Riff Tone

The Judas Kiss

Metallica

Guitarmetal2000s

Original Gear

GuitarESP MX-220 (Hetfield's custom, likely white finish, with EMG 81 bridge pickup)

AmpMesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier (studio recording, 2007-2008 era)

PickupsEMG 81 (bridge, active humbucker)

Amp Settings

gain8.5

bass6

mid4

treble7

reverb0.5

presence6.5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording for 'Death Magnetic' (2008). James Hetfield used his ESP MX-220 with EMG 81 pickups into a Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier. No evidence of additional pedals for the riff section; tone is achieved with amp gain and EQ. Settings are estimated based on genre, era, and typical Metallica studio practices for this album. No evidence of effects loop or additional rack effects for the main riff.

Tone Character(10)

tight and percussivescooped midsaggressive palm mutinghigh-gain saturationarticulate low endcrisp pick attackminimal ambiencedry and focusedmulti-tracked rhythm guitarsmodern metal clarity

Difficulty

The main riff requires fast, accurate alternate picking and tight palm muting at high speed, with complex rhythmic patterns and precise synchronization between both hands, making it challenging for most players.

Sources

James Hetfield's Guitar Gear, Amps & Pedalboard Metallica Amp Settings - forum topic | Ultimate Guitar r/Guitar on Reddit: What are the Amp settings for a Metallica sound

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