Riff Tone

The Thing That Should Not Be

Metallica

Guitarmetal1980s

Original Gear

GuitarESP MX-220 (black finish)

AmpMesa/Boogie Mark IIC++

PickupsEMG 81 (bridge), EMG 60 (neck)

Amp Settings

gain8.5

bass5.5

mid2.5

treble7

reverb0

presence5.5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1985-1986, rhythm guitar for 'The Thing That Should Not Be' riff section. D standard tuning. Multiple amp layers were used, but the core tone is the Mark IIC++ with heavy EQ sculpting. No evidence of pedals in the main riff signal chain; effects loop used for rack EQ and compression.

Tone Character(10)

tight and percussivescooped midschunky low endaggressive palm mutinghigh-gain saturationcompressed and focuseddry, little ambienceheavy, massive rhythm soundsharp pick attackmulti-tracked thickness

Difficulty

The riff requires tight, aggressive palm muting and precise downpicking at a slow tempo, demanding stamina and control for a massive, percussive sound.

Sources

James Hetfield's guitar tone on Metallica's Sad But True The Thing That Should Not Be Tuning? : r/Metallica - Reddit

This tone has been researched 6 times by the community

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