Blackened amp settings — Marshall Code 50

The Metallica guitar tone for “Blackened”, dialed in for a Marshall Code 50 with a Jackson JS22 Dinky. Studio version, ...And Justice for All (1988)

Original rig

Mesa Boogie Mark IIC+ head, ESP Explorer with EMG 81, Aphex Aural Exciter + Aphex Compellor in FX loop, Strategy 400 power amp, Marshall 1960A cabs with Celestion G12T-75 speakers

Aggressive, scooped thrash metal with tight low end, razor-sharp high mids, and massive palm-mute chunk

Amp settings — Marshall Code 50

CHANNELJVM OD2 (or closest high-gain Marshall model in the Code)BRIGHToffBOOSTon

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	8
Bass	6
Mid	3
Treble	7
Presence	6
Reverb	0
Master	7

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Noise Gate (Code onboard)

Essential for tight palm mutes and eliminating hum between riffs

Threshold 5 · Decay 3

Why these settings

The Mark IIC+ is mid-scooped with a tight low end and searing highs—your Marshall Code's JVM model is naturally mid-forward, so I dropped mids to 3 to approximate the Aphex-processed scoop. The Jackson's passive humbuckers are lower output than Hetfield's EMG 81s, so gain goes to 8 instead of the 6-7 a real IIC+ would need. Presence at 6 adds the high-frequency bite without fizz.

PRO TIPHetfield's right hand sits almost directly over the bridge pickup for maximum palm-mute tightness—anchor your palm firmly on the bridge saddles and pick with aggressive downstrokes to nail that machine-gun chug.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Marshall Code 50. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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Marshall Code 50 settingsALL SONGS FOR THIS AMP Blackened on other ampsSAME SONG, YOUR AMP Metallica tonesALL SONGS Metallica on the Marshall Code 50SAME ARTIST, SAME AMP Jackson JS22 Dinky tonesSAME GUITAR Tone libraryEVERYTHING

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