Tone library / Metallica / Ride the lighting

Ride the lighting amp settings — Fender Mustang LT25

The Metallica guitar tone for “Ride the lighting”, dialed in for a Fender Mustang LT25 with a Jackson JS22 Dinky. Studio version, Ride the Lightning (1984), title track main rhythm riff

Original rig

Marshall JCM800 2203 (modified), Gibson Explorer with Gibson Dirty Fingers bridge humbucker, plugged straight into amp

Aggressive mid-scooped thrash rhythm with sharp high-end bite and tight, percussive palm mutes

Amp settings — Fender Mustang LT25

CHANNELMetal 2000 amp model (or '80s Metal preset)BOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	7
Bass	8
Mid	3
Treble	8
Reverb	1
Master	5

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Why these settings

The Fender Mustang LT25's 'Metal 2000' voice provides the necessary cascaded high-gain saturation of James Hetfield's modded JCM800 without needing external pedals. Mids are pulled down to 3 to achieve the iconic Sweet Silence Studios scoop, while bass and treble are boosted to match the punch and bite of the Dirty Fingers humbucker through your Jackson JS22. Presence is physically absent on the LT25 faceplate, so high-frequency attack is dialed directly through the treble control.

PRO TIPAnchor your palm firmly against the bridge saddles and execute strict, aggressive downpicking to replicate Hetfield's percussive attack and keep the low-end chugs tight.

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These settings are for a Fender Mustang LT25. 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.