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Seek & Destroy amp settings — Harley benton Hb-40b bass ampliier

The Metallica guitar tone for “Seek & Destroy”, dialed in for a Harley benton Hb-40b bass ampliier with a Harley benton Normal. Studio version, Kill 'Em All (1983)

Original rig

Gibson Flying V (bridge humbucker) → Ibanez Tube Screamer (for leads) → Modified Marshall JMP 2203 100W head (high treble input, cascading gain mod)

Aggressive early-thrash crunch with scooped mids, bright attack, and tight low-end

Amp settings — Harley benton Hb-40b bass ampliier

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	7
Bass	3
Mid	4
Treble	7
Presence	0
Reverb	0
Master	5

Don’t have a Harley benton Hb-40b bass ampliier? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Distortion Pedal (TS-style or DS-1)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. A Boss DS-1 or Tube Screamer clone is essential here. The HB-40B is a bass amp with limited natural overdrive character; a dirt pedal in front running into a clean amp setting will get you closest to the Marshall crunch. Without this pedal, the tone will be muddy and undefined.

Drive/Dist 7 · Tone 6 · Level 7

Why these settings

The HB-40B is a bass amplifier — it lacks the midrange voicing and high-frequency bite of a Marshall guitar amp. Bass amps have extended low-end and softer high-mids, so I cut bass significantly (3 vs original's 7) and pushed treble to compensate. The amp's EQ won't replicate Marshall's 2-3kHz bark; a distortion pedal is mandatory to inject the harmonic content and gain structure this tone requires. Without one, you're fundamentally limited.

PRO TIPPalm-mute aggressively on the low E riffs and dig in hard with downstrokes — Hetfield's right-hand attack is half the tone. If the bass amp gets flubby on palm mutes, roll your guitar's tone knob down to 6 to tighten the low-end response.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Harley benton Hb-40b bass ampliier. 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.