One amp settings — Friedman Small Box 50

The Metallica guitar tone for “One”, dialed in for a Friedman Small Box 50 with a Fender David Gilmour Stratocaster. Live performance, classic live rig (Seattle '89 / modern tour standard) — matching the iconic clean intro picking

Original rig

Roland JC-120 (clean) + Mesa Boogie Mark IIC+ (dirty), ESP MX-220 / Gibson Flying V with EMG 81/60, Roland chorus

Ultra-clean, crisp, dimensional stereo chorus with tight low end and sparkling highs

Amp settings — Friedman Small Box 50

CHANNELClean ChannelBRIGHTonBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	3
Bass	6
Mid	5
Treble	6
Presence	7
Master	5

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Guitar

PICKUPneck+middle TONE10 VOLUME9

Signal chain

01Chorus Pedal (e.g. Boss CE-2W / CH-1)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned (critical for authentic Metallica JC-120 clean tone)

Rate 4 · Depth 6

Why these settings

The Friedman Small Box 50 clean channel is based on a vintage Plexi, so gain must stay low at 3 to keep it pristine and unclipped. To compensate for single-coil Strat pickups compared to Hetfield's active EMG 60 humbucker, the bright switch is engaged with treble and presence lifted to capture that sterile Roland JC-120 chime. The heavy machine-gun rhythm later in the song requires switching to the BE lead channel with scooped mids.

PRO TIPPick with a stiff heavy pick (1.0mm+) right above the middle pickup with light, uniform downward strokes to get the percussive, bell-like attack heard in the intro.

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These settings are for a Friedman Small Box 50. 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.