Tone library / Metallica / For whom the bell tolls

For whom the bell tolls amp settings — Fender Frontman 15G

The Metallica guitar tone for “For whom the bell tolls”, dialed in for a Fender Frontman 15G with a Squier Stratocaster HSS. Studio version, Ride the Lightning (1984)

Original rig

Gibson Flying V → Ibanez TS-9 Tube Screamer → Marshall JCM800 2203

Tight, aggressive palm-muted thrash rhythm with mid-forward British crunch and controlled low-end

Amp settings — Fender Frontman 15G

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	3
Bass	3
Mid	7
Treble	5
Presence	0
Reverb	0
Master	6

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Fender Pugilist Distortion

Use Type A (tighter voicing) as primary with Type B blended in for body. The Pugilist's dual-engine design lets you stack tight gain with a fuller mid character.

Gain A 6 · Gain B 4 · Tone A 6 · Tone B 5 · Blend 7 · Output 7

Why these settings

The Frontman 15G is a solid-state practice amp with no breakup headroom, so the Pugilist must provide ALL the gain — amp gain is dropped to 3 (just above clean) to avoid muddy stacking. Original JCM800 settings had mids at 5, but the Frontman is naturally scooped like most Fender-voiced amps, so mids are pushed to 7 to compensate. Treble dropped from the original 7 to 5 because the Frontman's treble shelf is ice-picky at high settings.

PRO TIPHetfield's palm-muting hand position is critical — anchor your palm directly over the bridge saddles, not floating above them. Use strict downstrokes only on the main riff; the mechanical consistency is half the tone. Your Squier's humbucker in the bridge will get you close, but roll the tone knob to 8 to tame the ceramic magnet brightness that a Gibson's alnico V wouldn't have.

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These settings are for a Fender Frontman 15G. 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.