Riff Tone

One (Live)

Metallica & San Francisco Symphony

Guitarmetal2010s+

Original Gear

GuitarESP LTD James Hetfield Snakebyte

AmpMesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier

PickupsEMG 81/60 active humbuckers

Amp Settings

gain0

bass5

mid4

treble7

reverb2

presence6.5

Effects & Signal Chain

chorusUnknown Chorus pedal (model unknown)

Notes

Live performance with San Francisco Symphony (S&M2, 2019/2020 era). Guitar and amp confirmed for live S&M2 era. Clean section uses bridge pickup, guitar volume rolled back. No explicit pedalboard photos for clean section, but chorus is clearly audible in the clean riff. No evidence of heavy gain/distortion pedals in clean section.

Tone Character(10)

clean and bell-likebright and articulateslightly scooped midscrisp attackchorus shimmertight and noise-freeno audible breakupmedium-low ambienceclear note separationactive pickup clarity

Difficulty

The clean riff requires intermediate-level picking accuracy, string muting, and dynamic control to maintain clarity and articulation, but does not involve advanced techniques or high speed.

Sources

One by Metallica Amp Settings (Mesa/Boogie Mark IV Tone Guide, 2026) - Guitar Chalk Exploring James Hetfield's Guitars and Gear James Hetfield's Guitar Gear, Amps & Pedalboard | Equipboard metallica s&m clean sound - forum topic - Ultimate Guitar Metallica – S&M2 - Gear & Equipment Used on the Album | Equipboard

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