Metallica guitar and bass tones and amp settings
Settings for 22 Metallica song pages: Creeping Death, Enter Sandman, Fade to Black, For Whom The Bell Tolls, Master of Puppets, Nothing Else Matters, One, Orion, Ride The Lightning, Sad But True, Seek & Destroy, The Unforgiven, Welcome Home (Sanitarium) and Wherever I May Roam. Each page has the knob values for the reference amps and, where a source documents it, the gear on the record.
The amps on the records
- Creeping Death (guitar): James Hetfield, Marshall
- Enter Sandman (guitar): James Hetfield, Mesa/Boogie Mark II
- Fade to Black (guitar): Kirk Hammett, Marshall
- For Whom The Bell Tolls (guitar): Kirk Hammett, Marshall
- Master of Puppets (guitar): James Hetfield, Mesa Boogie Mk IIC+ rewired as a preamp into a Marshall power amp with 4x12 cabinets
- Nothing Else Matters (guitar): James Hetfield, Mesa/Boogie Simulclass Mark II
- One (guitar): Kirk Hammett, ADA MP-1
- Orion (guitar): Kirk Hammett, Mesa Boogie Mk IIC+ heads
- Ride The Lightning (guitar): James Hetfield, Marshall
- Sad But True (guitar): James Hetfield, Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC++
- Seek & Destroy (guitar): James Hetfield, Marshall
- The Unforgiven (guitar): James Hetfield, Mesa/Boogie Mark II C++
- Welcome Home (Sanitarium) (guitar): James Hetfield, Mesa/Boogie Mark II C+
- Wherever I May Roam (guitar): Kirk Hammett, Marshalls
- Enter Sandman (bass): Jason Newsted, Trace GP11 preamp with direct line; SWR SM-400s; original SVT heads with 8x10 cabinets; old Marshall guitar cabinets
- Master of Puppets (bass): Cliff Burton, Mesa Boogie heads
- Nothing Else Matters (bass): Jason Newsted, Trace GP11 preamp
- Orion (bass): Cliff Burton, Mesa Boogie heads
Each song page cites the source for its gear.
Song pages
Each page has every knob for the reference amps, the parts that change, and the gear on the record. The knobs here show its main amp settings.
- Creeping Death (Metallica) guitar toneOn a BOSS Katana 50 Gen 3
- Enter Sandman (Metallica) guitar toneOn a BOSS Katana 50 Gen 3
- Enter Sandman (Metallica) bass toneOn a Fender Rumble 40 V3
- Fade to Black (Metallica) guitar toneOn a BOSS Katana 50 Gen 3
- Fade to Black (Metallica) bass toneOn a Fender Rumble 40 V3
- For Whom The Bell Tolls (Metallica) guitar toneOn a BOSS Katana 50 Gen 3
- For Whom The Bell Tolls (Metallica) bass toneOn a Fender Rumble 40 V3
- Master of Puppets (Metallica) guitar toneOn a BOSS Katana 50 Gen 3
- Master of Puppets (Metallica) bass toneOn a Fender Rumble 40 V3
- Nothing Else Matters (Metallica) guitar toneOn a BOSS Katana 50 Gen 3
- Nothing Else Matters (Metallica) bass toneOn a Fender Rumble 40 V3
- One (Metallica) guitar toneOn a BOSS Katana 50 Gen 3
- One (Metallica) bass toneOn a Fender Rumble 40 V3
- Orion (Metallica) guitar toneOn a BOSS Katana 50 Gen 3
- Orion (Metallica) bass toneOn a Fender Rumble 40 V3
- Ride The Lightning (Metallica) guitar toneOn a BOSS Katana 50 Gen 3
- Sad But True (Metallica) guitar toneOn a BOSS Katana 50 Gen 3
- Seek & Destroy (Metallica) guitar toneOn a BOSS Katana 50 Gen 3
- Seek & Destroy (Metallica) bass toneOn a Fender Rumble 40 V3
- The Unforgiven (Metallica) guitar toneOn a BOSS Katana 50 Gen 3
- Welcome Home (Sanitarium) (Metallica) guitar toneOn a BOSS Katana 50 Gen 3
- Wherever I May Roam (Metallica) guitar toneOn a BOSS Katana 50 Gen 3
Photographs: “Close-up view of guitar strings showcasing details”, Shixart1985, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons.
