Riff Tone

Motorbreath

Metallica

Guitarmetal1980s

Original Gear

Guitar1984 Gibson Explorer (likely, as used by James Hetfield on Kill 'Em All)

AmpMarshall JMP 2203 (100W, as used on Kill 'Em All sessions)

PickupsStock Gibson Dirty Fingers humbuckers

Amp Settings

gain8

bass5.5

mid3.5

treble7

reverb0

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1983. Gear confirmed for Kill 'Em All era, not live. No evidence of pedals or effects used for the riff section. Rhythm guitar tone only.

Tone Character(10)

tight and percussivescooped midsaggressive palm mutingdry, raw distortionarticulate attackminimal ambiencefast, chugging rhythmfocused low endbiting trebleclassic early thrash metal sound

Difficulty

The riff requires fast, consistent alternate picking and tight palm muting at a high tempo, demanding stamina and precision, but uses straightforward power chord shapes.

Sources

Motorbreath RHYTHM GUITAR Tutorial (Let's Learn Kill Em' All EP ...How do I get the Metallica ...And Justice for all guitar tone ... - Reddit Metallica Amp Settings - forum topic - Ultimate Guitar

This tone has been researched 2 times by the community

Create an account to adapt this tone to your gear

Create Free Account