Tone library / Metallica / Ride the lightning

Ride the lightning amp settings — Trion Mini

The Metallica guitar tone for “Ride the lightning”, dialed in for a Trion Mini with a Trion Strat. Studio version, Ride the Lightning album (1984)

Original rig

Marshall JCM800 2203 (Jose Arredondo mod) + 1984 Gibson Explorer with Dirty Fingers humbucker (bridge)

Cold, tight thrash rhythm with scooped mids, aggressive pick attack, and dry immediacy

Amp settings — Trion Mini

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

Don’t have a Trion Mini? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Distortion Pedal (RECOMMENDED — not owned)

RECOMMENDED — A Boss DS-1 or ProCo RAT clone will get you the tight saturation a small solid-state amp cannot produce alone. Run into a clean amp setting. Without this pedal, the tone will lack the compressed, saturated aggression of the original.

Gain/Dist 7 · Tone 6 · Level 7

Why these settings

The Trion Mini is a small practice amp with limited gain and headroom—it cannot replicate a cranked modded JCM800. You need an external distortion pedal as the primary gain source; set the amp's own gain low (or use clean channel if available) and let the pedal do the heavy lifting. The Strat's single-coil bridge pickup is thinner and brighter than Hetfield's humbuckers, so bass is raised +1 and treble dropped -1 vs original JCM800 settings to compensate for the ice-pick highs.

PRO TIPPalm-mute hard and close to the bridge with the fleshy side of your picking hand—the cold, percussive chunk of this tone comes from disciplined right-hand technique, not just gain. Let the pick attack do the work; don't let notes ring sloppily.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Trion Mini. 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.