Tone library / Rage against the machine / Killing in the name

Killing in the name amp settings — Boss Katana 100 MkII

The Rage against the machine guitar tone for “Killing in the name”, dialed in for a Boss Katana 100 MkII with a Gretsch G5220 Electromatic. Studio album version, Rage Against The Machine (1992) — main Drop-D rhythm riff

Original rig

1982 Fender Standard Telecaster (neck single-coil pickup, Drop D) into Marshall JCM800 2205 50W head (boost channel cranked) through a Peavey 4x12 cabinet

Raw, punchy British crunch with tight low end and hollow single-coil neck bite

Amp settings — Boss Katana 100 MkII

CHANNELCrunch amp typeBOOSToff

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

Don’t have a Boss Katana 100 MkII? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPneck TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Jim Dunlop Cry Baby 535Q Wah

Bypass for main riff; engage for intro noise sweeps and solo

Volume 5 · Q 5

Why these settings

The Katana Crunch voice captures Tom Morello's cranked Marshall JCM800 2205 boost channel without needing an external drive pedal. To match the bright, cutting hollow sound of Morello's Telecaster neck pickup on your humbucker-equipped Gretsch, treble and presence are boosted slightly while bass is kept at 5 to prevent the lower Drop-D strings from getting muddy. Leave the BD-2 and RAT bypassed for this rhythm tone to preserve the raw Marshall power-section bite.

PRO TIPTom Morello famously tracked all rhythm parts on 'Killing in the Name' using his Telecaster's neck pickup in Drop-D tuning; dig in aggressively with the pick right next to the bridge to add percussive snap to the darker neck humbucker.

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These settings are for a Boss Katana 100 MkII. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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