ride the lightening amp settings — Marshall Dsl5
The Metallica guitar tone for “ride the lightening”, dialed in for a Marshall Dsl5 with a Jackson JS12 Dinky. Studio version, Ride the Lightning (1984) - main rhythm riff
Modified Marshall JCM800 / 1959 SLP (Jose mod) boosted with an Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer, Gibson Flying V / Explorer with high-output passive humbuckers into Marshall 4x12 cabs
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 7 |
| Bass | 6 |
| Mid | 4 |
| Treble | 7 |
| Reverb | 1 |
| Master | 4 |
01Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer
RECOMMENDED — not currently owned; use as a clean boost to tighten bass
The Marshall DSL5's Ultra Gain channel already captures the core British crunch of Hetfield's early hot-rodded Marshalls, so keep gain at 7 to avoid excess mud without an overdrive in front. Scooping the mids slightly to 4 provides the classic thrash bite while keeping enough presence and attack through the DSL5's 10-inch speaker (which lacks a physical presence knob). With a recommended TS9 in front, you would drop the amp gain to 5 and use the pedal strictly as a bass-tightening boost with drive near zero. Clean acoustic intro: switch to the Classic Gain channel with bridge+middle pickups.
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These settings are for a Marshall Dsl5. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
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