Tone library / Metallica / Fade to Black

Fade to Black amp settings — Fender Rumble 40

The Metallica guitar tone for “Fade to Black”, dialed in for a Fender Rumble 40 with a Epiphone Les Paul Classic. Iconic intro solo and heavy rhythm tone, Ride the Lightning (1984)

Original rig

Modified Marshall JCM800 2203, Ibanez TS9 / ProCo Rat, Gibson Flying V / Fernandes Strat clone with humbuckers

Saturated, biting mid-scooped early thrash crunch with singing lead sustain

Amp settings — Fender Rumble 40

CHANNELClean (Bright/Contour/Vintage off)BRIGHToffBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	2
Bass	5
Mid	5
Treble	6
Master	5

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Guitar

PICKUPneck TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Line 6 POD XT Live (Amp/Cab Block: JCM-800 / Treadplate + Screamer)

Set POD output mode to Combo Front; use JCM-800 or Brit J-800 amp model with Screamer boost enabled

Drive 8 · Bass 6 · Mid 4 · Treble 7 · Presence 7

02Line 6 POD XT Live (Reverb Block)

Plate reverb block on POD for the iconic intro solo space

Decay 4 · Tone 5 · Mix 3

Why these settings

The Fender Rumble 40 is a bass amp with a flat, full-range response, so all amp modeling, high-gain distortion, and cab emulation are handled directly in your POD XT Live. Keep the Rumble's gain at 2 on clean with EQ flat to avoid double-preamping, letting the POD simulate the cranked JCM800 front-end. Switch to the bridge pickup when transitioning from the intro lead to the heavy rhythm sections.

PRO TIPFor Kirk Hammett's singing intro solo sustain, use the neck pickup with moderate vibrato and engage a mild plate reverb on the POD to replicate the Sweet Silence studio room ambiance.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Fender Rumble 40. 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.