🎚️ Metal settings

Best amp settings for metal

Starting-point EQ for metal tone, averaged from 168 famous metal recordings. Dial these in, then fine-tune by ear — or let the tool below adapt them to the exact amp and guitar you own.

Starting point: Gain 7.5 · Bass 6 · Mid 5 · Treble 7 · Presence 6 (out of 10)
💡 The #1 mistake is scooping the mids to zero — it sounds huge alone and vanishes in a band mix. Keep mids around 4–5 and let treble do the cut.
🎛️ Adapt metal tones to YOUR exact rig — free →

Amps most used for metal

Mesa Dual Rectifier (28)Marshall JCM800 (24)Mesa Mark (14)Peavey 5150 (13)Marshall Plexi (4)

Famous metal tones

Like Light to the Flies — Trivium · Revolution Is My Name (Radio Edit) [2020 Remaster] — Pantera · Master of Puppets — Metallica · In Dying Days — As Blood Runs Black · Duality — Slipknot · Epidemic of Hate — Dying Fetus · Cemetery Gates — Pantera · Praise the Lord (Opium of the Masses) — Dying Fetus

Community-researched estimates. More: amp settings by amp · amp comparisons · 495 tones.