Tone library / Metallica / The Four Horsemen

The Four Horsemen amp settings — Orange Crush 15R

The Metallica guitar tone for “The Four Horsemen”, dialed in for a Orange Crush 15R with a Epiphone Les Paul Studio. Studio version, Kill 'Em All (1983) — James Hetfield rhythm tone

Original rig

1980 Gibson Flying V (humbuckers) into a modded 100W Marshall JMP 2203 head, dry signal with no pedals

Aggressive, fast-attack thrash rhythm with tight low end, scooped mids, razor-sharp treble bite, and zero reverb

Amp settings — Orange Crush 15R

CHANNELDirty (Overdrive channel)

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

Don’t have a Orange Crush 15R? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned; tightens low-end flub on the practice amp speaker

Drive 0 · Tone 7 · Level 9

Why these settings

The Orange Crush 15R has naturally warm, thick low-mids compared to Hetfield's bright, biting Marshall JMP 2203. To replicate the iconic 'Kill 'Em All' attack, mid is scooped down to 3 while treble is pushed to 8 to cut through the Orange's darker voicing. Gain is set to 8 on the dirty channel to achieve thrash saturation straight from the amp alone.

PRO TIPAnchor your palm firmly against the bridge saddles and execute aggressive, precise all-downstrokes on the gallop sections to maximize percussive bite and keep the tight 8-inch speaker from farting out.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Orange Crush 15R. 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.