Tone library / Metallica / master of puppets

master of puppets amp settings — M-Vave Blackbox

The Metallica guitar tone for “master of puppets”, dialed in for a M-Vave Blackbox with a Fender American Professional II Stratocaster. Studio version, Master of Puppets (1986) - Main rhythm track

Original rig

Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ (V-curve graphic EQ) into Marshall JCM800 power section, Marshall 4x12 cab, Gibson Explorer / Jackson King V with high-output humbuckers

Aggressive, tight, high-gain thrash rhythm with deeply scooped mids and punchy low-end

Amp settings — M-Vave Blackbox

CHANNELUS Lead / Mark IIC+ High Gain Amp Model + 4x12 V30 Cab IRBRIGHToffBOOSTon

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	8
Bass	7
Mid	3
Treble	7
Presence	6
Reverb	0
Master	7

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01TS-Style Overdrive Block (Pre-Amp)

Used strictly as a clean boost to tighten the low-end flub before the high-gain amp model

Drive 0 · Tone 6 · Level 9

02Noise Gate Block

Essential to clamp down on single-coil hum and keep fast thrash staccato mutes tight

Threshold 7 · Decay 2

Why these settings

Because single-coil Strat pickups lack the thick output of Hetfield's humbuckers, amp gain is pushed to 8 and the guitar's tone knob is rolled back to 8 to shave single-coil fizz. The M-Vave's TS-style boost tightens the bass before hitting the Mark-style high-gain model, where the mids are heavily scooped to emulate the famous Mark IIC+ 5-band V-curve. Clean interlude: switch to neck pickup, bypass the OD/boost, and select a clean amp preset with light chorus.

PRO TIPAnchor your palm firmly against the bridge saddles and execute strict downpicking with a heavy 1.0mm+ pick; hitting the strings at a slight aggressive angle provides the signature mechanical percussive snap.

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