Tone library / Metallica / Creeping Death

Creeping Death amp settings — NUX MG-30

The Metallica guitar tone for “Creeping Death”, dialed in for a NUX MG-30 with a Ibanez RGD71ALMS 7-String. Studio version, Ride the Lightning (1984) — James Hetfield rhythm tone

Original rig

Marshall JCM800 2203 (Jose Arredondo mod) or Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ into Marshall 4x12, Gibson Flying V or ESP MX220 with EMG 81, Ibanez TS9 as boost

Tight, aggressive thrash rhythm with scooped mids, percussive palm-mute attack, dry and in-your-face

Amp settings — NUX MG-30

CHANNELOptima 100 (Mesa Mark IIC+ model) or Brit 800 (JCM800 model) — choose Optima 100 for tighter low-endBRIGHToffBOOSToff

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

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Tube Screamer (use MG-30 internal 'Morning Drive' or 'Tube Drive' block)

Place BEFORE amp block in signal chain. Low drive, high level — acts as a clean boost to tighten low-end and push the amp's front end, not as a distortion source

Drive 1 · Tone 6 · Level 7

02Noise Gate (MG-30 internal gate block)

Essential for tight thrash palm-mutes — kills string noise between stabs without choking sustain

Threshold 4 · Decay 3

Why these settings

Your RGD71ALMS has hotter, more compressed active-style pickups than Hetfield's passive EMG 81 or Flying V humbuckers — drop gain to 7 (vs original 8) to avoid mud. The 7-string's extended low-end means bass 5 is enough; going higher will flub palm-mutes. Tune to E♭ standard (ignore the low B string or mute it) to match the original. The MG-30's Optima 100 model nails the Mark IIC+ tight-and-scooped voicing better than the Brit 800 for this tone.

PRO TIPAll downstrokes, all the time — the gallop's aggression comes from Hetfield's right-hand attack, not the settings. Palm-mute pressure should ride just behind the bridge saddles, not on top of them, for that percussive 'chunk' without killing note definition.

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