The four horsemen amp settings — Fender G20

The Metallica guitar tone for “The four horsemen”, dialed in for a Fender G20 with a Fender Stevie Ray Vaughan Stratocaster. Studio version, Kill 'Em All (1983)

The Fender G20 is a small solid-state practice amp with Fender's naturally scooped, bright voicing—the opposite of a cranked Marshall. Gain is maxed because the G20's distortion is thin and weak compared to Marshall tube saturation. Treble is cut to 5 (original was higher on Marshall) because Fender amps plus single coils get ice-picky fast; mid is pushed to 7 to compensate for Fender's mid-scoop and your Strat's inherent brightness. The SRV Strat's Texas Special single coils are hotter than standard Strat pickups but still output far less than Hetfield's EMGs, so every gain stage must be maximized. Tone knob rolled to 7 tames the single-coil ice-pick. This will get you in the ballpark but will lack the Marshall's tight low-end thump and harmonic richness—a distortion pedal (Boss DS-1, ProCo RAT, or even a cheap Joyo) would massively improve the result.

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.