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Nothing Else Matters amp settings — Marshall MG30CFX

The Metallica guitar tone for “Nothing Else Matters”, dialed in for a Marshall MG30CFX with a Jackson JS22 Dinky. Studio version, Metallica (The Black Album, 1991) — iconic clean fingerpicked intro

Original rig

Roland JC-120 and Mesa Boogie Mark IIC+ clean channel, ESP Explorer with EMG 60 active neck pickup, studio rack reverb/chorus

Pristine, warm, round clean tone with gentle presence and studio hall space

Amp settings — Marshall MG30CFX

CHANNELCleanBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	2
Bass	6
Mid	5
Treble	5
Reverb	4
Master	5

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Guitar

PICKUPneck TONE8 VOLUME10

Why these settings

The Marshall MG30CFX lacks a physical presence control, so presence is nulled, and the Clean channel provides the clean headroom needed to mimic the Roland JC-120. Setting treble to 5 and rolling the Jackson's neck tone knob to 8 softens the ceramic passive humbucker's top-end bite to simulate James Hetfield's warmer EMG 60. Use the onboard digital reverb set around 4 to capture the ambient hall decay of the studio recording.

PRO TIPPluck the open strings and arpeggios using the pads of your bare fingers rather than a pick to get the soft, rounded transient attack of the original track.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Marshall MG30CFX. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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Marshall MG30CFX settingsALL SONGS FOR THIS AMP Nothing Else Matters on other ampsSAME SONG, YOUR AMP Metallica tonesALL SONGS Metallica on the Marshall MG30CFXSAME ARTIST, SAME AMP Jackson JS22 Dinky tonesSAME GUITAR Tone libraryEVERYTHING

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.