one amp settings — marshall mg50fx

The metallica guitar tone for “one”, dialed in for a marshall mg50fx with a Gibson Les Paul Classic. Studio version, ...And Justice for All (1988) — main distorted riff sections

Original rig

ESP MX-220 with EMG 81 bridge pickup → Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ (Lead channel, graphic EQ active with scooped mids) → Marshall 4x12 cabs. No dirt pedals — all gain from amp and active pickups.

Tight, aggressive, heavily scooped thrash rhythm — punchy low end, cut treble, almost no mids, dry and in-your-face

Amp settings — marshall mg50fx

CHANNELOD1 (Overdrive 1)BOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	8
Bass	7
Mid	2
Treble	7
Reverb	0
Master	5

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10

Why these settings

The original uses a Mesa Mark IIC+ with a 5-band graphic EQ scooping 750Hz hard — the MG50FX lacks that surgical mid control, so I dropped mid to 2 to approximate the scoop. Your Les Paul's passive humbuckers are warmer and lower-output than Hetfield's EMG 81s, so I pushed gain to 8 (vs ~7 on the Mesa) and raised bass to 7 to compensate for the tighter low end of active pickups. Treble stays at 7 for cut without fizz. The MG50FX has no presence knob — that field is null.

PRO TIPPalm-mute with your picking hand anchored close to the bridge saddles and use aggressive downpicking — the '...And Justice' tone lives or dies on tight, percussive right-hand technique. If the low end feels flubby, roll your tone knob down to 7 and tighten your palm mutes further.

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