Metallica's sound: effects and equipment

What effects and equipment are needed to achieve the classic Metallica sound?

Metallica is widely regarded as one of the most successful metal bands of all time, having sold over 110 million albums. They are considered one of the ‘big four’ of 1980s thrash metal.

The interplay between guitarists James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett defines their sound. It's no surprise that many guitarists try to emulate their style. In this article, we'll show you how to achieve a similar sound using affordable effects devices.

About the band

Metallica was founded in Los Angeles in 1981 by guitarist and vocalist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich. Ulrich quickly adopted the name 'Metallica' from a list of potential names for a metal fanzine that a friend had asked him to review.

Shortly after recording their first song, Hetfield and Ulrich found a talented lead guitarist in Dave Mustaine and recruited him as a permanent member. The following year, in 1982, they replaced their original bassist, Ron McGovney, with Cliff Burton, who stayed with the band until his tragic death in 1986. After Burton joined, the band moved to San Francisco at his request.

Metallica split up with their lead guitarist, Dave Mustaine, at the end of 1982 due to disagreements. Mustaine went on to achieve great success with his own band, Megadeth. He was replaced by Kirk Hammett, who has been an indispensable member of Metallica ever since and, alongside James Hetfield, is responsible for the band's distinctive guitar sound.

In the summer of 1983, the band released their first studio album, Kill 'Em All, which initially achieved only mediocre sales figures. The second studio album, Ride the Lightning, was significantly more successful, selling almost 100,000 copies. Metallica finally achieved their big breakthrough in 1986 with their third studio album, Master of Puppets, which went gold within a month. Just a few months later, Cliff Burton was killed in a tour bus accident. The remaining band members decided to continue anyway and eventually brought Jason Newsted into the band as the new bassist.

This was followed by the highly successful albums ‘...And Justice For All’ and “Metallica”, also known as the ‘Black Album’. In 1996 and 1997, Metallica released the albums Load and ReLoad, on which the band developed a new style that showed influences from blues and country and was often criticised by fans. In 1999, ‘Nothing Else Matters’ was finally released as a single – a song that almost everyone has probably heard on the radio at some point.

In January 2001, Newsted left the band because he felt he had been treated unfairly by James Hetfield and had been sharply criticised by him for his musical projects outside Metallica. The bass on the new album St. Anger was then played by legendary producer Bob Rock himself. With ‘St. Anger’, Metallica returned to a much harder metal sound, which in turn was criticised by some fans. However, this did not diminish the album's success, and it reached number one in the album charts in more than 30 countries. In 2003, the band found a new bassist in Robert Trujillo, who had previously played for Ozzy Osbourne and Suicidal Tendencies. This was followed in 2008 by their ninth studio album, Death Magnetic, and most recently in 2018 by Hardwired... to Self-Destruct.

Sound and equipment of the Metallica guitarists

When writing about the sound of Metallica, it's only fair to tell you that, as an amateur guitarist, you'll only ever be able to recreate it to a certain extent. This is because Metallica's guitarists use very expensive equipment. To achieve the original sound, you'd need to invest £4,500 or more in equipment.

But don't worry — in this article, we'll show you how to achieve an affordable version of the Metallica sound for significantly less money. First, let's take a look at the equipment used by the band and the signature devices available.

James Hetfield

One of the most important elements of his sound is undoubtedly the use of active humbucker pickups in his guitar. He almost exclusively uses ESP and Gibson guitars. His preferred pickups are EMG pickups, which are available as a matching Hetfield signature pickup set for around £200. This pickup set is not absolutely necessary, but a humbucker pickup is recommended, as it is likely to be difficult to achieve a satisfactory sound with a single-coil pickup. If you're looking to buy a new guitar anyway, Metallica fans should check out the Hetfield signature models ESP LTD Vulture*, ESP LTD Snakebyte* and ESP LTD Iron Cross*.

When it came to amplifiers, James Hetfield mainly used Marshall JCM 800* in the early days of Metallica, later switching to Mesa/Boogie Mk IIc and finally Rectifier models. On more recent albums, Hetfield has used Mesa TriAxis and Diezel VH4, among others, the latter being used extensively on ‘St. Anger’. For undistorted sound, James relies primarily on the JC-120 from Roland.

You'll probably be particularly interested in the floor pedals used by Hetfield. When it comes to distortion and overdrive, James Hetfield has been a big fan of the Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer* since using the ProCo Rat* on Kill 'Em All. He used this from Ride the Lightning onwards to improve what he considered to be the tame sound of the Marshall amplifiers. Later, he switched to the G-Major 2 from TC Electronic, a rack-mounted multi-effects unit, for live performances. A Klon Centaur overdrive has also been spotted with him. For phaser sounds, he relied on the MXR Phase 100 pedal* and for wah sounds on the Cry Baby by Dunlop*. From the early 2000s onwards, Hetfield is also said to have used the Line6 DL4* (the link leads to its successor, the Line6 DL4 MK2) for delays.

Kirk Hammett

When it comes to sound, Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield agree on many things. Like Hetfield, Hammett was a long-time fan of Mesa/Boogie amplifiers, such as the Dual Rectifier, and the matching Mesa/Boogie Rectifier 4x12 Standard Slants as cabinets. In recent years, Hammett has been using Randall amplifiers and has released his own signature series. When it comes to guitars, Kirk Hammett also prefers EMG humbuckers and ESP guitars, some of which are signature models, such as the ESP LTD KH-202 BLK* (budget model) or the ESP KH2 Neck Thru Custom Shop*.

For distortion and overdrive, Kirk Hammett also used to rely on a Tube Screamer, in his case the Ibanez TS9*. The Angry Charlie from JHS Pedals* is also said to have been part of his setup. He later released his own devices under the KHDK brand. When it came to delay, Hammett relied on the Line6 DL4. Like Hetfield, Hammett mainly uses the TC Electronics G-Major 2 rack multi-effects module for effects when performing live.

Of course, Kirk Hammett's collection of signature devices would not be complete without a Dunlop wah pedal. It is available under the impressive name Dunlop KH95 Kirk Hammett Signature Cry Baby.

Multi-effects devices for the Metallica sound

Do you need all these signature pedals to get closer to the Metallica sound? In our opinion, not necessarily, because there are several multi-effects devices that can be loaded with a variety of presets. These were created by Metallica fans. In addition, many multi-effects devices offer simulations of devices that have been used by Metallica over the years.

Below, we present a selection of multi-effects devices that can simulate these devices and, where possible, link to our reviews of the devices.

Devices for beginners

Zoom G1X Four

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The G1X Four from Zoom offers built-in simulation of some of the effects and amps used by Metallica:

• Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer

• ProCo Rat

• Marshall JCM-800

• Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier

• Various cabinets with Celestion speakers

There is also a user patch for the Kill Em All sound available at guitarpatches.com.

We have also reviewed the G1X Four in detail in a separate review.

Line6 Pocket Pod

Zoom G3Xn

Devices for advanced users and professionals

Line6 Pod Go

The Line 6 POD Go offers the following Metallica effects and amplifiers:

• ProCo Rat

• Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer

• Roland JC-120

• Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier

• Marshall JCM 800

We have also presented the Line6 Pod Go in a separate review.

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Mooer GE 250

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The GE 250 from the Chinese manufacturer Mooer has the following effects suitable for playing Metallica songs:

• Dunlop Cry Baby

• Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer

• ProCo Rat

• Marshall JCM 800

• Roland JC-120

You can find a more detailed description of the device in our comprehensive GE 250 review.

Boss GT-1000

The GT-1000 multi-effects unit from Boss offers the following effects and amps for use with Metallica songs, among others:

• Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer

• Klon Centaur

• ProCo Rat

• Roland JC-120

• Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier

• Dunlop Cry Baby

Read our review for more details about the GT-1000.

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Conclusion

You can find a more detailed description of the device in our comprehensive GE 250 review.

The sound quality of these devices, particularly the more affordable options, naturally cannot compete with that of a professional setup comprising real Mesa/Boogie amplifiers and a pedalboard costing thousands of pounds. Nevertheless, the multi-effects devices presented here offer a cost-effective way to play Metallica songs.