Tone library / Metallica / master of puppets

master of puppets amp settings — Line 6 HX Stomp

The Metallica guitar tone for “master of puppets”, dialed in for a Line 6 HX Stomp with a Fender American Professional II Stratocaster. Studio version, Master of Puppets (1986) — main rhythm riff

Original rig

Mesa Boogie Mark IIC+ (slaved into Marshall JCM800 2203 power section) + Jackson King V with Seymour Duncan Invaders / EMG 81 + Mesa 5-band Graphic EQ in V-curve

Aggressive, tight high-gain thrash crunch with deeply scooped mids and precise low-end punch

Amp settings — Line 6 HX Stomp

CHANNELCali IV Lead (Mesa Mark IV/IIC+ model) + 4x12 Cali V30 CabBRIGHToffBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	7
Bass	4
Mid	6
Treble	7
Presence	4
Reverb	0
Master	6

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Horizon Drive (HX Stomp Precision Drive block)

In front of amp model to tighten low-end tracking

Drive 0 · Tone 6 · Attack 7 · Level 8

02HX Stomp 10-Band Graphic EQ Block (post-amp)

Placed after amp block to recreate the classic Mesa post-preamp V-curve

80Hz 6 · 240Hz 7 · 750Hz 2 · 2.2kHz 7 · 6.6kHz 6

Why these settings

On the Cali IV model, pre-gain mids are set to 6 so the preamp distorts cleanly before the post-amp Graphic EQ scoops the 750Hz band hard to nail the iconic Metallica V-curve. To compensate for the lower-output single coils on the Stratocaster compared to James Hetfield's high-output humbuckers, the post-amp EQ pushes 240Hz and the Horizon Drive block cuts sub-bass flub while pushing preamp saturation. Clean interlude: switch to bridge+middle pickups, bypass the drive and EQ blocks, and engage the HX Stomp's 'Chorus' block.

PRO TIPAnchor your palm firmly against the bridge saddles and execute strict downpicking with a heavy, sharp pick (1.0mm+) right above the bridge pickup to reproduce the tight, percussive attack of the record.

Get this tone on your amp

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