Riff Tone

Fuel (Riff)

Metallica

Guitarmetal1990s

Original Gear

GuitarESP MX-250 (James Hetfield's main guitar for Reload era)

AmpMesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier (studio recording, Reload era)

PickupsEMG 81 (bridge), EMG 60 (neck) active humbuckers

Amp Settings

gain8.5

bass6.5

mid3

treble7.5

reverb0.5

presence6.5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording for 'Fuel' (Reload, 1997). Hetfield used his ESP MX-250 with EMG 81 bridge pickup into a Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier, with minimal pedals and no modulation or time-based effects for the riff. No evidence of effects loop or significant pedal use for the rhythm section. Settings estimated based on genre, era, and typical Metallica rig for Reload. No direct studio photo or interview for 'Fuel' riff, but all gear matches Reload session documentation.

Tone Character(10)

tight and percussivescooped midsaggressive palm mutinghigh-gain saturationchunky low endrazor-sharp clarityarticulate pick attackminimal ambiencemodern metal rhythmfocused and dry

Difficulty

The riff requires fast, precise alternate picking and tight palm muting at a high tempo, demanding strong right-hand technique and stamina for aggressive downpicking.

Sources

Metallica – Reload - Gear & Equipment Used on the Album | Equipboard Metallica Amp Settings Metallica pedals? - Reddit

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