Riff Tone
Orion
Metallica
Guitarmetal1980s
Original Gear
GuitarESP MX220 (custom Explorer-style, likely 1984 model)
AmpMesa Boogie Mark IIC+ head into Marshall 4x12 cabinet (studio recording, 1986)
PickupsEMG 81 (bridge), EMG 60 (neck) active humbuckers (note: original recording may have used stock passive pickups, likely Seymour Duncan or Gibson Dirty Fingers, as EMGs were adopted later in 1987; most sources agree passive humbuckers for 1986 recording)
Amp Settings
gain0
bass5.5
mid4
treble7
reverb1
presence5.5
Effects & Signal Chain
No effects used for this tone
Notes
Studio recording, 1986. Clean sections likely used the neck pickup and clean channel of the Mesa Boogie Mark IIC+. No evidence of pedal use for clean tone. Settings estimated based on typical Mark IIC+ clean tones and Metallica's 1986 studio practices.
Tone Character(10)
clean and bell-likewarm and glassyarticulate attackslight amp reverb ambienceno audible distortionneck pickup claritytight and controlledpercussive but smoothstudio-polishedno modulation or time-based effects
Difficulty
The clean riff requires accurate picking and timing, but does not involve advanced techniques or high speed, making it accessible to intermediate players with some experience in clean articulation.
Sources
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Create Free AccountGuitarmetal1980s
Original Gear
GuitarESP MX220 (custom Explorer-style, likely 1984 model)
AmpMesa Boogie Mark IIC+ head into Marshall 4x12 cabinet (studio recording, 1986)
PickupsEMG 81 (bridge), EMG 60 (neck) active humbuckers (note: original recording may have used stock passive pickups, likely Seymour Duncan or Gibson Dirty Fingers, as EMGs were adopted later in 1987; most sources agree passive humbuckers for 1986 recording)
Amp Settings
gain0
bass5.5
mid4
treble7
reverb1
presence5.5
Effects & Signal Chain
No effects used for this tone
Notes
Studio recording, 1986. Clean sections likely used the neck pickup and clean channel of the Mesa Boogie Mark IIC+. No evidence of pedal use for clean tone. Settings estimated based on typical Mark IIC+ clean tones and Metallica's 1986 studio practices.
Tone Character(10)
clean and bell-likewarm and glassyarticulate attackslight amp reverb ambienceno audible distortionneck pickup claritytight and controlledpercussive but smoothstudio-polishedno modulation or time-based effects
Difficulty
The clean riff requires accurate picking and timing, but does not involve advanced techniques or high speed, making it accessible to intermediate players with some experience in clean articulation.
Orion settings for your amp
Exact settings ToneAdapt players use on these amps.
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