Tone library / Metallica / For Whom the Bell Tolls

For Whom the Bell Tolls amp settings — laney rb 3 65w

The Metallica guitar tone for “For Whom the Bell Tolls”, dialed in for a laney rb 3 65w with a jackson js2 concert bass. Studio version, Ride the Lightning (1984)

Original rig

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

Aggressive palm-muted thrash rhythm with tight low-end and cutting upper-mids

Amp settings — laney rb 3 65w

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

Don’t have a laney rb 3 65w? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Bass Overdrive (e.g., Darkglass B3K, Boss ODB-3, or Tech 21 SansAmp)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Essential for this tone since the Laney RB3 is a clean bass amp with no overdrive circuit.

Drive/Gain 7 · Blend/Mix 8 · Tone/Treble 6 · Level 7

Why these settings

You have a bass amp and a bass guitar — this is fundamentally mismatched gear for replicating a guitar tone. The Laney RB3 is a solid-state bass combo with no distortion channel; it will not produce Marshall JCM800 crunch on its own. The Jackson JS2 Concert Bass has bass pickups with different frequency response than guitar humbuckers. You will get a bass-register approximation of the riff's aggression, not the actual guitar tone. A bass overdrive pedal is mandatory to get any grit.

PRO TIPCliff Burton's bass tone on this track is actually iconic — if you want to lean into what your rig CAN do, learn his galloping bass line and use a Big Muff-style fuzz to match his distorted bass sound from the original recording instead of chasing Hetfield's guitar tone on incompatible gear.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a laney rb 3 65w. 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.