Tone library / Metallica / Master of Puppets

Master of Puppets amp settings — Fender Mustang GTX 100

The Metallica guitar tone for “Master of Puppets”, dialed in for a Fender Mustang GTX 100 with a Schecter Sunset SGR. Studio version, Master of Puppets album (1986), Sweet Silence Studios, Copenhagen

Original rig

Mesa Boogie Mark IIC+ preamp → Marshall JCM800 power amp, ESP Explorer with EMG 81 (bridge), Ibanez TS-808 Tube Screamer as boost

Tight, aggressive thrash rhythm with scooped mids, razor-sharp pick attack, crushing low end, and high-gain saturation with note definition

Amp settings — Fender Mustang GTX 100

CHANNELMetal 2000 amp modelBRIGHToffBOOSTon

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

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Tube Screamer (built-in effect block)

Essential for the Hetfield tone—use the GTX's built-in Tube Screamer model placed BEFORE the amp block. Drive near minimum, level high. This tightens the low end and adds mid-focus to the pick attack.

Drive 1 · Tone 6 · Level 7

02Graphic EQ (built-in effect block)

Place in effects loop position. Creates the signature V-curve: boosted lows, scooped mids, elevated upper presence. This is the Mark IIC+ graphic EQ shape.

100Hz 7 · 200Hz 4 · 400Hz 2 · 800Hz 3 · 1.6kHz 4 · 3.2kHz 6 · 6.4kHz 5

03Noise Gate (built-in effect block)

After the amp block. Keeps palm mutes tight and silences noise between riffs—essential for thrash precision.

Threshold 4 · Decay 3

Why these settings

The Mustang GTX's Metal 2000 model approximates the high-gain Mesa rectifier voicing. Your Schecter's passive humbuckers have less output and compression than Hetfield's active EMGs, so gain stays at 7 instead of the original 8, and the Tube Screamer boost compensates by adding front-end compression. Mids are set to 3 (scooped) but not lower—the Fender modeling tends neutral, so extreme scooping loses definition. The graphic EQ block replicates the Mark IIC+'s 5-band V-curve that defines this tone.

PRO TIPHetfield's downpicking is the tone. Every note on the album's rhythm tracks is a downstroke—no alternate picking. Anchor your palm firmly on the bridge, strike hard and evenly, and keep your wrist locked. The amp settings mean nothing if the pick attack isn't relentless and uniform.

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These settings are for a Fender Mustang GTX 100. 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.