Tone library / Metallica / The Four Horsemen

The Four Horsemen amp settings — Fender Champion II 25

The Metallica guitar tone for “The Four Horsemen”, dialed in for a Fender Champion II 25 with a Gibson Les Paul Special. Studio version, Kill 'Em All (1983) — James Hetfield main rhythm guitar

Original rig

1980 Gibson Flying V (humbuckers) into a modded Marshall JMP 2203 100W head, no pedals, direct amp distortion, dry tracking

Aggressive, bright thrash crunch with tight palm-muted chug, crisp treble bite, and completely dry response

Amp settings — Fender Champion II 25

CHANNELVoice: Metal (90s / High-Gain British voice)

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	8
Bass	7
Treble	8
Reverb	0
Master	4

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Why these settings

The Champion II 25 features a two-band EQ without a mid control, so the mid parameter is set to null. Setting the voice selector to the Metal setting replicates the hot-rodded Marshall high-gain saturation. Boosting treble to 8 and bass to 7 naturally creates the aggressive scoop and attack needed for Hetfield's early thrash tone. For the clean interlude section: switch the Voice to Clean and roll guitar volume to 7.

PRO TIPAnchor your palm firmly across the bridge saddles to choke the lower strings tightly, and use aggressive, all-downstroke picking to get the signature percussive bite of early Metallica riffs.

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These settings are for a Fender Champion II 25. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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