Hughes & Kettner Metal Master preset

Close · 78/100 confidence. Most values readable. Minor gaps filled by inference from similar circuits.

The Hughes & Kettner Metal Master is a 1990 valve preamp and practice unit for saturated metal tones. An op-amp input stage with gain and a mid control feeds four 12AX7 triode gain stages (two tubes) and a passive tone section. Outputs include a valve out, an instrument/line out, a mix out through a speaker-simulator filter, a footswitchable valve bypass and a small solid-state stage for a speaker or headphones.

• Made in: Germany
• Channels: 1
• Preamp tubes: 2× 12AX7

Tags: german, hybrid, high-gain, metal.

Schematic-derived preset files for 16 Fractal and Line 6 modelers: Axe-Fx II/XL/XL+, Axe-Fx III, FM3, FM9, and the full Helix family (Floor, LT, Rack, HX Stomp, HX Stomp XL, Native).

Gridleak extracts amp parameters from original circuit schematics using AI vision — component values, gain staging, tone stack topology, tube types — then generates native preset files for every supported modeler. Every extraction is scored 0–100 and the score is published.