Riff Tone

72 Seasons

Metallica

Guitarmetal2010s+

Original Gear

GuitarESP Snakebyte (James Hetfield signature, likely custom shop, used for rhythm tracking on 72 Seasons)

AmpMarshall Super Lead 100-Watt Head (late-60s/early-70s, José Arredondo-modded), blended with Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ (studio recording)

PickupsEMG JH Het Set (active humbuckers, custom for Hetfield: JH-N neck, JH-B bridge)

Amp Settings

gain8

bass6

mid5

treble7.5

reverb0

presence6.5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 2022-2023. Rhythm guitars tracked primarily with the José-modded Marshall Super Lead and Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ in parallel. Wizard 100-watt and Diezel heads also available but not primary for this song's riff. No evidence of pedal distortion; all gain from amps. No evidence of live rig or Axe-Fx for studio album.

Tone Character(10)

tight and percussivechunky palm-muted chugsaggressive midrangesmooth but saturated distortionBritish-style crunch blended with American high-gainarticulate pick attackfocused low end (not boomy)wide, modern stereo imagenot abrasive or fizzywarm yet punchy

Difficulty

The riff requires fast, aggressive downpicking and palm muting at tempo, with tight synchronization and stamina, making it challenging for most players.

Sources

Metallica – 72 Seasons - Gear & Equipment Used on the Single James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett's 72 Seasons guitar gear James Hetfield's tech shows you his 72 Seasons live rig - Guitar World About the guitar tone of 72 seasons : r/Metallica

This tone has been researched 5 times by the community

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