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Guitar Rig 5 Metal Preset Metallica Master Of Puppets Song Upgrade The Pickups

Todays best James Hetfield guitar deals ESP LTD Snakebyte James.

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Yet, for all the gear Hetfield has used through the years from the early days with hot-rodded Marshalls, through the MesaBoogie MkII era and beyond the main ingredient in his sound has always been that jackhammer right hand.

Its a force of nature a right hand as designed by nature, but with sci-fi performance, as though the technicians at the Seiko Ramps D lab had embedded quartz crystals in the wrist.

Its super accurate, punishing, and it takes practice and lots of it to bring this downstrokes up to speed so you can hit eighth-notes at 200bpm.

There is no finer rhythm guitarist in metal, which, if you consider that the riff is the lifeblood and common currency of metal, that logically positions Hetfield as its greatest guitarist.

Either way, matching him note-for-note is going to take dexterity in that picking hand.

Dig out the metronome, start slowly, build strength and maintain accuracy, and when youre clocking Hetfield numbers, its time to get the credit card out and get shopping.

First off, the guitar How to sound like Metallicas Kirk Hammett James Hetfield: The guitars Hetfield has used a variety of guitars over the years.

In the Kill Em All days, he was synonymous with his white Electra Flying V replica.

With a bolt-on neck, the Japanese-built V wasnt even close to the original Gibson, but for Hetfield, a disciple of Michael Schenker, it was enough that it was white and V-shaped.

Hetfield gravitated to the Gibson Explorer and then moved to ESP guitars in 1987, picking up the ESP MX-220, an Explorer-style offset immortalised with Hetfields EET FUK sticker.

Its pickup of pairing of active EMG humbuckers was perfect for the harsh, scooped tones of Justice, and Hetfield wouldnt look back, expanding his arsenal of ESPs, with various signature models in V, Explorer and LP-styles.

Its expensive, meticulously built in the USA, and takes the Explorer template and runs with it.

No expense spared (Image credit: The ESP Guitar Company) ESP James Hetfield Signature Snakebyte The Snakebyte is the quintessential James Hetfield signature model.

Like the Explorer, it has subtly offset waist, and its a big ol slab of mahogany with set single-piece, mahogany neck, but the contouring is more aggressive, the shape a little more dangerous.

The scale is a Gibson-esque 24.75 but the thin U neck profile is on-brand for ESP, offering enough support for your palm but still thin enough for speed.

Sperzel locking tuners keep everything in order so you can really dig in without fear of throwing it out of tune.

Despite the uncompromising silhouette and, frankly, youd look ridiculous taking this to play a set of Smiths covers the Snakebyte is well balanced, and youve got a set of signature EMG humbuckers to give those riffs some teeth.

On a budget (Image credit: The ESP Guitar Company) LTD EC-256 The LTD EC-256 is a change of pace, but if you are looking to get that Hetfield vibe and tone on a budget, this is a very solid option.

You can get it in Black Satin or Snow White and it comes equipped with a pair of ESP Designed LH-150 humbuckers in the neck and bridge position.

They are passive, but hot enough to get some gnarly crunch going on.

It has the shreddable thin U profile, a very shreddable 350mm fretboard radius with 22 extra-jumbo frets to reward a light touch and cater for aggressive lead styles.

Guitar Rig 5 Metal Preset Metallica Master Of Puppets Song Upgrade The Pickups

It would also make an excellent candidate for modding, should you want to upgrade the pickups further down the line.