Tone library / Mettalica / Seek and destroy

Seek and destroy amp settings — Laney Sx

The Mettalica guitar tone for “Seek and destroy”, dialed in for a Laney Sx with a Schecter Diamond seires. Studio version, Kill 'Em All (1983)

Original rig

Modified/hot-rodded Marshall JMP 2203 (100W head), 1981 Gibson Flying V with stock humbuckers, Ibanez Tube Screamer (TS808) as boost

Tight, percussive thrash with scooped mids, aggressive palm-muted chugs, biting treble, chunky low end

Amp settings — Laney Sx

CHANNELDrive channel (or highest gain channel available)BRIGHTon

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	9
Bass	7
Mid	3
Treble	7
Presence	6
Reverb	0
Master	6

Don’t have a Laney Sx? 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 low end and add pick attack clarity. Without this, your tone will be looser and muddier on palm mutes. A Boss SD-1 or Behringer TO800 are budget alternatives.

Drive 2 · Tone 6 · Level 7

Why these settings

The Laney LX is a solid-state practice amp with less natural compression than the original hot-rodded Marshall tube head. I pushed gain to 9 (vs the original's ~8.5) because solid-state amps need more gain to achieve similar saturation. Mids at 3 gives the scooped thrash character — the Laney's mid voicing is fairly neutral so this translates directly. Your Schecter's humbuckers are hotter than the vintage Flying V pickups, which helps compensate for the amp's lower output saturation.

PRO TIPThe secret to Hetfield's early tone is aggressive downstroke picking with heavy palm muting anchored right at the bridge saddles — the pick attack does half the work. Dig in hard and keep your muting tight; a loose palm turns thrash into mud.

Get this tone on your amp

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

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