Tone library / Metallica / Creeping death

Creeping death amp settings — Marshall Valvestate

The Metallica guitar tone for “Creeping death”, dialed in for a Marshall Valvestate with a EVH Striped Series. Studio version, Ride the Lightning (1984)

Original rig

Marshall JCM800 2203 (Jose Arredondo mod), 1984 Gibson Explorer with Dirty Fingers humbucker, no pedals, Marshall 4x12 cab

Aggressive, scooped thrash rhythm with tight lows, biting highs, and cut mids

Amp settings — Marshall Valvestate

CHANNELOD1 or OD2 (high-gain channel)BRIGHToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	7
Bass	5
Mid	3
Treble	7
Presence	5
Reverb	0
Master	6

Don’t have a Marshall Valvestate? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Korg AX3000G (used as clean boost/EQ only)

Use a clean boost or parametric EQ patch — NOT a distortion model. The Valvestate's OD channel provides all necessary gain. If you use a distortion patch, set AX3000G gain to 0 and use it purely for tightening the low end.

Drive/Gain 0 · Bass 4 · Mid 3 · Treble 6 · Level 6

Why these settings

Your Valvestate is solid-state power with tube preamp — it won't compress like the original JCM800's full tube circuit, so it can sound stiffer. I dropped gain from the original's 8 to 7 because your EVH's Wolfgang humbucker runs hotter than Hetfield's passive Dirty Fingers. Bass cut from 6 to 5 because the Valvestate's low end can get flubby at high gain. Presence dropped to 5 to avoid the Valvestate's tendency toward fizz in the high frequencies.

PRO TIPPalm mute directly over the bridge saddles, not further up the strings — this is where Hetfield's machine-gun tightness comes from. Pick aggressively with downstrokes only on the main riff; the attack transient is half the tone.

Get this tone on your amp

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

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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.