Tone library / Metalica / Master of puppets

Master of puppets amp settings — Orange Crunch12

The Metalica guitar tone for “Master of puppets”, dialed in for a Orange Crunch12 with a Ibanez GIO GRG170DX. Studio album cut, Master of Puppets (1986) - Main rhythm tone

Original rig

Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ preamp slaved into Marshall JCM800 power amp, Jackson Custom Shop King V (Seymour Duncan Invader / EMG pickups), 5-band Graphic EQ in V-shape

Tight, aggressive, mid-scooped high-gain thrash crunch with sharp pick attack
Amp settings — Orange Crunch12
GAIN 2 BASS 6 MID 3 TREBLE 7 MASTER 5
KnobSetting (0–10)
Gain2
Bass6
Mid3
Treble7
Master5
Don’t have a Orange Crunch12? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →
Guitar
PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10
Signal chain

01Boss DS-1

Primary gain engine running straight into the amp input

Tone 6 · Level 7 · Dist 8
Why these settings

The Orange Crush 12 is a single-channel practice amp that lacks the onboard gain stages and presence control needed for a Mesa IIC+ thrash tone, so the Boss DS-1 provides the distortion. Amp gain is kept low at 2 to prevent muddy double-gain stacking, while the amp mids are cut to 3 and treble boosted to 7 to compensate for Orange's naturally thick low-mid voicing and emulate the famous Mark IIC+ V-curve scoop. The CH-1 is omitted and bypassed for the heavy rhythm track.

PRO TIPAnchor your palm firmly against the bridge saddles and execute strict downpicking on the low E string chugs to capture Hetfield's percussive articulation.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Orange Crunch12. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

Get ToneAdapt on Google Play
More tones for the Orange Crunch12
MarigoldNirvana
Find your amp
Browse
Orange Crunch12 settingsALL SONGS FOR THIS AMP Master of puppets on other ampsSAME SONG, YOUR AMP Metalica tonesALL SONGS Ibanez GIO GRG170DX tonesSAME GUITAR Tone libraryEVERYTHING

Song, 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.

Get ToneAdapt — first match free