Riff Tone

King Nothing (Remastered)

Metallica

Guitarmetal1990s

Original Gear

GuitarESP MX-220 (Hetfield's 'Eet Fuk')

AmpMesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier (likely Rev F, studio version)

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

Amp Settings

gain7.5

bass6

mid3.5

treble6.5

reverb0

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1995-1996 for 'Load' album; James Hetfield rhythm guitar; settings and gear inferred from era and sources. No evidence of pedals in the riff section; amp distortion used.

Tone Character(10)

tight and percussivescooped midsaggressive palm mutinghigh-gain saturationchunky low endarticulate pick attackmodern metal clarityminimal ambiencefocused, compressed sounddry, punchy rhythm

Difficulty

The riff requires intermediate-level control of palm muting and alternate picking at a steady tempo, but does not involve advanced techniques or complex timing.

Sources

King Nothing AMP settings : r/Metallica - Reddit James Hetfield's Guitar Gear, Amps & Pedalboard | Equipboard

This tone has been researched 4 times by the community

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