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Riff Tone

Welcome Home (Sanitarium) [1985 from James' Riff Tapes]

Metallica

Guitarmetal1980s

Original Gear

Guitar1984 Gibson Explorer (likely modded, as per Hetfield's main guitar for this era)
AmpMesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ (preamp) slaved into Marshall JCM800 100W head, Marshall 4x12 cab with Celestion speakers

Amp Settings

gain8
bass6

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Effects & Signal Chain

Notes

Studio recording, 1985 riff tape demo. The main heavy rhythm tone on 'Welcome Home (Sanitarium)' was achieved by slaving a Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ preamp into a Marshall JCM800 head, with possible use of a ProCo Rat for additional gain. Triple-tracking and EQ used in studio. Effects are minimal on the heavy riff section—chorus and delay are used on clean parts, not the heavy riff.

Tone Character(10)
tight and percussivescooped midsaggressive palm mutinghigh-gain saturationsharp treblethick low endarticulate power chordsminimal ambiencemetallic crunchtriple-tracked rhythm

Difficulty

The riff requires tight, fast palm muting and precise alternate picking at a moderate tempo, with rapid power chord changes and a consistent, aggressive attack to match the tone and articulation of the original recording.

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