Riff Tone

Ride the Lightning

Metallica

Guitarmetal1980s

Original Gear

GuitarESP MX220 (custom Explorer-style, likely with Gibson pickups for 1984 recording)

AmpMarshall JCM800 2203 head into Marshall 4x12 cabinet (studio, 1984)

PickupsGibson Dirty Fingers humbuckers (stock in early ESP MX220s, used by Hetfield in 1984)

Amp Settings

gain0

bass5

mid4.5

treble7

reverb1

presence5.5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1984. No evidence of alternate guitars or amps for clean sections; Metallica typically used the same rig with amp/pedal gain rolled back for cleans. No official documentation of a separate clean amp for this song.

Tone Character(10)

bright and glassyarticulate single notesslightly compressedclear and percussive attackno audible breakuptight and controlledsubtle reverb tailno modulation or delaybridge pickup claritystudio ambience

Difficulty

The clean intro riff requires accurate alternate picking and note separation, but does not involve advanced techniques or high speed, making it accessible to intermediate players.

Sources

Metallica fan recreates James Hetfield's Ride The Lightning guitar tone with a Marshall JCM 800 and Tube Screamer | MusicRadar What settings should i put to sound like metallica in ride the lightning

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