What You Need
To help duplicate Metallica’s amp settings, make sure your amp has low, high, and mid-range EQ knobs, or you may have just low and high settings, this will work too. You may have these settings on your distortion pedal or effects unit instead, and that okay, you can use these.
If you have them on both your effects and your amp then use one to dial in the sound and on the other place the settings in the middle so they don’t clash.
How it Works
The trick James Hetfield uses is to reduce his midrange completely, and enhance the low and high as much as possible.
This technique is especially employed on the earlier albums. You’re going to get a heavy sound that also leaves room for vocals. The downside is this sound tends to eat up the bass guitar.
What To Do Exactly
If you have a mid-range knob, turn that all the way down. Then turn your low and your high knobs all the way up. If you have no mid-rang knob, just turn your low and high all the way up.
A Little Extra Bite
I have a mid-range knob myself, and so in practice I’ll usually turn the mid-range back up just a little, just until I hear the midrange giving the sound a little more bite.
this is so ridiculous. This will make your guitar sound like absolute crap.
Hi Joel, to the contrary I’ve used this setting for over 10 years and it’s still the setting I dial in today! I’m dead serious.
This setting has been described by Hetfield a number of times in interviews, and was featured in Guitar magazine years ago.
You may not like it, but I love it! To each his own.