Tone library / Metallica / Mastercof puppets

Mastercof puppets amp settings — Fender Princeton Reverb

The Metallica guitar tone for “Mastercof puppets”, dialed in for a Fender Princeton Reverb with a Gibson Lp. Studio album cut, Master of Puppets (1986) — signature main rhythm riff

Original rig

Jackson King V ('Kill Bon Jovi' with Seymour Duncan Invaders) -> Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ preamp slaved into Marshall JCM800 2203 power amp into Marshall 4x12 cabs (V-curve 5-band graphic EQ, dry)

Aggressive, tight, high-gain thrash crunch with deeply scooped 750Hz mids and sharp top-end bite
Amp settings — Fender Princeton Reverb
BASS 4 TREBLE 7 REVERB 0 MASTER 8
KnobSetting (0–10)
Bass4
Treble7
Reverb0
Master8
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Guitar
PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10
Signal chain

01High-Gain Distortion (e.g., ProCo Rat 2 or Boss MT-2)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned

Distortion 8 · Filter / Tone 6 · Volume 7
Why these settings

The vintage-style Fender Princeton Reverb is a pristine clean/mild breakup tube platform with no dedicated gain channel, mid control, or presence knob, meaning it cannot physically produce thrash metal high gain on its own. To get the closest possible tone today, crank the Volume control to push power-tube crunch while keeping Bass low at 4 to prevent the 10-inch open-back speaker from flubbing on downstrokes. Adding a dedicated high-gain distortion pedal into the front end will instantly bridge the gap to Hetfield's Mesa Mark IIC+ preamp saturation. For the clean middle interlude, back the guitar volume down to 3 or lower the amp volume.

PRO TIPStrict, aggressive downpicking with hard palm-muting right against the bridge saddles is essential to getting the percussive attack of this riff.

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These settings are for a Fender Princeton Reverb. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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