Solo Tone

Orion

Metallica

Guitarmetal1980s

Original Gear

GuitarESP MX220 (aka 'EET FUK' Explorer-style, likely with EMG 81 bridge pickup retrofit or stock passive pickups for 1986 recording)

AmpMesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ (studio recording, 1985-86)

PickupsPassive humbuckers (likely stock ESP LH-200 or similar; EMG 81 retrofits became standard later, but for Master of Puppets era likely passive)

Amp Settings

gain7.5

bass6

mid4

treble7.5

reverb1

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1985-86. The solo section on 'Orion' was recorded for the Master of Puppets album using James Hetfield's ESP MX220 and a Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ amp. No evidence of live rig or later gear (Randall, Fractal, etc.) applies. No confirmed pedal use for the solo except possible Tube Screamer for boost, but this is not confirmed for 'Orion'.

Tone Character(10)

tight and percussivescooped midssinging sustainaggressive attackarticulate high endchunky low endsmooth lead sustainslight amp reverb for spaceclassic 80s thrash metal saturationno modulation or time-based effects

Difficulty

The solo features fast alternate picking, tight palm muting, and complex phrasing, requiring advanced right-hand control and left-hand accuracy typical of 80s thrash metal solos.

Sources

Metallica's 'Orion' - forum topic - Ultimate Guitar [Question] Metallica Tone from Orion's Interlude solo : r/Guitar - Reddit Metallica – Ride The Lightning (Remastered) - Albums - Equipboard

This tone has been researched 5 times by the community

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