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Master of Puppets amp settings — Harley Benton HB-10G

The Metallica guitar tone for “Master of Puppets”, dialed in for a Harley Benton HB-10G with a Harley Benton SC-Custom II. Studio version, Master of Puppets album (1986)

Original rig

Jackson King V with EMG 81 (bridge) → Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ preamp slaved into Marshall JCM800 power amp, 5-band graphic EQ set to V-shape (boosted lows, scooped mids, boosted presence)

Tight, aggressive scooped-mid thrash rhythm with razor-sharp pick attack and crushing low end

Amp settings — Harley Benton HB-10G

CHANNELOverdrive (OD channel)

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	8
Bass	7
Mid	2
Treble	7
Presence	0
Reverb	0
Master	5

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10

Why these settings

The HB-10G is a small solid-state practice amp with limited headroom and a boxy speaker — it cannot replicate the Mark IIC+'s tube saturation or the JCM800's power amp punch. Gain is maxed to compensate for the lack of tube compression. Mids are dropped to 2 to approximate the V-curve scoop, bass pushed to 7 for the low-end thump, treble at 7 for pick attack. This amp has no presence control, so that's zeroed. The tone will be thinner and fizzier than the original; focus on tight palm-muting technique to compensate.

PRO TIPHetfield's tone comes from relentless downpicking with the pick angled slightly and striking the strings hard right above the bridge pickup — this creates the percussive 'chug' that defines the track. Without a high-gain amp or pedal, your picking hand is doing 70% of the work.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Harley Benton HB-10G. 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.