Creeping Death amp settings — Fender Champion 20
The Metallica guitar tone for “Creeping Death”, dialed in for a Fender Champion 20 with a Fender American Ultra Stratocaster. Studio version, Ride the Lightning (1984) - Main rhythm guitar
Modified Marshall JCM800 2203 + Ibanez TS9 / ProCo Rat boost + Gibson Flying V (Seymour Duncan Invader) / Jackson RR Custom (EMG 81)
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 8 |
| Bass | 7 |
| Treble | 8 |
| Reverb | 0 |
| Master | 5 |
01Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer
RECOMMENDED — not currently owned; use in front to tighten the low end
The Champion 20 lacks a dedicated mid knob, so setting Bass to 7 and Treble to 8 naturally creates the classic Ride the Lightning midrange scoop while pushing the 8-inch speaker for percussive attack. Single coils on your Strat have lower output than James Hetfield's hot humbuckers, requiring the onboard Metal voice gain to run at 8 to achieve proper thrash saturation. If you add the recommended TS9 pedal later, switch the amp Voice to British crunch with gain at 4 and let the pedal tighten the front end. Clean interlude: switch pickup selector to neck+middle and roll guitar volume back to 6.
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These settings are for a Fender Champion 20. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
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