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Riff Tone

For Whom the Bell Tolls

Metallica

Guitarmetal1980s

Original Gear

GuitarGibson Explorer (likely 1984 model, stock pickups at time of recording)
AmpMarshall JMP 2203 (modified, 100W head, used in studio for Ride the Lightning 1984)

Amp Settings

gain7.5
bass6

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Effects & Signal Chain

Notes

Studio recording, 1984. James Hetfield used a Gibson Explorer with stock Dirty Fingers pickups into a Marshall JMP 2203 head, likely with a Marshall 4x12 cabinet. No evidence of pedals or effects used for the riff section. Settings estimated based on era, genre, and amp model. No evidence of live/touring gear or later amp models being used on this recording.

Tone Character(10)
tight and percussiveaggressive palm mutingscooped midscrisp attackchunky, saturated distortionarticulate note separationminimal ambienceclassic 80s thrash metalfocused low endslightly cold, icy character

Difficulty

The riff requires tight, aggressive palm muting and precise alternate picking at a moderate tempo, but does not involve advanced techniques or complex chord shapes.

This tone has been researched 59 times by the community

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