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Master of Puppets amp settings — Nux Mighty air

The Metallica guitar tone for “Master of Puppets”, dialed in for a Nux Mighty air with a Ibanez GRX70QAL-TBB GIO. Studio version, Master of Puppets album (1986)

Original rig

ESP Explorer with EMG 81/60 pickups → Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ preamp → Marshall JCM800 100W power amp → Marshall 4x12 cab. Tuning: E♭ Standard.

Tight, aggressive thrash rhythm with scooped mids, razor-sharp pick attack, crushing palm-muted low end, and high-gain saturation with note definition

Amp settings — Nux Mighty air

CHANNELHi-Gain or Metal channel (closest to Mesa Mark voicing)BRIGHToffBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	7
Bass	5
Mid	4
Treble	7
Reverb	0
Master	6

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Why these settings

The Nux Mighty Air lacks the tight low-end response and mid-forward grind of a Mesa Mark IIC+. I've kept mids at 4 (slightly scooped but not absent — the MoP tone has more mids than people think) and bass at 5 to avoid mud through the smaller speaker. Gain at 7 gets you into thrash territory without losing definition. The original had no reverb — this is a bone-dry, in-your-face tone.

PRO TIPHetfield's tone is 50% technique: use aggressive downpicking only, palm-mute hard right at the bridge saddles, and attack the strings with the thick part of the pick at a slight angle. No alternate picking on the main riff — every note is a downstroke. Tune to E♭ Standard to match the recording.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Nux Mighty air. 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.