Pic: Hetfield's current rig

[Bourque]

Those are some killlller tones! Sounds to me like they influenced Ice Earth.

 

[4nkam]

RTL were either jose or fischer modded marshalls.

 

[Shadetree_01]

I would say Master of Puppets was were they peaked in terms of tone and variety of sick tones. Hammet's lead with the emg equipped les paul and Hetfield with the JC120 cleans. The thing that should not be... come on. Justice had no BASS or BALLS. (Still an incredible album but sounded thin.

 

[EleventhHour2139]

I would say Master of Puppets was were they peaked in terms of tone and variety of sick tones. Hammet's lead with the emg equipped les paul and Hetfield with the JC120 cleans. The thing that should not be... come on. Justice had no BASS or BALLS. (Still an incredible album but sounded thin.

I love their tone on 'Puppets as well, but I kinda missed the rawness from RTL. To me, AJFA brought back a lot more aggressivness into the tone. I don't think it sounded thin at all, particularly with a sound system that can produce the low end necessary.

 

[primerib]

you can bag on his current live rig all you want, but as we all know, what you use live and what you record with aren't always the same. and if they are, the settings definitely won't be

 

[Silverwulf]

RTL were either jose or fischer modded marshalls.

According to Flemming, they tried just about every Marshall in Denmark they could get their hands on for the session since the Jose Marshall was stolen. Jose couldn't remember exactly what he did to the amp, so they ended up using a stock JCM 800 to his recollection.

 

[audiofreud]

Who wants to bet he doesn't know how to operate his own rig?

 

[avi8r2005]

I often wonder that myself. I mean does he actually dial in his amps and tones, set effects, set up his guitars, or does he have some genius guitar guru that does it for him and he just plays them. Whatever it is, it sounds killer. I just saw them live in Denver last week, his tone was spanking. Doing the sound check, some guy cranked out a few chords on his famous clean sound and it was awesome.

 

[NJVenom]

well, here's my opinion: Did "Kill 'em All" make ya jump up and down, bang your head, slam dance et. al? It's coz of the intensity of the performance, the writing /arrangements of the songs-not the brilliant guitar sounds/production! Same with RTL and MOP...I mean, just the intro to "Battery" set the song up with drama and intensity. The songs are better, and people (not just musicians) appreciate those albums more so. . I think Cliff had a lot to do with it. I could be wrong, but AJFA is a very odd album, soundwise. I dig the heaviness of it, but from the way Lars kicks into "Blackened" with the snare drum sounds so ...weak! The drum sound was horrible, and there was no bass guitar tone. But if the songs were better, I think there wouldn't be this debate on sounds. To me , the only really good song, arrangement, groove solos etc, was "Frayed Ends of Sanity"...the other stuff really wasn't that good, no "Orion" or "Disposable Heroes". I think they shoulda released less songs and done more songwriting homework. That being said, the $5.98 EP, and the recording of "Breadfan" as well, is EXACTLY what I'm talking about. Get a studio, mic everything, and BOOM! The fact that it was cover songs doesn't detract because of the slammin takes they got! That's what AJFA shoulda felt like...
Is what Hendrix did on all of his songs sonically perfect and in tune? No! But did it matter? Did the songs hold up on their own? I think everybody hears the out-of-tune guitar or the dropped note, but it is secondary to the song and the performance.
Ever hear Jimmy Page duplicate a guitar sound? Did he even try? The gtr solo in "Heartbreaker" is terrible...but did it detract from the song, or add? I try to get a different sound for each song as well. (this is all with a Mk4) check it out, it ain't close to metal, but it is good. you will diggeth!
ride free forever!
www.myspace.com/ghostandthebigsky

 

[ollievk]

well, here's my opinion: Did "Kill 'em All" make ya jump up and down, bang your head, slam dance et. al? It's coz of the intensity of the performance, the writing /arrangements of the songs-not the brilliant guitar sounds/production! Same with RTL and MOP...I mean, just the intro to "Battery" set the song up with drama and intensity. The songs are better, and people (not just musicians) appreciate those albums more so. . I think Cliff had a lot to do with it. I could be wrong, but AJFA is a very odd album, soundwise. I dig the heaviness of it, but from the way Lars kicks into "Blackened" with the snare drum sounds so ...weak! The drum sound was horrible, and there was no bass guitar tone. But if the songs were better, I think there wouldn't be this debate on sounds. To me , the only really good song, arrangement, groove solos etc, was "Frayed Ends of Sanity"...the other stuff really wasn't that good, no "Orion" or "Disposable Heroes". I think they shoulda released less songs and done more songwriting homework. That being said, the $5.98 EP, and the recording of "Breadfan" as well, is EXACTLY what I'm talking about. Get a studio, mic everything, and BOOM! The fact that it was cover songs doesn't detract because of the slammin takes they got! That's what AJFA shoulda felt like...
Is what Hendrix did on all of his songs sonically perfect and in tune? No! But did it matter? Did the songs hold up on their own? I think everybody hears the out-of-tune guitar or the dropped note, but it is secondary to the song and the performance.
Ever hear Jimmy Page duplicate a guitar sound? Did he even try? The gtr solo in "Heartbreaker" is terrible...but did it detract from the song, or add? I try to get a different sound for each song as well. (this is all with a Mk4) check it out, it ain't close to metal, but it is good. you will diggeth!
ride free forever!

very wise words! I still love AJFA, I think the songs are much better musically, with better guitar parts and more intricate rhythms, but it does detract from the actual songs themselves

 

[ollievk]

well, here's my opinion: Did "Kill 'em All" make ya jump up and down, bang your head, slam dance et. al? It's coz of the intensity of the performance, the writing /arrangements of the songs-not the brilliant guitar sounds/production! Same with RTL and MOP...I mean, just the intro to "Battery" set the song up with drama and intensity. The songs are better, and people (not just musicians) appreciate those albums more so. . I think Cliff had a lot to do with it. I could be wrong, but AJFA is a very odd album, soundwise. I dig the heaviness of it, but from the way Lars kicks into "Blackened" with the snare drum sounds so ...weak! The drum sound was horrible, and there was no bass guitar tone. But if the songs were better, I think there wouldn't be this debate on sounds. To me , the only really good song, arrangement, groove solos etc, was "Frayed Ends of Sanity"...the other stuff really wasn't that good, no "Orion" or "Disposable Heroes". I think they shoulda released less songs and done more songwriting homework. That being said, the $5.98 EP, and the recording of "Breadfan" as well, is EXACTLY what I'm talking about. Get a studio, mic everything, and BOOM! The fact that it was cover songs doesn't detract because of the slammin takes they got! That's what AJFA shoulda felt like...
Is what Hendrix did on all of his songs sonically perfect and in tune? No! But did it matter? Did the songs hold up on their own? I think everybody hears the out-of-tune guitar or the dropped note, but it is secondary to the song and the performance.
Ever hear Jimmy Page duplicate a guitar sound? Did he even try? The gtr solo in "Heartbreaker" is terrible...but did it detract from the song, or add? I try to get a different sound for each song as well. (this is all with a Mk4) check it out, it ain't close to metal, but it is good. you will diggeth!
ride free forever!

very wise words! I still love AJFA, I think the songs are much better musically, with better guitar parts and more intricate rhythms, but it does detract from the actual songs themselves

 

[jdurso]

i dont know what you guys are talking about because live Het's tone is still killer. As far as Kirk, well his tone has always sucked IMO, especially live.

As far as Metallica's grailtone, look no further than Garage Inc. When the heavy guitars kick in on astronomy its like the earth opening up and swallowing all in its path. The list goes on... Merciful Fate medoly, Loverman, Turn the Page, Stone Cold Crazy, etc. Everything is clear, plenty of mids, tight bass, nice crunch and perfect production which is what Death Magnetic lacks... if Rubin didnt ruin the damn mix with his over compressed crab and ****** mix, the guitars would shine... 90% of the album was Mark IIC+ so to all complaining about lack-o-mark IIC, its there but covered in a thick layer of compression gravy.

Also, while ride and MOP are my favorites, aside from Damage Inc, some of their greatest tones have come post-AJFA, especially on Load... and I'm not kidding.

 

[MesaENGR412]

i dont know what you guys are talking about because live Het's tone is still killer. As far as Kirk, well his tone has always sucked IMO, especially live.

As far as Metallica's grailtone, look no further than Garage Inc. When the heavy guitars kick in on astronomy its like the earth opening up and swallowing all in its path. The list goes on... Merciful Fate medoly, Loverman, Turn the Page, Stone Cold Crazy, etc. Everything is clear, plenty of mids, tight bass, nice crunch and perfect production which is what Death Magnetic lacks... if Rubin didnt ruin the damn mix with his over compressed crab and sh!t mix, the guitars would shine... 90% of the album was Mark IIC+ so to all complaining about lack-o-mark IIC, its there but covered in a thick layer of compression gravy.

Also, while ride and MOP are my favorites, aside from Damage Inc, some of their greatest tones have come post-AJFA, especially on Load... and I'm not kidding.

I concur good sir. But, I don't mind the tones on Death Magnetic. I mean, they aren't the best, but I don't think they are absolutely terrible either...just my opinion though.

-AJH

 

[settecorde76]

To my mind, the sound of Master of Puppets is the best Metallica sound ever; I also like the Ride The Lightning sound but I dislike the And Justice For All sound, because I think it's too flat and doesn't cut through the mix. Black's album has a very good sound too but Master of Puppets is the Holy Grail! I also think that if you give a lot of IIC+ to Hetfield and co. they couldn't get the same sound as the early years; times are gone and now Metallica is like a brand new rock-metal band.

 

[Spamds]

times are gone and now Metallica is like a brand new rock-metal band.

Exactly. Whos interested in hetfields rig these days anyway. I personally think he's tone is nothing to admire about. I'd be more thankful to know what rig Alex Skolnick (TestAmenT)
or something which should deserve more attention...

 

[settecorde76]

In these days I'm listening to Killswitch Engage's "As Daylight Dies"....their sound is very hard and perfect (in my opinion) and I like it very much....I think it's the real modern metal sound!
And they use Framus, not Mesa...so, you can get a great sound with different amp and rigs because your sound lies deep in your mind! :wink:

 

[ytse_jam]

As far as Kirk, well his tone has always sucked IMO, especially live.

Surely his soloing tone isn't all that great, but I think Hammett's biggest problem is still his undecently loose right hand (a thing where Hetfield rules instead).

As far as RTL tone, Hetfield himself said that was their chunkiest guitar tone (at least talking about Metallica's earlier albums, I don't know when he was interviewed about that) mainly because they used a lot of reverb on guitar tracks. MOP guitar tracks where dry and the guitar tone seemed less full but better (according to Hetfield... now that I think about it a little bit more I remember it could have been an interview just after MOP release). I always read that the amp used on RTL was a Jose Arredondo's modded jcm800 w/ a tubescreamer but I'm not sure about it.

 

[settecorde76]

Surely his soloing tone isn't all that great, but I think Hammett's biggest problem is still his undecently loose right hand (a thing where Hetfield rules instead).

Exactly...now Kirk sucks all times, that's what I think....his technique is comparable to a beginner and his old solos in Master of Puppets or Ride the Lightning were better than today. Death Magnetic is bad, his sound his bad and the song writing is a bad copy of Metallica's Golden years..

 

[Elpelotero]

ouch...I didn't know Kirk was on the same level as a guitar center 10 yr old...I hope you're not being serious.

 

[kiff]

up to and including MOP's, I think Kirk's soloing was some good stuff. If nothing else he was fast, clean and pretty creative. I even like his lead tone's on that stuff. These days it seems to me that he's just playing for the sake of playing. I really don't think he really puts much love, sweat or tears into his work anymore... he always seems to fall back on the pentatonic blues riffs that don't really even fit the songs too well. I'm not really sure what motivates metallica these days as a band, but they definitely don't have their old hunger driven intesity, to say the least...