Orion amp settings — Boss Katana 50 MkII

The Metallica guitar tone for “Orion”, dialed in for a Boss Katana 50 MkII with a Fender Player Stratocaster. Studio version, Master of Puppets (1986) — heavy riff sections

Original rig

Mesa Boogie Mark IIC+ preamp into Marshall JCM800 2203 power amp, ESP M-I Custom with active EMG 81 bridge humbucker, Boss DD-2 Delay

Aggressive mid-forward thrash rhythm with tight low-end and cutting high-mids, dry and punchy

Amp settings — Boss Katana 50 MkII

CHANNELBrown amp typeBOOSToff

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

Don’t have a Boss Katana 50 MkII? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10

Why these settings

The Katana 50 MkII's Brown voice delivers the tight, cascaded Mesa Mark IIC+ preamp saturation needed for 1986 thrash rhythm without external pedals. Because single-coil Strat pickups are brighter and lower-output than James and Kirk's active EMG 81 humbuckers, tone is rolled back to 8 to shave ice-pick treble while bass is pushed to 6 for added chug body. For the melodic clean interlude, switch the Katana to Clean amp type with gain reduced to 3.

PRO TIPAnchor your palm mute firmly against the bridge saddles and execute strict downpicking on the galloping eighth notes to replicate Hetfield's percussive, mechanical attack.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Boss Katana 50 MkII. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

Get ToneAdapt on Google Play

More tones for the Boss Katana 50 MkII

You should probably leaveChris Stapleton I got betterMorgan Wallen Memory sure don't mess aroundJordan Davis GoosePolyphia Stairway to Heaven (Live)Led Zeppelin Dead Girl WalkingCarrie Hope Fletcher & Jamie Muscato

Find your amp

Browse

Boss Katana 50 MkII settingsALL SONGS FOR THIS AMP Orion on other ampsSAME SONG, YOUR AMP Metallica tonesALL SONGS Metallica on the Boss Katana 50 MkIISAME ARTIST, SAME AMP Fender Player Stratocaster tonesSAME GUITAR Tone libraryEVERYTHING

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.