Tone library / metallica / seek and destroy

seek and destroy amp settings — harley benton mfx 20

The metallica guitar tone for “seek and destroy”, dialed in for a harley benton mfx 20 with a jackson js11 dinky. Studio version, Kill 'Em All (1983) — Main rhythm tone

Original rig

Marshall 1959 Super Lead (Jose Arredondo mod) + ProCo Rat distortion + Electra Flying V with Seymour Duncan Invader humbucker

Aggressive, raw early-thrash bite with tight low-end crunch and prominent upper-mid rasp

Amp settings — harley benton mfx 20

CHANNELJCM800 / British Crunch block + 4x12 1960A Greenback Cab IRBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	6
Bass	6
Mid	7
Treble	7
Presence	6
Reverb	1
Master	7

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Rat / Rodent Distortion block

Placed before the amp block to push the front-end crunch with vintage upper-mid bite

Distortion 4 · Filter 5 · Volume 7

02Noise Gate block

Essential to clamp the stacked high gain and hum

Threshold 6 · Decay 3

Why these settings

The MFX-20 recreates the classic Kill 'Em All tone by running a Rat model into a moderately driven British Plexi/JCM800 model rather than relying solely on amp gain. Your Jackson JS11 stock ceramic humbuckers have a hot, bright output similar to the high-output Invader, so mids are pushed slightly to 7 to deliver the signature early-thrash rasp without getting harsh. The tone stays tight by keeping the Rat's distortion moderate and using the volume output to slam the preamp.

PRO TIPUse strict, aggressive downpicking with heavy palm-muting right against the bridge saddles to get that precise, mechanical percussive chug.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a harley benton mfx 20. 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.