Tone library / rage against the machine / killing in the name

killing in the name amp settings — Marshall MG30CFX

The rage against the machine guitar tone for “killing in the name”, dialed in for a Marshall MG30CFX with a Fender Player Precision Bass. Studio version, Rage Against the Machine (1992)

Original rig

Music Man StingRay (active 2-band EQ) + Ampeg SVT-CL / SVT-2 Pro into 8x10 cabs + Marshall Guv'nor (original black box)

Aggressive, punchy, mid-forward growl with gritty upper-mid drive and tight percussive low end
Amp settings — Marshall MG30CFX
CHANNELCrunchBOOSToff
GAIN 6 BASS 6 MID 8 TREBLE 7 REVERB 0 MASTER 5
KnobSetting (0–10)
Gain6
Bass6
Mid8
Treble7
Reverb0
Master5
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Guitar
PICKUPneck TONE10 VOLUME10
Signal chain

01Marshall The Guv'nor (or Bass Overdrive)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned

Gain 6 · Bass 5 · Mid 7 · Treble 7 · Level 6
Why these settings

The MG30CFX lacks a presence knob and is a guitar combo, so run on the Crunch channel at gain 6 to capture Commerford's signature SVT/Guv'nor edge directly from the amp. Your passive P-Bass naturally has a woodier low-mid punch than Tim's active StingRay, so mid is pushed to 8 and treble to 7 with the tone knob wide open to inject missing top-end bite. If you add an overdrive pedal later, switch the amp to the Clean channel with gain at 2 and let the pedal generate the dirt.

PRO TIPDig in hard with your index and middle fingers right over the split pickup so the strings slap slightly against the frets on the downbeat, capturing the signature percussive clack of the intro riff in Drop D tuning.

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These settings are for a Marshall MG30CFX. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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