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Riff Tone

Phantom Lord (Live at the Keystone, Palo Alto, CA – Oct. 31st, 1983)

Metallica

Guitarmetal1980s

Original Gear

GuitarElectra Flying V (early 1980s Japanese copy, used by James Hetfield live in 1983)
AmpMarshall JCM800 2203 head into Marshall 4x12 cabinet (live rig, 1983)

Amp Settings

gain8
bass6

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Effects & Signal Chain

Notes

Live performance, October 31st, 1983 at the Keystone, Palo Alto. This was pre-ESP endorsement; Hetfield used the Electra Flying V with stock pickups. Marshall JCM800 was the standard live amp for Metallica in this era. No evidence of pedals or effects in the signal chain for the riff section; distortion from amp. No evidence of studio trickery or post-processing, pure live rig.

Tone Character(10)
tight and percussivescooped midsaggressive palm mutinghigh-gain saturationarticulate attackraw and uncompresseddry, no ambiencefast, biting treblechunky low endclassic thrash rhythm

Difficulty

The riff requires fast, tight downpicking and alternate picking at high speed, with precise palm muting and aggressive attack, making it challenging for most players.

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