Riff Tone
Carpe Diem Baby
Metallica
Guitarmetal1990s
Original Gear
GuitarESP MX-250
AmpMesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier
PickupsEMG 81 (bridge), EMG 60 (neck) active humbuckers
Amp Settings
gain7.5
bass6
mid4
treble7
reverb1
presence6
Effects & Signal Chain
No effects used for this tone
Notes
Studio recording, 1996-1997 (Reload sessions). James Hetfield's rhythm tone. No evidence of pedals in the riff section; all gain/distortion from amp. Tuning is Eb standard.
Tone Character(10)
tight and percussivescooped midsaggressive palm mutingchunky low endmodern high-gain saturationarticulate note separationdry and focusedminimal ambienceheavy and groovingcrisp attack
Difficulty
The riff requires tight, consistent palm muting and precise rhythm, but does not involve advanced techniques or high speed, making it intermediate.
Sources
Create an account to adapt this tone to your gear
Create Free AccountGuitarmetal1990s
Original Gear
GuitarESP MX-250
AmpMesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier
PickupsEMG 81 (bridge), EMG 60 (neck) active humbuckers
Amp Settings
gain7.5
bass6
mid4
treble7
reverb1
presence6
Effects & Signal Chain
No effects used for this tone
Notes
Studio recording, 1996-1997 (Reload sessions). James Hetfield's rhythm tone. No evidence of pedals in the riff section; all gain/distortion from amp. Tuning is Eb standard.
Tone Character(10)
tight and percussivescooped midsaggressive palm mutingchunky low endmodern high-gain saturationarticulate note separationdry and focusedminimal ambienceheavy and groovingcrisp attack
Difficulty
The riff requires tight, consistent palm muting and precise rhythm, but does not involve advanced techniques or high speed, making it intermediate.
Carpe Diem Baby settings for your amp
Exact settings ToneAdapt players use on these amps.
More Metallica tones
- Master of Puppets · riff
- Enter Sandman · riff
- Seek & Destroy · riff
- Creeping Death · riff
- One · riff
- Fade to Black · solo
- Ride the Lightning · riff
- Fade to black · riff
- For Whom the Bell Tolls · riff
- One · riff