Riff Tone

Lux Æterna

Metallica

Guitarmetal2010s+

Original Gear

GuitarESP KH-2 (Kirk Hammett Signature) with EMG Bone Breaker pickups

AmpFriedman BE100 (HBE channel), Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier, Marshall JMP 100W (combined in studio)

PickupsEMG Bone Breaker (BB-B Ceramic bridge, BB-N Alnico 5 neck)

Amp Settings

gain7.5

bass6

mid4.5

treble7.5

reverb1

presence6.5

Effects & Signal Chain

compressionSoloDallas SoloDallas Schaffer Replica EX Tower

Notes

Studio recording for 'Lux Æterna' (2022/2023, 72 Seasons album). Kirk Hammett used his ESP KH-2 with EMG Bone Breaker pickups. Amps included Friedman BE100 (HBE channel), Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier, and Marshall JMP 100W, often blended. The SoloDallas Schaffer Replica EX Tower (preamp/compression) was used as a key part of the tone. Settings estimated based on genre, amp type, and era due to lack of explicit knob values.

Tone Character(10)

tight and percussiveaggressive palm mutingmodern high-gain saturationarticulate pick attackscooped but present midscrisp, defined low endminimal ambience/reverbdynamic, compressed punchclear note separation under gainfast, chugging riff clarity

Difficulty

The riff requires fast, tight alternate picking with aggressive palm muting and precise rhythm, demanding stamina and accuracy typical of modern thrash metal.

Sources

Kirk Hammett reveals the secret weapon behind his guitar tone Kirk Hammett's Guitars, Gear, Wah & Amps | Equipboard “It was a huge risk – to this day I'm wondering if I pulled it off or not ...

This tone has been researched 2 times by the community

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