Tone library / Metallica / Seek & Destroy

Seek & Destroy amp settings — Vox AC30C2

The Metallica guitar tone for “Seek & Destroy”, dialed in for a Vox AC30C2 with a Fender Jimi Hendrix Stratocaster. Studio version, Kill 'Em All (1983)

Original rig

Modified Marshall JMP 2203 100W head, 1981 Gibson Flying V with stock humbuckers, bridge pickup, Tube Screamer for leads

Tight and percussive, scooped mids, aggressive palm muting, high-gain saturation, sharp biting treble, chunky low end

Amp settings — Vox AC30C2

CHANNELTop Boost

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

Don’t have a Vox AC30C2? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01ProCo RAT 2 or Boss DS-1

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Essential for this tone. The AC30 cannot produce thrash-level gain on its own. A RAT or DS-1 provides the tight, aggressive saturation needed. Run into the Normal channel with amp gain at 3 instead.

Distortion 8 · Filter/Tone 6 · Volume 7

Why these settings

The AC30 is fundamentally wrong for this tone — it is a Class A clean/breakup amp with chimey highs and no tight low-end thump. Without a distortion pedal, you cannot get close. I maxed the amp gain and dropped treble from the original's 8 to 4 because the AC30 Top Boost channel is already ice-picky. Bass dropped from 7 to 5 because AC30 low end is loose and flubby under gain. Your Strat's single coils are lower output and brighter than Hetfield's Flying V humbuckers, so tone knob rolled to 8 to tame fizz.

PRO TIPIf you buy one pedal, get a RAT — then set the amp to Normal channel, gain at 3, and let the RAT do all the work. Palm mute hard and pick aggressively right over the bridge pickup pole pieces for that percussive chunk.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Vox AC30C2. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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