C'mon, you think rockstars understand tech. I can play but I have not changed my own strings in 5+ years. All of my buddies are techs and they do that shit better than me, plus they will do like 50+ point inspections when they do it for me. I don't understand shit about guitar electronics, amps, or pedals, and I do not care too. *The people that love teching, do REALLY REALLY love it,* and I let them enjoy it, while we both reap the benefits. I pay and buy a nice lunch for my buddy, and I get a nice guitar setup out of it.
The key component to James guitar sound is his right hand. There I said it. Back in the day, he used a horrible Flying V bolt-on copy through a second hand, modified Marshall and he sounded incredible. Just listen to No Life Till Leather demo, followed by Kill em All.
Yeah. Actually I think he sounds generic these days, and probably mostly because of his rig and maybe a little sprinkling of not having that right hand attack anymore. He had 'it' back in the day, and he could have played through an AM radio and it would have been awesome.
Most think it is "functional". Some hate on it deeply, some think it's fine. Really, it's how it is being used. Myself? I am ok with some of it. But the quality is a huge problem. Ask any DL4 user how many issues they have had with it. I also had a M13 reboot mid-set and dump ALL my presets. I am not the only person I know this has happened too. Maybe they fixed the issue with a firmware update but I sold it instantly as I could not trust it in a live setting any longer.
So, the problem with modeled solid state sounds is that at high volume they just don't work and every single one I've used has had a problem mixing with a band. Now, if you put that model in line with actual tube fed heads and mic it up - you've got a much more stable, high volume tone that blends a little more easily.
Lol! Yeah...goes on for 3 minutes about how, "I love having the TC so we can just dial something in without having a road case full of pedals..." Then two minutes later, "Oh yeah, we have real stuff around here." Haha! Their tones are great, so no criticism there. Just funny.
Even though I don’t really understand a lot what the techs are talking about when it comes to certain gear god I love these videos. Love seeing the Amps, guitars and pedals
Secret to Hetfield's sound: 1. ESP guitars 2. Het Set pickups 3. Mesa Boogie and Diezel amps 4. Hetfield's right hand No big secrets here. His guitar tech is trying to make it seem more complex than what is actually is.
André Silva never an 85, it used to be 81/81 but when they recorded the Black Album, James got a couple ESP MX-250’s and they had 81/60 in them. He liked them so he swapped them out in all of his main guitars (not every guitar because he needed a certain sound and those guitars had them so he doesn’t swap them out) he has used that setup until 2011-2012ish when he got the Het-Set.
@@drk3758 You're right about the 81/60, for some reason I wrote the 85 (maybe because Zakk Wylde uses them and I ended up messing up the number). Didn't know Hetfield used 81/81, I know Kirk did because I have a 1990s ESP KH2 which uses them.
André Silva yeah the 81/81 came stock with his MX-220’s (because kirk used them and the MX-220’s were the first time he used EMG’s so he got ESP to make him his guitars with those pickups)
His tech must love his job with all that kind of work changing strings/tuning, changing guitars for him, running his technical side of his overall sound, and effects. It's probably a very tough job, but probably fun AF too. My hats off to Chad for keeping it all ready to go for James!🤘
Live Tone is about consistency, Studio tone is about Perfection. Their live sound has improved, but you wouldn't notice that at one of the shows that they'd record for a 3D movie or the Orion shows. The Studio tone has been stellar since Puppets except for St. Anger, which was an experiment. The only studio sound problems outside of the first two albums (gear shortage) and St. Anger (Experiment) were Justice (Bass Mastered Out) and Death Magnetic's compression, which was a mastering issue.
This looks like the coolest AND most nerve-wrecking job ever, especially during live shows when you do the switching. Can you even think about a moment you make a mistake and have for example a clean sound at the beginning of blackened ? The horror.... :)
if you have mids at 0, you sound like shit. if you have mids at 10...you sound like shit. the best tone lies in the sweet spot of the mid range ( which is around 4, 5, or 6)
@@jaymz Scooping mids on a standard 3 knob EQ usually sounds meh. But with the mesas you have a 5 band equalizer (or dynamic voice on the Triaxis) so that works great and sounds badass while cutting through.
Yeah, I love the sound Eddie’s getting out of the new 5150 head. I tried one a couple months ago and was blown away. I watched a couple other vids of James’ gear and he’s had the same Boogie/Diezel for a while now. I guess it’s just his personal preference now. However, if they wanted a Kill em All or Master sound, they could use a Kempler profiler amp and come really close to the original. Check out: Kemper Profiling Amp - METALLICA / HETFIELD TONE ~ CLONE TONES
It becomes more practical to transport and set up a rack case than it does separate amps and pedals etc. Everything is in one box, there are doubles of everything for a backup and there is m essentially only one power cable and one input for the entire rig. Which hopefully means plug and play every for every show.
^ what this guy said, it’s easier to troubleshoot issues, easier to transport, easier to keep consistent, more durable, faster setup and takedown and the guy in the video also explains another good reason why like 2 mins in. Only downside is you need to understand how it works (hence the use of a tech) and the fact that it’s as expensive as balls
No kidding. As a long time fan of these guys, I always wondered if it was his tech that was on the pedals or if it was someone else altogether. This interview was really really cool for anyone with a nerdy, tech side.
They do but..the mesa pre amp-power amp set up...the 2:90 is....is blended together with the DIEZEL amp head for the overall sound,we all have come to love. And..So in awnser to yer question...guitar amp heads or combos don't need a pre amp or a power amp they are all in one.
I wouldn't be able to link you to anything in specific but it's something I found out a long time ago. Think Justice for All to the Black album era. I remember being blown away when I heard about it, I've never had much luck with the Boss Metal Zone.
It wasn’t always IIC+. I used to own a Mesa quad preamp and simulclass 290 that came out of one of his late 80s backup live rigs according to the paperwork. It sounded good but it always sounded like me playing. You really have to be James to sound like James.
@@jaecenwhite2590 The quad is not a tight metal rhythm tone. Too much of this "tone is in the hands" nonsense. Give james a line 6 and he will sounds like crap. Have you heard Death Magnetic? You fanbois, I tell ya...
@@jaecenwhite2590 I have a mark iic+ and yes I agree you won’t sound exactly like James obviously because we are not him, but it does get extremely close, and if you put a diezel preamp into the boogie, it actually sounds pretty good, I especially like the way the A string sounds, it has that weird cutting note that I don’t know how to explain, tight? Idk. But it sounds great when playing blackened and MOP, also creeping death
Techs like Chad are extremely bright dudes. I am not suggesting that guys like Chad would even want it, but a little acknowledgement like THIS KILLER INTERVIEW is great to see. It's informative for the curious out there, but, a lot of fans likely have very limited awareness of what's involved with a show: the sound they hear and how it gets to their ears (&see vids on mixing). Rare interviews like this can inspire new music nerds much the same as suffering through ONE bad sounding concert can ;)
the DIEZEL is a amp head with a buildt in pre amp.. the mesa is a power amp that needs a pre amp..his mesa power amp is the mesa 2:90 made to work with the triaxis pre amp... I have that exact set-up..ill use it till the day I die !!!
The secret sauce is an old modded mesa studio preamp eq that bypasses its preamp circuit to be used as the eq for the triaxis 2. The triaxis 2 has most likely had some of its physical internal components replaced by Mesa with original mesa mark2c+ components, or components based on this amp. The 2c+ was used to record the puppets album and is hetfield's all time favourite amp. The onboard eq setting is normally at 0.0 but the tech has raised it to around 3, most likely to deceptively hide this.
From what I've read, James and the rest of the guys treat their road crew and techs very well. When you think about it the crew and techs are all employees that work for the band, they just don't get treated like that. Hell Justin Crew has been Kirk's tech for almost 20 years.
there is a big difference between 'sometimes' and 'always' kirk and rob always have a wah pedal it's not often they play songs that James needs a wah pedal. In 2009, they played suicide & redemption and they also played ecstasy of gold. James uses a wah but it very rarely.
Nice to have a lackey doing all of your effects for you! I wonder if James bothers tuning on stage or if someone off stage runs on with a freshly tuned guitar when it goes out of tune? I suspect the latter.
To be fair, I'm not paying to see James tune his guitar, I'm paying for a professional show. Guitar techs are unsung heroes who make our rock legends look and sound their best.
it has happened before, during fade to black, James was just about to kick into the heavy riff near the end before the song picks up....and this clean sound just comes out, not quite got the same effect lol. Its on youtube, check it out. The only difference is, is it was more of a James error than the techies.
You know you're famous when someone else gets interviewed for your gear.
I guess if you ask James wouldn't know what his gear is by now
suhijo Doubtful, everything in his rig has to be run by him.
C'mon, you think rockstars understand tech. I can play but I have not changed my own strings in 5+ years. All of my buddies are techs and they do that shit better than me, plus they will do like 50+ point inspections when they do it for me. I don't understand shit about guitar electronics, amps, or pedals, and I do not care too. *The people that love teching, do REALLY REALLY love it,* and I let them enjoy it, while we both reap the benefits. I pay and buy a nice lunch for my buddy, and I get a nice guitar setup out of it.
doesn't really require fame. you just need to be a touring guitarist with a bigger budget.
@@afrocoolio25 tbh it’s really not that hard to understand
Being James Hetfield guitar tech would be quite the job!
I would do that for free! haha :-)
@@ArnieBlow until you fuck up once
BruderSeth And then you get the death glare, which causes you to crumble to dust rather than getting fired
@@BruderSeth 😂😂😂
@@BruderSeth axle rose used to fire his engineers daily!
The key component to James guitar sound is his right hand. There I said it. Back in the day, he used a horrible Flying V bolt-on copy through a second hand, modified Marshall and he sounded incredible. Just listen to No Life Till Leather demo, followed by Kill em All.
You nailed it man! Guitar players hands are the foundation of "Tone". Amps and guitars are the gravy on top!
Yeah. Actually I think he sounds generic these days, and probably mostly because of his rig and maybe a little sprinkling of not having that right hand attack anymore. He had 'it' back in the day, and he could have played through an AM radio and it would have been awesome.
the v was even a dang epiphone
I totally agree, James can grab a toy guitar and make that sound amazing. It doesn't matter the brand, just the players hands. :D
mrpokemon8778 It wasn't an Epiphone it was a cheap Japanese import made by Electra.
Metallica has a great live sound.
I wish their live sound engineers would do their studio albums
I agree completly!
What a luxury it must be to have a team of guys like this behind you...
That's what she said
Thom Lm haha
and women too
For ppl like Metallica, it is not a luxury. It is a business.
That's success right there bruh 💯
I got distracted with all the songs playing the background.
ikr, same 😂
want to know the secrets they wont tell you. his main sound comes from a Roland cube and zoom digital pedal in a hidden box.
videogalory ha ha fair play it made me laugh
I don't doubt it one bit
I have a Roland Cube
You forgot the metal zone hidden
I heard that he recently switched for a line 6 Amp with digitech pedal for effects
"We have real stuff around here".
Nice line 6 distortion modeller right out in front.
Most think it is "functional". Some hate on it deeply, some think it's fine. Really, it's how it is being used.
Myself? I am ok with some of it. But the quality is a huge problem. Ask any DL4 user how many issues they have had with it. I also had a M13 reboot mid-set and dump ALL my presets. I am not the only person I know this has happened too. Maybe they fixed the issue with a firmware update but I sold it instantly as I could not trust it in a live setting any longer.
fiveways
Meanwhile, the Line 6 DM4 is the *_”secret sauce”_* that’s not supposed to be talked about!
So, the problem with modeled solid state sounds is that at high volume they just don't work and every single one I've used has had a problem mixing with a band. Now, if you put that model in line with actual tube fed heads and mic it up - you've got a much more stable, high volume tone that blends a little more easily.
shortly after this, they went full modeling (Fractal), no amps used at all.
Lol! Yeah...goes on for 3 minutes about how, "I love having the TC so we can just dial something in without having a road case full of pedals..." Then two minutes later, "Oh yeah, we have real stuff around here." Haha! Their tones are great, so no criticism there. Just funny.
Chad reminds me of Paul Heyman from WWE lol
Asyraf Fazali lmal
Asyraf Fazali Really :DD
he does look like him
Even though I don’t really understand a lot what the techs are talking about when it comes to certain gear god I love these videos. Love seeing the Amps, guitars and pedals
Secret to Hetfield's sound:
1. ESP guitars
2. Het Set pickups
3. Mesa Boogie and Diezel amps
4. Hetfield's right hand
No big secrets here. His guitar tech is trying to make it seem more complex than what is actually is.
Now it's all axe fx no tube amps anywhere on stage,
Interestingly enough the classic stuff was mainly with THE EMG 81/85 set.
André Silva never an 85, it used to be 81/81 but when they recorded the Black Album, James got a couple ESP MX-250’s and they had 81/60 in them. He liked them so he swapped them out in all of his main guitars (not every guitar because he needed a certain sound and those guitars had them so he doesn’t swap them out) he has used that setup until 2011-2012ish when he got the Het-Set.
@@drk3758 You're right about the 81/60, for some reason I wrote the 85 (maybe because Zakk Wylde uses them and I ended up messing up the number).
Didn't know Hetfield used 81/81, I know Kirk did because I have a 1990s ESP KH2 which uses them.
André Silva yeah the 81/81 came stock with his MX-220’s (because kirk used them and the MX-220’s were the first time he used EMG’s so he got ESP to make him his guitars with those pickups)
THANK YOU FOR existing Metallica !
I love you James! ❤
His tech must love his job with all that kind of work changing strings/tuning, changing guitars for him, running his technical side of his overall sound, and effects. It's probably a very tough job, but probably fun AF too. My hats off to Chad for keeping it all ready to go for James!🤘
What a stressful job...hard work. Props Man!
Live Tone is about consistency, Studio tone is about Perfection. Their live sound has improved, but you wouldn't notice that at one of the shows that they'd record for a 3D movie or the Orion shows. The Studio tone has been stellar since Puppets except for St. Anger, which was an experiment. The only studio sound problems outside of the first two albums (gear shortage) and St. Anger (Experiment) were Justice (Bass Mastered Out) and Death Magnetic's compression, which was a mastering issue.
These days it's just a bunch of Axe-Fx units. How times change.
Very interesting interview more of this pleaaazzeee!
I didn't know Michael Keaton was James' guitar tech.
I thought he looked Michael Keaton as well when the video first started!
This looks like the coolest AND most nerve-wrecking job ever, especially during live shows when you do the switching. Can you even think about a moment you make a mistake and have for example a clean sound at the beginning of blackened ? The horror.... :)
You should know all the songs 🎵 and all the pre sets by now.
who else was hoping he was gonna pull out the ken lawerence guitar
Wait, I am competing buying guitars on ebay with Hetfield!
Not a fair fight!
Its now 2022 and I somehow got this feed.
Metallica is still touring but Hetfield’s rig has been simplified to Fractal modelers and Matrix amps.
And it totally sucks
The most beautiful job
Pretty awesome to get to see some of the behind the scenes stuff. Props to those guys.
I liked the scooped sound tho. They made Standard tuning sound so heavy.
if you have mids at 0, you sound like shit. if you have mids at 10...you sound like shit. the best tone lies in the sweet spot of the mid range ( which is around 4, 5, or 6)
jaymz They used mids usually 5 - 1 somewhere between there
@@jaymz Scooping mids on a standard 3 knob EQ usually sounds meh. But with the mesas you have a 5 band equalizer (or dynamic voice on the Triaxis) so that works great and sounds badass while cutting through.
James "secret sound" might be an electric zither plugged into a couple coffee cans connected by a string.
They should dump all that stuff and have Hetfield plug straight into his old IIC+ amps. That's when he sounded best.
slaved to a JCM 800.
Slaved only to the power section
Dan D AGREED
JCM 800 with an Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer, with an ESP MX-220
@@exorcizamus2419 And the Mark IIC ++ yep that right ++ not +
That's some trust right there. Couldn't imagine someone running my pedal board.
Yeah, I love the sound Eddie’s getting out of the new 5150 head. I tried one a couple months ago and was blown away. I watched a couple other vids of James’ gear and he’s had the same Boogie/Diezel for a while now. I guess it’s just his personal preference now. However, if they wanted a Kill em All or Master sound, they could use a Kempler profiler amp and come really close to the original. Check out: Kemper Profiling Amp - METALLICA / HETFIELD TONE ~ CLONE TONES
cool, that seems like a dream job to me
Is there a point where super famous rich guitarists just go nuts and start playing through these crazy racks of...STUFF!!!???!?!?~!?
+Jeffrey Osborne Yes, Larry Lalonde's set up and pedals is crazy as fuck (Guitarist for Primus)
It becomes more practical to transport and set up a rack case than it does separate amps and pedals etc.
Everything is in one box, there are doubles of everything for a backup and there is m essentially only one power cable and one input for the entire rig. Which hopefully means plug and play every for every show.
^ what this guy said, it’s easier to troubleshoot issues, easier to transport, easier to keep consistent, more durable, faster setup and takedown and the guy in the video also explains another good reason why like 2 mins in. Only downside is you need to understand how it works (hence the use of a tech) and the fact that it’s as expensive as balls
No kidding. As a long time fan of these guys, I always wondered if it was his tech that was on the pedals or if it was someone else altogether. This interview was really really cool for anyone with a nerdy, tech side.
OK thank you so much
I have walked understage past these racks before, now I know a whole lot more, cool.
Que honor de trabajar con James..........
the opening chords are Killer... the open E he plays is the coolest tone...
They do but..the mesa pre amp-power amp set up...the 2:90 is....is blended together with the DIEZEL amp head for the overall sound,we all have come to love. And..So in awnser to yer question...guitar amp heads or combos don't need a pre amp or a power amp they are all in one.
For those of you that are talking about the tuning of the guitars,
When they say D they mean D# for live which is also the same as Eb.
who cares
I wouldn't be able to link you to anything in specific but it's something I found out a long time ago. Think Justice for All to the Black album era. I remember being blown away when I heard about it, I've never had much luck with the Boss Metal Zone.
Tore from TC Electronics, Jame’s guitar tech: “The reason why I like this TC unit..”.
Missed opportunity around 10.25. He's free to ROAM anywhere he wants.
Yeah, that would have been funny.
What alot of people miss on James tone is that "Growl" sound he has. Its pretty interesting sounding aside from it being epic already
Wow I would have a lot of anxiety if I was this guitar tech. He's just fine
I love how Metallica has a “headquarters.”
HQ
Almost ten years later, I wonder if James's rig is still the same.
>james should use the mark iic+ again
>triaxis is already set to lead 2 yellow which is the mark iic+ preamp
Triaxis is more durable for touring.
TC reverb does it all. Not once did the camera pan to the Deizels,or the Triaxis settings lol
TriAxis still kicking!!
When the MT-2 has the Diezel mod and you use it for boost, it kicks ass
All these years, never heard a poor switch so these guys do their job very well indeed
Good interviewer. Good vid.
That's why he said it ;) Happend during Blackened too
well guys this man have a nice job and he get paid good money for what he do
Bring the 2c+ back. Seriously.
Mk IV
It wasn’t always IIC+. I used to own a Mesa quad preamp and simulclass 290 that came out of one of his late 80s backup live rigs according to the paperwork. It sounded good but it always sounded like me playing. You really have to be James to sound like James.
@@jaecenwhite2590 The quad is not a tight metal rhythm tone. Too much of this "tone is in the hands" nonsense. Give james a line 6 and he will sounds like crap. Have you heard Death Magnetic? You fanbois, I tell ya...
IIC++
@@jaecenwhite2590 I have a mark iic+ and yes I agree you won’t sound exactly like James obviously because we are not him, but it does get extremely close, and if you put a diezel preamp into the boogie, it actually sounds pretty good, I especially like the way the A string sounds, it has that weird cutting note that I don’t know how to explain, tight? Idk. But it sounds great when playing blackened and MOP, also creeping death
Anyone have any idea what he uses the Line 6 DM4 for?
Coolest job man, yeah!!!
The first :07 of the video are the best...... great sound......
great stuffs!:)
Damn! I just wanted to see footage of his amps so I could see his exact settings!
Both Diezel AND Mesa Boogie? What is this new deviltry?
Nothing can beat my peavey rage tone!
Techs like Chad are extremely bright dudes. I am not suggesting that guys like Chad would even want it, but a little acknowledgement like THIS KILLER INTERVIEW is great to see. It's informative for the curious out there, but, a lot of fans likely have very limited awareness of what's involved with a show: the sound they hear and how it gets to their ears (&see vids on mixing). Rare interviews like this can inspire new music nerds much the same as suffering through ONE bad sounding concert can ;)
I used to have boss metal zone, but my friend lost it :(
its was a great pedal
the DIEZEL is a amp head with a buildt in pre amp.. the mesa is a power amp that needs a pre amp..his mesa power amp is the mesa 2:90 made to work with the triaxis pre amp... I have that exact set-up..ill use it till the day I die !!!
The secret sauce is an old modded mesa studio preamp eq that bypasses its preamp circuit to be used as the eq for the triaxis 2. The triaxis 2 has most likely had some of its physical internal components replaced by Mesa with original mesa mark2c+ components, or components based on this amp. The 2c+ was used to record the puppets album and is hetfield's all time favourite amp. The onboard eq setting is normally at 0.0 but the tech has raised it to around 3, most likely to deceptively hide this.
How the heck do you know this?? 😄
Metallicu sam slušao u miru ,pa u ratu,pa u miru!! Metallica zauvijek
He's not giving much away! Except the twin amp set up.
8:53 - "secret sauce" is that the Tri-Axis is being run through a Boss Metal Zone. Seriously.
I had one in the effects loop of an amp. You turn the distortion to 0.
James needs to get a JCM 800, Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer, & an ESP MX-220
John Petrucci uses the same Mesa pre and power amps in a video they put up recently.
14:57 THIS tone for the album would be great
he has a modded mesa pre amp thats the secert he has a bunch of em that and a mark 2 c plus
And they made Master of Puppets without any of this crap. One of the greatest albums of all time.
I would love to spend a day with that guy, he is totally cool. I wonder if he plays in bands?
G major 2 is what I use....great bang for the buck !
Well Since I think the Early 2000's They Went to D Tuning but songs originally was E. So Pretty Much Seek went to E > Eb > D :L
James is nice guitarist he should play in a band !
Aha awesome. I must buy one
From what I've read, James and the rest of the guys treat their road crew and techs very well. When you think about it the crew and techs are all employees that work for the band, they just don't get treated like that. Hell Justin Crew has been Kirk's tech for almost 20 years.
there is a big difference between 'sometimes' and 'always' kirk and rob always have a wah pedal
it's not often they play songs that James needs a wah pedal. In 2009, they played suicide & redemption and they also played ecstasy of gold. James uses a wah but it very rarely.
13:15 are you sure that seek and destroy is tuned D ?
Yes it is nowadays
Gabivador yea, indeed it is. i've checked it at home with guitar.
Serdar Yumer Must be very awkward to play.
stoltobot Why? It's played the exact same way, only it sounds a step lower
***** no, he is correct, seek and destroy is tuned to D in live performances, i've checked it out.
the board on the floor? it's a midicontroler. the triaxis are afaik midicontrolable. so they can store the settings and Switch them via the midiboard.
James has been using the Simul class since Lightning
and the triaxis 1 is not modded, used for clean, while the mesa eq (secret sauce) is tucked snuggly away from sight.
ANYONE KNOW HOW TO BLEND TWO GUITAR HEADS TOGETHER INTO ONE GUITAR?
What was the thing on the ground called that they step on
Nice to have a lackey doing all of your effects for you! I wonder if James bothers tuning on stage or if someone off stage runs on with a freshly tuned guitar when it goes out of tune? I suspect the latter.
To be fair, I'm not paying to see James tune his guitar, I'm paying for a professional show. Guitar techs are unsung heroes who make our rock legends look and sound their best.
it has happened before, during fade to black, James was just about to kick into the heavy riff near the end before the song picks up....and this clean sound just comes out, not quite got the same effect lol. Its on youtube, check it out. The only difference is, is it was more of a James error than the techies.
Nice
cool
All that processing, it sounded like an Axe Fx.
Paul Giamatti couldve played the guitar tech in through the never
Chad is a certified badaxx🙋🎶💯🙏👍🎸
i think the secret sauce is a modded eq that mesa built for him in the 80s and its based of an old mesa amp
Couldn't get over the amount of times the interviewer said "yeah".
Which Mesa Boogie does he use with his deizel VH4
I take that back, something's up with my settings.
I want that sound from the first 3 seconds just with a HINT more gain or push
More than half. Maybe 80% are ESP's, at least in the live shows. A couple of Gibsons, Trussart's and Ken Lawrence and that's it.
At 15:00 you can see a line 6 pod x3 pro.. might that be the secret???