Thrash Metal1984Ride the Lightning

Fade to Black Amp Settings

by Metallica

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Original Recording Settings

Well-SourcedResearched tone data for "Fade to Black" by Metallica

Original Gear

Guitar: Gibson Explorer (Hetfield; album-era) + black Gibson Flying V (Hammett leads)
Pickups: Not specified (Hammett explicitly cites neck pickup for the warm solo tone)
Amplifier: Marshall amps (Ride the Lightning tracking described as Marshall-based)
Channel: Not specified
Tuning: standard
Pickup Selector: neck (Hammett’s warm solo tone); rhythm position not specified

Ride the Lightning tracking described as involving Marshall stacks (including extensive auditioning after Hetfield’s amp theft).

Amp Settings

Bass

4.0

Mid

6.0

Treble

6.0

Presence

6.0

Volume

8.0

No exact Marshall knob positions for Fade to Black were retrieved; values estimated for warm-but-cutting Marshall lead tone when paired with neck pickup and wah filtering.

Effects Chain

→

Wah-wah pedal

wah

→

1.Wah-wah pedal — Hammett describes using the neck pickup and playing through a wah ‘all the way in the up position’ to get the warm sound.

Playing Technique

Clean-to-driven dynamic control: careful clean picking and arpeggios, then expressive lead phrasing with wide bends and sustained vibrato. Lead tone relies heavily on phrasing and controlled note decay.

Sources+

Guitar World (Prime Cuts; interview first featured in Guitar World magazine 2009, published online Aug 3, 2020): Hammett cites neck pickup + wah ‘up’ position for Fade to Black warm solo tone; general Ride the Lightning context.
MusicRadar (Flemming Rasmussen feature; published May 1, 2025): notes Ride the Lightning tracking complications due to Hetfield’s stolen modified Marshall and auditioning numerous Marshall stacks.