Tone library / Metallica / Wherever I may roam

Wherever I may roam amp settings — Laney LH50

The Metallica guitar tone for “Wherever I may roam”, dialed in for a Laney LH50 with a Harley Benton SC-Custom II. Studio version, Metallica (Black Album), 1991

Original rig

Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ with graphic EQ (scooped at 750Hz), ESP Explorer with EMG 81, Ibanez Tube Screamer TS-9 as a tightening boost

Aggressive, mid-scooped thrash rhythm with tight low end, pronounced attack, and metallic edge — thick but not muddy

Amp settings — Laney LH50

CHANNELLead channel (high gain input)BRIGHToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	8
Bass	6
Mid	3
Treble	7
Presence	5
Reverb	0
Master	5

Don’t have a Laney LH50? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Tube Screamer (TS9) or clone

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Used as a clean boost to tighten palm mutes and cut low-end flub. Drive at 0, Level high. A Boss SD-1 or TC Electronic Cinders works identically. Without this pedal, palm mutes will be looser and less defined.

Drive 0 · Tone 6 · Level 8

Why these settings

The Laney LH50 is a British-voiced EL34 amp with more natural mids than the Mark IIC+, so I pulled mids down to 3 to approximate the Mesa's famous V-curve scoop. The original used active EMG 81s which are hotter and more compressed than your SC-Custom II's passive humbuckers — compensated by pushing gain to 8 instead of the original's 7. Treble raised to 7 to recover the cutting attack your passives won't naturally provide.

PRO TIPDig in hard with the pick right over the bridge pickup pole pieces for maximum attack on the chugging riffs — Hetfield's right-hand precision is half this tone. If palm mutes sound flabby without a Tube Screamer, try rolling bass down to 5 and boosting presence to 6.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Laney LH50. 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.