Riff Tone

Nothing Else Matters

Metallica

Guitarmetal1990s

Original Gear

GuitarESP MX220 (custom, black finish, likely with EMG 81 in bridge and EMG 60 in neck)

AmpMesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ (studio recording, 1990-1991 Black Album sessions)

PickupsEMG 60 (neck, active humbucker)

Amp Settings

gain0

bass6

mid4.5

treble7

reverb3

presence5.5

Effects & Signal Chain

chorusUnknown Chorus pedal (model unknown)

Notes

Studio recording, 1990-1991. Clean intro/riff section. No acoustic guitar used on the studio recording despite common belief. Guitar is likely the ESP MX220 with EMG 60 in neck position. Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ amp used for cleans. No evidence of live rig or alternate guitars for this section.

Tone Character(10)

warm and roundfull-bodied cleanslightly compressednot brittle or harshsmooth neck pickup tonesubtle chorus shimmertouch of spring reverbarticulate and dynamicstudio-polishedclear note separation

Difficulty

The riff requires precise fingerpicking, clean note separation, and dynamic control, making it moderately challenging for intermediate players.

Sources

Metallica - Nothing Else Matters amp settings.... - forum topic James Hetfield's Guitar Gear, Amps & Pedalboard - Equipboard Nothing else matters clean tone/guitars used : r/Metallica - Reddit

This tone has been researched 52 times by the community

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