Thrash Metal1983Kill 'Em All

Seek & Destroy Amp Settings

by Metallica

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Original Recording Settings

Well-SourcedResearched tone data for "Seek & Destroy" by Metallica

Original Gear

Guitar: White Flying V (James Hetfield) + Black Gibson Flying V (Kirk Hammett for leads/parts)
Pickups: Not specified (likely stock-era humbuckers in Flying V-style guitars) (bridge (primary rhythm); lead position not specified)
Amplifier: Marshall head (Hetfield’s hot-rodded Marshall used for tracking; exact model not specified)
Channel: Not specified
Tuning: standard
Pickup Selector: bridge (primary rhythm)

Multiple contemporaneous accounts describe Kill 'Em All guitar tracking centered on Hetfield’s modified/hot-rodded Marshall.

Amp Settings

Bass

4.0

Mid

6.0

Treble

7.0

Presence

6.0

Volume

8.0

No documented knob positions for the recording amp were found in the retrieved sources; values estimated for a bright, aggressive early-thrash Marshall base tone.

Effects Chain

→

Ibanez Tube Screamer (model not specified)

overdrive/boost

→

Wah pedal (model not specified)

wah

→

1.Ibanez Tube Screamer (model not specified) — Cited by Hammett as part of his early lead setup; not specifically stated as engaged for the main rhythm tone.

2.Wah pedal (model not specified) — Cited by Hammett as part of his early lead setup.

Playing Technique

Tight, percussive right-hand with heavy pick attack; fast alternative picking for lead phrases; rhythm feel emphasizes palm-muted chugs and aggressive downstroke articulation typical of early Metallica thrash.

Sources+

Guitar World (Prime Cuts; interview first featured in Guitar World magazine 2009, published online Aug 3, 2020): gear notes for Seek & Destroy (Hetfield white Flying V; Hammett using Hetfield’s hot-rodded Marshall; Tube Screamer + wah; black Flying V).
Louder (Metal Hammer feature, published Sep 20, 2022): Kill 'Em All tracking described as going through Hetfield’s ‘magical, mythical Marshall’; guitars available were a white Flying V (Hetfield) and black Gibson Flying V (Hammett).