Riff Tone

Fade to Black (Live)

Metallica

Guitarmetal2010s+

Original Gear

GuitarLine 6 Variax 700 (custom 'Unforgiven' model, used by James Hetfield for live clean parts)

AmpFractal Audio Axe-Fx (amp modeling, Metallica live rig, clean patch for 'Fade to Black')

PickupsModeling pickups (emulates acoustic and electric sounds, no traditional magnetic pickups)

Amp Settings

gain0

bass6

mid4

treble7

reverb2.5

presence5.5

Effects & Signal Chain

chorusUnknown Chorus pedal (model unknown)

Notes

Live performance, Metallica's 2010s+ touring rig. For clean sections, James Hetfield uses a Line 6 Variax 700 with modeled clean/acoustic tones, running into a Fractal Audio Axe-Fx with a clean amp patch. No traditional tube amp or magnetic pickups are used for this part. Tuning is D# standard.

Tone Character(10)

crystal clear and sparklinglush, ambient reverbslightly scooped mids for claritybright and articulateopen, ringing chordsno audible distortion or breakupsoft attack and smooth sustainstudio-like clean in live contextno palm mutingwide stereo image (live mix)

Difficulty

The clean riff requires precise arpeggiated picking and string skipping, but is played at a moderate tempo with straightforward chord shapes. The main challenge is maintaining clarity and even dynamics throughout.