Tone library / Metallica / Master of Puppets

Master of Puppets amp settings — Fender Rumble 100

The Metallica guitar tone for “Master of Puppets”, dialed in for a Fender Rumble 100 with a Yamaha TRBX504. Studio version, Master of Puppets (1986) — main driving rhythm bass track

Original rig

Aria Pro II SB-1000 bass -> Mesa/Boogie D-180 / 400+ tube bass heads into Mesa 1x15 & 4x12 cabs, Ibanez TS9 / Morley Power Wah Boost, Boss CS-2

Aggressive, mid-forward growling fingerstyle bass with tight low end and sharp pick-like attack

Amp settings — Fender Rumble 100

BRIGHToff

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

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge+middle TONE8 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Boss DS-1 Distortion

Used as a tight boost to inject Cliff's signature upper-mid grit without washing out low end

Tone 3 · Level 8 · Dist 2

02EHX Bass Big Muff Pi

Bypass for main rhythm track; engage with Dry switch on for extreme lead/solo fills

Volume 0 · Tone 0 · Sustain 0

03Boss CE-5 Chorus

Bypass for main track; engage on the clean middle interlude if desired

Effect Level 0 · Rate 0 · Depth 0

Why these settings

The Fender Rumble 100 has a naturally scooped, round modern voicing, whereas Cliff's Mesa rig pushed raw 800Hz-1.5kHz bark. We push the Rumble's Mid knob to 8 (and low-mid if using 4-band controls) while trimming Bass to 4 to prevent boomy sub-lows from obscuring the fast 212 BPM downpicking. Your Boss DS-1 runs with minimal distortion and high level as a dirty boost to add tube-like grit in front of the Rumble's clean channel.

PRO TIPCliff played aggressive fingerstyle using two or three fingers striking firmly right over the bridge pickup with calloused fingertips to get a snappy, percussive attack that sounded like a pick.

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

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