Why these settings

The Frontman 15G's drive channel is dialed to gain 7 to generate necessary thrash saturation, but keeping bass at 6 avoids farting out the 8-inch speaker. Treble is pushed to 7 while mids are pulled down to 2 to recreate the iconic 'Justice' graphic EQ scoop on your Strat's single-coil bridge pickup. With a high-gain distortion pedal, you would switch the amp to the clean channel with gain low to eliminate solid-state fuzz. Clean interlude: switch Drive Select OFF, pick lightly near the neck.

PRO TIPStrict, aggressive downpicking directly next to the bridge saddles is mandatory to get the percussive, machine-gun attack of the opening riff without turning the single-coil bridge pickup into mush.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Fender Frontman 15G. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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More tones for the Fender Frontman 15G

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