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Master of Puppets amp settings — Boss Katana 100 MkII

The Metallica guitar tone for “Master of Puppets”, dialed in for a Boss Katana 100 MkII with a ESP LTD KH-202 Kirk Hammett. Studio version, Master of Puppets (1986) — main rhythm riff tone

Original rig

Mesa Boogie Mark IIC+ head into Marshall 4x12 cabinet, 1984 Gibson Explorer with EMG 81 active humbucker (bridge), Boss NS-2 noise gate. No pedals for distortion — all gain from amp preamp. Quad-tracked rhythm guitars.

Tight, percussive, scooped-mid thrash rhythm with aggressive palm-mute definition, high-gain saturation but articulate note separation, minimal ambience, focused low-end

Amp settings — Boss Katana 100 MkII

CHANNELBrownBOOSTon

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

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Why these settings

The Brown channel is the Katana's closest match to the Mark IIC+ — both have that tight, saturated high-gain character with similar mid-frequency response. Your KH-202's EMG-designed LH-301 active humbucker mirrors the original EMG 81's compressed output and tight low-end, so no gain compensation needed. Scooped mids (4 instead of 5) because the Katana's Brown voice is slightly more mid-forward than the Mesa. Enable the built-in Booster (access via Tone Studio or panel) set to Clean or Mid Boost to push the front end like Hetfield's cranked preamp. Presence is controlled via Tone Studio on the Katana 100 MkII, not the front panel — set it to 7-8 there if available.

PRO TIPHetfield's machine-gun attack comes from strict all-downstroke picking with the pick angled slightly toward the headstock — practice the main riff at 60% tempo with a metronome, focusing on muting precision between each chord stab, then build speed. The tone is useless without that tight palm-mute control.

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These settings are for a Boss Katana 100 MkII. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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