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Seek & Destroy amp settings — Crate GX-15

The Metallica guitar tone for “Seek & Destroy”, dialed in for a Crate GX-15 with a Harley Benton TE-52 NA VINTAGE SERIES. Studio version, Kill 'Em All (1983)

Original rig

Modified/hot-rodded Marshall head (100W, cascading gain mod) + 1981 Gibson Flying V with stock humbuckers

Bright, aggressive early-thrash with scooped mids, tight low-end, and biting high-frequency attack

Amp settings — Crate GX-15

CHANNELHigh Gain (single channel amp — use gain control)

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

Don’t have a Crate GX-15? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Overdrive/Distortion Pedal (Boss DS-1 or Tube Screamer clone)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. The Crate GX-15's solid-state gain lacks the saturation and harmonic complexity of Hetfield's hot-rodded Marshall. A basic DS-1 ($50 used) or Joyo Ultimate Drive ($30) in front will get you 70% closer to that aggressive attack.

Level 7 · Tone 6 · Dist/Drive 6

Why these settings

The Crate GX-15 is a small solid-state practice amp with limited gain saturation and a darker, boxier voicing than Hetfield's modified Marshall. I maxed gain to extract every bit of dirt available, pulled mids down to 3 (approximating the scooped thrash sound), and pushed treble to 7 to compensate for the Crate's lack of high-end bite. Your Harley Benton TE-52 has single-coil pickups vs the original's hot humbuckers — this means less output and a brighter base tone, so I backed treble off slightly from what a humbucker guitar would need and kept bass moderate at 6 to avoid mud.

PRO TIPDownpick everything with a stiff pick (1mm+) held close to the bridge — Hetfield's percussive attack is half the tone. The Crate won't fully saturate like a cranked Marshall, so your picking dynamics become even more critical to achieving that aggressive chunk.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Crate GX-15. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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