Tone library / Metallica / Master of Puppets

Master of Puppets amp settings — Fender Champion 20

The Metallica guitar tone for “Master of Puppets”, dialed in for a Fender Champion 20 with a Gibson Les Paul Classic. Studio version, Master of Puppets (1986) — main rhythm riff

Original rig

Jackson Custom Shop King V (Seymour Duncan Invaders) into Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ preamp (V-curve 5-band graphic EQ) slaved into Marshall JCM800 2203 power amp and 4x12 Marshall cab with Celestion G12-65/G12T-75s

Aggressive, tight high-gain thrash crunch with deeply scooped 750Hz midrange and razor-sharp bite

Amp settings — Fender Champion 20

CHANNELMetal voice (Voice setting 10 or 11 / Metal 2000 style)

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	8
Bass	8
Treble	7
Reverb	0
Master	5

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Why these settings

Set the Champion 20 Voice knob to the Metal voice to replicate the Mesa Mark IIC+ preamp saturation. The Champion 20 lacks a dedicated mid knob, so push bass to 8 and treble to 7 to naturally scoop the midrange frequency response like Hetfield's 5-band graphic EQ V-curve. Clean interlude: switch Voice to Blackface Clean and roll guitar volume to 7.

PRO TIPAnchor your palm firmly against the bridge saddles and execute strict, aggressive downpicking only to nail the percussive, mechanical chug of the main riff.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Fender Champion 20. 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.