Tone library / Metallica / Fade to Black

Fade to Black amp settings — M-VAVE Cube Baby

The Metallica guitar tone for “Fade to Black”, dialed in for a M-VAVE Cube Baby with a Epiphone Les Paul Studio. Studio version, Ride the Lightning (1984) — electric heavy sections, not the acoustic intro

Original rig

Gibson Flying V with humbuckers → Boss DS-1 → Marshall JCM800 2203

Warm, mid-forward crunch with moderate gain — less scooped than later Metallica, gritty and aggressive but not extreme thrash saturation

Amp settings — M-VAVE Cube Baby

CHANNELUK 800 model (JCM800 simulation)BOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	6
Bass	5
Mid	6
Treble	6
Reverb	0
Master	7

Don’t have a M-VAVE Cube Baby? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01M-VAVE Cube Baby — Built-in Drive/Boost block

Use the overdrive/boost effect in the Cube Baby to simulate the DS-1 pushing the front of the amp — set to a mild TS or OD style if available, not high-gain distortion

Drive/Gain 4 · Tone 6 · Level 7

Why these settings

The M-VAVE Cube Baby is a compact modeler — select the UK 800 or Marshall-style amp model to match the JCM800's mid-forward bark. Your Les Paul's humbuckers are hotter than Hetfield's Flying V, so gain is dropped from 7 to 6; the Cube Baby's digital gain can get fizzy if pushed too hard. The recording is dry — reverb stays at 0. Use the internal drive block as a front-end boost rather than stacking with high amp gain.

PRO TIPRoll your tone knob back to 8 and use the neck edge of the bridge pickup's sound — the 1984 tone has less ice-pick highs than modern metal. Palm mute with your hand closer to the bridge for that tight, chugging low-E attack Hetfield is known for.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a M-VAVE Cube Baby. 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.