Riff Tone

Phantom Lord

Metallica

Guitarmetal1980s

Original Gear

Guitar1981 Gibson Flying V

AmpMarshall JMP 2203 (100W head, early 1980s, likely with Marshall 4x12 cab, no built-in reverb)

PickupsStock Gibson humbuckers (likely Dirty Fingers or T-Top, passive)

Amp Settings

gain0

bass5.5

mid4.5

treble7

reverb0

presence5.5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, Kill 'Em All album (1983). No evidence of pedals or outboard effects for the clean interlude; amp-only signal. Clean section is a rare clean passage in early Metallica, likely achieved by rolling down guitar volume and picking softly. No evidence of chorus, delay, or reverb pedals. No evidence of effects loop.

Tone Character(10)

bright and glassyarticulate single-note clarityslightly percussive attackdry and unprocessedno audible reverb or delaydynamic response to pickingopen and uncompressedslight natural breakup if picked hardno modulation or time-based effectsclassic early thrash clean

Difficulty

The clean riff requires accurate single-note picking and dynamic control to maintain clarity and avoid unwanted breakup, but does not involve advanced techniques or fast tempo.

Sources

What are your favorite clean tone melodies? : r/Metallica The "hidden" acoustic part in Phantom Lord : r/Metallica How did James and Kirk changed their distortion/clean sound when ...

This tone has been researched 2 times by the community

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