Master of puppets (harmony) amp settings — Positive Grid Spark 40
The Metallica guitar tone for “Master of puppets (harmony)”, dialed in for a Positive Grid Spark 40 with a Ibanez RGRT421-WK. Studio version, Master of Puppets (1986) - Melodic Harmony Section (3:33)
Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ head (slaved into Marshall JCM800 power section) + Jackson Randy Rhoads Custom / Gibson Flying V + TS9 Tube Screamer boost + subtle studio stereo delay/reverb
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 7 |
| Bass | 5 |
| Mid | 7 |
| Treble | 6 |
| Reverb | 4 |
| Master | 6 |
01Onboard Overdrive Block (Screamer / Tube Drive)
Used as a clean boost to tighten the front-end attack and add sustain for the harmony lines
02Onboard Digital Delay Block
Set to a subtle ~350ms delay to replicate the studio multi-tracked lead ambiance
03Onboard Hall Reverb Block
Provides spatial depth for the melodic dual-guitar arrangement
Unlike the aggressive, scooped rhythm tracks on the album, the harmony lead section leans heavily into vocal midrange and smooth sustain. On the Spark 40, push the mid control to 7 and switch your Ibanez to the neck pickup (Quantum humbucker) with the tone rolled down slightly to round off the sharp top-end bite. The onboard Screamer block acts as a clean boost in front of the high-gain amp model to tighten note tracking without creating muddy excess saturation. Clean interlude: switch to the neck+middle split position and bypass the Screamer block.
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These settings are for a Positive Grid Spark 40. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
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