Tone library / Metallica / Four horsemen

Four horsemen amp settings — Neural dap Heavy rhythm

The Metallica guitar tone for “Four horsemen”, dialed in for a Neural dap Heavy rhythm with a Hondo All star h-703. Studio version, Kill 'Em All (1983)

Original rig

Jose Arredondo-modded Marshall Super Lead 100w + Pro Co RAT pedal, Gibson Flying V with stock pickups

Aggressive, scooped thrash rhythm with tight low-end, cutting high frequencies, and fast palm-mute attack

Amp settings — Neural dap Heavy rhythm

CHANNELHigh Gain / Rhythm channel (select the tightest, most modern-voiced high-gain amp model available)BRIGHToffBOOSTon

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

Don’t have a Neural dap Heavy rhythm? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Built-in Noise Gate (if available)

Essential for tight palm-mute stops—early thrash demands dead silence between riffs

Threshold 4 · Decay 2

02RAT-style Distortion (RECOMMENDED — not currently owned)

RECOMMENDED — The RAT's clipping character is central to the Kill 'Em All attack. A Pro Co RAT 2 or clone (TC Dark Matter, Mooer Black Secret) gets you 90% there. Without it, push the amp gain to 8 and accept a slightly smoother breakup.

Distortion 6 · Filter 4 · Volume 7

Why these settings

Your Hondo H-703 likely has lower-output passive humbuckers versus Hetfield's hot modded rig, so gain is set higher (+1) to compensate. The Neural DSP Heavy Rhythm profile is already voiced for modern metal tightness—the scooped mids (3) replicate the classic 'smile' EQ Metallica used. Without a RAT pedal, you lose some of that compressed, clicky pick attack; consider one as your next purchase.

PRO TIPHetfield's right-hand position on Kill 'Em All is extremely close to the bridge saddles—almost on top of them for palm mutes. This placement, combined with all downstrokes at 200+ BPM, creates that machine-gun chunk. Anchor your palm firmly and pick with the thickest part of the pick for maximum attack.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Neural dap Heavy rhythm. 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.