Tone library / Rage Against the Machine / Killing in the Name (Live at 2000 Democratic National Convention)

Killing in the Name (Live at 2000 Democratic National Convention) amp settings — Boss Katana 50 MkII

The Rage Against the Machine guitar tone for “Killing in the Name (Live at 2000 Democratic National Convention)”, dialed in for a Boss Katana 50 MkII with a Epiphone Les Paul Standard 60s. Live at the 2000 Democratic National Convention (main drop-D riff)

Original rig

Custom 'Arm the Homeless' guitar (EMG humbuckers) / Fender Aerodyne Telecaster (Drop D live) into Marshall JCM800 2205 (Gain 10, Bass 10, Mid 10, Treble 7, Presence 1) through Peavey 4x12 cab with DigiTech Whammy WH-1 and DOD FX40B EQ in FX loop

Aggressive, mid-forward British crunch with massive low-end punch and a dark, non-fizzy top end
Amp settings — Boss Katana 50 MkII
CHANNELCrunch amp typeBOOSToff
GAIN 8 BASS 8 MID 9 TREBLE 6 REVERB 0 MASTER 6
KnobSetting (0–10)
Gain8
Bass8
Mid9
Treble6
Reverb0
Master6
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Guitar
PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10
Signal chain

01DigiTech Whammy (WH-1 / Ricochet)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned (used for the 2-octave pitch-shifted solo)

Pitch 10 · Mix 10

02Dunlop Cry Baby GCB95 Wah

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned (essential for the breakdown riff rhythm sweeps)

Sweep 5
Why these settings

The Katana 50 MkII Crunch model closely mimics the mid-focused bite of Morello's JCM800 2205 split-channel head. His original settings maxed out the bass and mids on the Marshall, so we push the Katana's bass to 8 and mids to 9 to retain thick drop-D low-end chunk without muddying the passive Epiphone humbuckers. Treble is dialed to 6 to emulate his dark presence setting and eliminate solid-state fizz.

PRO TIPPick forcefully near the bridge with a thick pick to achieve Morello's percussive attack, and use aggressive right-hand palm muting directly over the bridge saddles to get the signature tight percussive choke on the main riff.

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