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

Killing in the name amp settings — Fender Champion 20

The Rage against the machine guitar tone for “Killing in the name”, dialed in for a Fender Champion 20 with a Ibanez GIO GRG170DX. 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 — Fender Champion 20

CHANNELVoice: British / Metal (cleanest voicings keep gain low) or Clean 1 with SD-1BOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	2
Bass	6
Treble	7
Reverb	0
Master	5

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Guitar

PICKUPneck TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive

Used as primary dirt source into the amp's clean channel to avoid solid-state digital fizz

Level 7 · Tone 6 · Drive 7

Why these settings

Morello recorded the iconic Drop-D riff using a Telecaster neck pickup into a cranked Marshall JCM800. Since the Fender Champion 20 only has 2-band EQ (no physical mid or presence controls) and an 8-inch speaker that fizzes out on high-gain digital settings, run the Champion 20 on its clean voice (Gain 2) and push the Boss SD-1 for your core crunch. Selecting your Ibanez neck humbucker gives the signature throaty attack while raising treble compensates for humbucker warmth vs a Telecaster.

PRO TIPDrop your low E string to D and pick with aggressive downstrokes directly over the neck pickup to capture the hollow, percussive bite of the intro and verse riffs.

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These settings are for a Fender Champion 20. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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