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Master of puppets amp settings — Harley Benton HB-20R

The Metallica guitar tone for “Master of puppets”, dialed in for a Harley Benton HB-20R with a Clifton Clifton st. Studio version, Master of Puppets album (1986), rhythm guitar tone

Original rig

Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ (preamp) → Marshall JCM800 (power amp), Jackson King V with Seymour Duncan Invader humbuckers, no pedals for dirt

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

Amp settings — Harley Benton HB-20R

CHANNELOverdrive (if available) or single channel cranked

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	8
Bass	7
Mid	2
Treble	8
Presence	6
Reverb	0
Master	5

Don’t have a Harley Benton HB-20R? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Boss MT-2 Metal Zone or Behringer HM300 Heavy Metal

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Essential for this tone. The HB-20R lacks the gain saturation needed for thrash. A Metal Zone or HM300 clone (~$25-30) provides the tight, scooped high-gain the original requires. Run into amp's CLEAN setting with amp gain at 2-3.

Level 7 · Low 7 · High 8 · Mid 2 · Mid Freq 5 · Dist 7

Why these settings

The Harley Benton HB-20R is a 20W solid-state practice amp that cannot produce high-gain metal saturation on its own — its overdrive is loose and fizzy compared to the Mark IIC+'s tight compression. Without a distortion pedal, you will not achieve this tone. The settings above assume a dirt pedal providing the gain; the amp's job is clean amplification only. I've scooped mids hard (2) and boosted bass/treble to approximate the famous V-curve EQ Hetfield used on his Mark IIC+ graphic EQ.

PRO TIPHetfield's tone lives in his right hand: strict all-downstroke picking with the pick angled slightly and attacking the strings hard near the bridge. Palm mute firmly but not choked — you want percussive thump, not dead strings. This technique matters more than any gear.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Harley Benton HB-20R. 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.