Tone library / Metallica / Fade to black

Fade to black amp settings — ZENY CYD-10

The Metallica guitar tone for “Fade to black”, dialed in for a ZENY CYD-10 with a Jackson SLXM DX snow white. Studio version, Ride the Lightning (1984) — heavy rhythm section, not the acoustic intro

Original rig

Gibson Flying V → Boss DS-1 → Marshall JCM800 2203 (Hetfield rhythm); ESP + Cry Baby wah → Mesa/Marshall (Hammett leads)

Tight, aggressive 80s thrash crunch with scooped mids and cutting high-end bite

Amp settings — ZENY CYD-10

CHANNELDistortion/Drive channel (if available) or single channel cranked

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	6
Bass	4
Mid	4
Treble	7
Presence	6
Reverb	0
Master	5

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01LYR.PEDAL (as distortion/overdrive boost)

Use this as your primary gain source to push the amp harder — the ZENY alone won't deliver JCM800 saturation. Set amp gain lower (3-4) if pedal is doing the heavy lifting.

Drive/Gain 7 · Tone 6 · Level/Volume 7

Why these settings

The ZENY CYD-10 is a budget practice amp with limited gain and thin voicing compared to a cranked JCM800. Your LYR.PEDAL must supply the saturation — set amp to its cleanest usable setting and let the pedal be the dirt. The Jackson's active-style humbuckers are hotter than Hetfield's passive Flying V pickups, so I pulled amp gain down 1 and treble stays high to retain bite without mud. Mids scooped slightly for that 80s thrash character.

PRO TIPTune to E♭ Standard before dialing in — the track is down a half step. Palm-mute tightly right at the bridge saddles for that percussive 'chunk' on the main riff; loose muting kills the attack.

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These settings are for a ZENY CYD-10. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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