Tone library / Metallica / Ride the Lightning

Ride the Lightning amp settings — Boss Katana Air

The Metallica guitar tone for “Ride the Lightning”, dialed in for a Boss Katana Air with a Ibanez GIO GRG170DX. Studio version, Ride the Lightning (1984) — James Hetfield rhythm tone, quad-tracked

Original rig

Marshall JCM800 2203 (Jose Arredondo mod), 1984 Gibson Explorer with Dirty Fingers humbucker, no pedals — straight into amp

Aggressive, scooped thrash rhythm with tight low-end chunk, bright cutting treble, and reduced mids for that classic 80s metal scoop

Amp settings — Boss Katana Air

CHANNELBrown amp typeBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	8
Bass	5
Mid	3
Treble	7
Presence	6
Reverb	0
Master	7

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Why these settings

The Katana's Brown channel emulates a cranked Marshall, making it the correct choice here. Your GIO's Infinity humbuckers are hotter and brighter than Hetfield's Dirty Fingers, so I dropped bass from 6 to 5 to prevent mud and pulled treble from 8 to 7 to avoid fizz. The iconic mid-scoop stays at 3 for that thrash chunk. No reverb—the original was bone-dry.

PRO TIPPalm-mute pressure is everything for this tone—mute hard and close to the bridge for that tight 'chug,' and use strict downpicking on the main riff to match Hetfield's percussive attack.

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

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