Master of Puppets amp settings — Laney Cub 12R
The Metallica guitar tone for “Master of Puppets”, dialed in for a Laney Cub 12R with a Ibanez JEM7V Steve Vai. Studio album track, Master of Puppets (1986) — signature main rhythm riff
Mesa Boogie Mark IIC+ (preamp with graphic EQ V-curve) slaved into Marshall JCM800 2203 power amp into Marshall 4x12 cabinets; Jackson King V Custom with Seymour Duncan Invader humbuckers
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 8 |
| Bass | 8 |
| Mid | 2 |
| Treble | 7 |
| Reverb | 0 |
| Master | 6 |
01Tube Screamer (TS9) or Clean Boost
RECOMMENDED — not currently owned; tightens low-end flub on the Cub 12R power section
The Laney Cub 12R is a warm, vintage-leaning EL84 tube combo, so to mimic the Mesa Mark IIC+ 'V-curve' graphic EQ, we scoop the amp's mid control down to 2 and push gain to 8 for maximum saturation. The Laney lacks the cascaded preamp gain of a Mark IIC+, so keep the tone 100% dry (reverb 0) and use the Tone control around 7 to replicate the presence bite. Clean interlude: roll guitar volume back to 3-4 and switch to the middle/neck pickup.
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These settings are for a Laney Cub 12R. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
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