Tone library / Metallica / Ride the Lightning

Ride the Lightning amp settings — Marshall MG30CFX

The Metallica guitar tone for “Ride the Lightning”, dialed in for a Marshall MG30CFX with a Fender Jazzmaster. Studio version, Ride the Lightning (1984) - main rhythm riff

Original rig

Modified Marshall JCM800 2203, Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer, Gibson Flying V / Explorer with high-output humbuckers, parametric console mid-scoop

Aggressive, bright British thrash crunch with tight low-end and scooped midrange

Amp settings — Marshall MG30CFX

CHANNELOD1

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

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Boss DS-1 Distortion

Used as a tight boost in front of the OD1 channel to mimic Hetfield's TS9 push

Tone 4 · Level 8 · Dist 2

02Boss GE-7 Equalizer

Post-distortion / pre-amp input (or FX loop) to sculpt the classic '84 thrash V-curve scoop

100Hz 6 · 200Hz 5 · 400Hz 4 · 800Hz 3 · 1.6kHz 6 · 3.2kHz 7 · 6.4kHz 5 · Level 5

Why these settings

The MG30CFX lacks a physical presence control, so upper-end bite is shaped directly with treble and the GE-7 EQ sliders. The DS-1 is configured with low distortion and elevated output to act as a tight overdrive boost pushing the Marshall solid-state OD1 channel. Rolling the Jazzmaster tone knob slightly off wide-open tames excessive single-coil top-end brightness to match the thicker response of James Hetfield's Gibson humbuckers. Clean intro: bypass the DS-1 and GE-7 and switch the MG30CFX to the Clean channel.

PRO TIPAnchor your palm firmly on the bridge saddles and execute aggressive, uniform downstrokes with an extra-heavy pick to nail the percussive, mechanical chug of the main riff.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Marshall MG30CFX. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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