Riff Tone

The Call of Ktulu (Live)

Metallica & San Francisco Symphony

Guitarmetal2010s+

Original Gear

GuitarESP James Hetfield Signature Snakebyte (likely with custom finish for S&M2 live shows)

AmpFractal Audio Axe-Fx III (Diezel VH4 and Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ models profiled for live S&M2 rig)

PickupsEMG JH Het Set active humbuckers

Amp Settings

gain0

bass5.5

mid4

treble7

reverb3

presence6.5

Effects & Signal Chain

chorusUnknown Chorus effect (model unknown, likely Axe-Fx III block)

Notes

Live performance with San Francisco Symphony (S&M2, 2019); Metallica used Fractal Axe-Fx III units for amp and effects modeling; no physical amps on stage, all tones processed digitally. Clean tone for intro/riff section.

Tone Character(10)

crystal-clear and pristinelush, ambient reverbslightly scooped mids for claritybright and articulate highsfull-bodied low endsmooth, sustained clean notessubtle chorus shimmerdynamic and expressive pickingno audible distortion or breakupstudio-quality digital effects

Difficulty

The clean riff requires accurate picking and timing, dynamic control for expressive phrasing, and sensitivity to effect sustain and shimmer, making it moderately challenging for intermediate players.

Sources

Metallica Amp Settings - Guitar Chalk Metallica Amp Settings - James Hetfield & Kirk Hammett Guitar Tone!Metallica – S&M2 - Gear & Equipment Used on the Album | Equipboard Metallica - Call Of Ktulu - Guitar cover (NKP axe fx 3 presets)The Call of Ktulu clean intro James Hetfield live settings AXE FX III ...

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