Tone library / Metallica / Enter Sandman

Enter Sandman amp settings — Yamaha GA 15II

The Metallica guitar tone for “Enter Sandman”, dialed in for a Yamaha GA 15II with a Yamaha Pacifica 012. Studio album cut, Metallica (The Black Album, 1991) — Main rhythm riff

Original rig

ESP MX-250 (EMG 81 bridge) into Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC++ blended with Jose-modded Marshall JCM800 and ADA MP-1 preamp, outboard API 550A/Aphex EQs (1.2kHz mid-scoop), 4x12 Marshall/Mesa cabs with Celestion Vintage 30s

Thick, punchy high-gain metal rhythm with aggressively scooped mids, tight low-end chug, and crisp top-end bite

Amp settings — Yamaha GA 15II

CHANNELDrive (Gain switch engaged)

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	8
Bass	6
Mid	3
Treble	7
Master	4

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01ProCo Rat 2 or Boss MT-2 Metal Zone

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned; to match the wall-of-sound Mesa/Marshall stack compression that a 6.5-inch practice amp cannot naturally produce

Distortion 7 · Filter / Tone 5 · Volume / Level 6

Why these settings

The Yamaha GA-15II relies on its Drive channel and 3-band EQ to emulate Hetfield's legendary 'V-curve' Mesa Mark IIC+ rhythm tone. We push the amp's Gain to 8 and scoop the Mid control down to 3 while boosting Treble to 7 for sharp palm-mute bite, but keep Bass at 6 to prevent the small 6.5-inch speaker from farting out. Clean intro: switch amp channel to Clean and play with neck/middle single-coils.

PRO TIPAnchor your palm directly on the bridge saddles and execute heavy, aggressive downstrokes with a stiff 1.0mm+ pick right over the bridge humbucker to mimic James Hetfield's percussive attack.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Yamaha GA 15II. 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.