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Riff Tone

Fade to Black (Live)

Metallica

Guitarmetal1980s

Original Gear

GuitarESP MX220 (James Hetfield signature, 1980s era, live)
AmpRoland JC-120 Jazz Chorus (for clean tone, live)

Amp Settings

gain0
bass5.5

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Effects & Signal Chain

Notes

Live performance, 1980s/early 1990s era. James Hetfield used the Roland JC-120 for clean sections in 'Fade to Black' live. The ESP MX220 with EMG pickups was his main guitar for this period. Mesa/Boogie and Marshall amps were used for distortion, but the JC-120 is widely cited for the clean intro/riff. See MusicRadar interview and multiple forum discussions.

Tone Character(10)
crystal-clear and pristinelush stereo chorus modulationwarm and rounded lowssparkling, bell-like highsarticulate and dynamicslight ambient reverbno breakup or gritfull-bodied clean sustaindistinct stereo imageresponsive to picking dynamics

Difficulty

The clean intro/riff is technically straightforward but requires clean, accurate picking and dynamic control to sound professional, especially with the exposed chorus effect.

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