Raining Blood amp settings — First act M2A-110
The Slayer guitar tone for “Raining Blood”, dialed in for a First act M2A-110 with a Gibson Les Paul Special. Studio version, Reign in Blood (1986)
Marshall JCM800 2203 + Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9 boost, B.C. Rich/Jackson guitars with EMG 81 active bridge pickup, tuned to E♭ Standard
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 10 |
| Bass | 5 |
| Treble | 8 |
| Master | 6 |
01Distortion Pedal (Boss DS-1 or similar)
RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Essential for this tone. The First Act M2A-110 cannot produce thrash-level saturation on its own. A DS-1, Metal Zone, or any tight high-gain distortion pedal is required. If acquired, set amp gain to 3-4 instead and let the pedal be the gain source.
02Noise Gate
RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Cleans up hiss between palm-muted riffs. Place after distortion.
The First Act M2A-110 is a small solid-state practice amp with only gain, bass, treble, and volume — no mid, presence, or reverb controls. Even maxed, its gain stage cannot reach thrash saturation; the settings above represent the closest the amp can get on its own, but the tone will lack the tight, defined aggression of the original. Your Les Paul Special's passive humbuckers are warmer and lower-output than Slayer's active EMGs, so treble is pushed to 8 to compensate for lost high-end bite, and bass is pulled back to 5 to avoid flubby low-end through the small speaker.
Get this tone on your amp
These settings are for a First act M2A-110. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
Get ToneAdapt on Google PlaySong, 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.