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Metallica - Master of Puppets - Guitar Tab

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Key E minor
Metallica - Master of Puppets guitar tab video
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Amp Settings

Classic Rock

Gain6
Bass6
Mid7
Treble6
Presence5
Master7
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Roll back the gain slightly and pick near the neck for a warmer, more open crunch.
Master of Puppets (Deluxe Box Set) album cover
Master of Puppets (Deluxe Box Set)
1986 8:35
Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Music
Metallica Thrash Metal 1986 E minor
Capo Advisor 0 E minor · Original key

About Master of Puppets

Few riffs in Thrash Metal are as immediately recognisable as the opening downpicked gallop of this track by Metallica. Playing it correctly in E Standard at 120 BPM demands relentless alternate or down-picking with locked wrist mechanics, and your forearm will fatigue fast if your technique is not tight. The song sits in E minor, which means the main riff centres on low open-E power chords with chromatic movement that keeps your fretting hand constantly shifting. Beyond the opening riff, the mid-song clean interlude introduces a very different challenge: precise arpeggiated chord work that contrasts sharply with the surrounding aggression, so do not neglect it. The fast tremolo-picked passages leading back into the heavy sections are where most players lose the thread, so use the Practice Toolbar to loop those transitions slowed down until the pick attack is even and the tempo is solid before bringing it back up to full speed.

  • The main riff relies on sustained downpicking at 120 BPM, making right-hand endurance and pick grip consistency the primary technical hurdles.
  • A contrasting clean arpeggiated section sits in the middle of the song, requiring a quick shift from aggressive rhythm playing to controlled fingering.
  • All guitars are in E Standard tuning, so no retuning is needed, but the low open-E string is central to almost every heavy riff in the song.

How to Play Master of Puppets

The song moves through: Intro pt 1, Intro pt 2, Intro pt 3, Verse, Pre-chorus, Chorus, Interlude, Pre-solo chords, Solo, Post-solo chords, Bridge, Post-solo, and more.

Tuning: E Standard · Key: E minor · Tempo: 220 BPM · Difficulty: Medium

The main challenge is sustaining the relentless downpicked rhythm through the verse riff at 220 bpm without losing attack or tightening up in your picking arm. Most players underestimate the stamina required, so isolate that riff and build endurance gradually before attempting full run-throughs. The clean arpeggiated interlude section provides a necessary contrast and is the ideal starting point since it lets you map the song's structure at a manageable pace. When you reach the pre-solo and solo sections, pay close attention to the rhythm guitar underneath, as the chord transitions there are easy to rush.

Loop the hardest passage and creep the speed up from around 70 percent until it holds at 220 BPM.

Gibson Les Paul Standard
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Standard

Kirk Hammett's vintage 1959 'Greeny' Les Paul Standard delivers warmer, more dynamic PAF-style tones that contrast his EMG-equipped ESP guitars, adding organic sustain to his lead work. This guitar's traditional construction gives his solos a thicker, less compressed character than his signature models.

Gibson Les Paul Custom
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Custom

While not Hammett's primary choice, the Les Paul Custom shares the Les Paul's warm PAF pickup character and thick body resonance, offering heavier players an alternative to Strat-style designs for achieving Metallica's crushing rhythm tones.

Gibson Explorer
Guitar

Gibson Explorer

James Hetfield's early Gibson Explorer established his signature angular shape and thick body tone, delivering the aggressive midrange attack essential to Metallica's crushing rhythm style before his ESP signature models became his primary tool.

Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier
Amp

Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier

Kirk Hammett's Dual Rectifier heads provide the high-gain, midrange-forward aggression that lets his solos cut through Hetfield's scooped rhythm tone, creating definition and clarity in Metallica's dense wall of distortion.

EMG 81
Pickup

EMG 81

Hetfield's bridge EMG 81 delivers the hot, compressed output with tight low-end that defines Metallica's palm-muted riffs, the ceramic magnet and active preamp cutting through heavy arrangements with focused, aggressive attack.

EMG 60
Pickup

EMG 60

Both guitarists use the neck EMG 60 for warmer, more articulate rhythm tones and smoother lead voicings, balancing the 81's aggression with clearer note definition across Metallica's dense arrangements.

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