Riff Tone

One (Live at Reading Festival, Reading, England - August 24th, 1997)

Metallica

Guitarmetal1990s

Original Gear

GuitarESP MX-250 Explorer (Hetfield's main live guitar, 1997 era)

AmpMesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ preamp into Mesa Boogie Strategy 400 power amp (live rig, 1997)

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

Amp Settings

gain0

bass5.5

mid4

treble7

reverb1.5

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Live performance at Reading Festival, 1997. Clean tone for 'One' intro/riff. Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ preamp and Strategy 400 power amp confirmed as Hetfield's main live rig for this era. ESP MX-250 Explorer with EMG pickups is visually confirmed in photos and video. No evidence of additional clean amp (e.g., Roland Jazz Chorus) used live for this song section.

Tone Character(10)

crystal-clear clean introbright and articulateslightly scooped midstight low endactive EMG pickup clarityminimal breakupsubtle amp reverbno audible chorus or delaypercussive attackdistinct note separation

Difficulty

The clean intro/riff requires accurate arpeggiated picking, string skipping, and precise muting for clarity, making it moderately challenging for intermediate players.

Sources

Aug 24, 1997: METALLICA - Reading'97 Festival Reading UK - Images | IconicPix Music Archive James Hetfield Guitars & Gear | Complete List of Guitars, Amps, Effects & More| Ground Guitar From the Archive: James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett of Metallica Discuss Their 1997 Album, 'Re-Load' | Guitar World Live at Reading Festival (1997) [Pro-Shot] [Full TV Broadcast]

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