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The guitar is an original Gibson made in USA, early 1985 Gibson Explorer that was refinished to vintage white with the 1984 design (pickguard rem...
- 1985 Gibson Explorer EXP83 "James Hetfield" - Reverb
New - EMG 81/60 + Switches + Pots, TonePros Tune-o-matic...
- Gibson Explorer 1983 James Hetfield Edition | Reverb
This 83 alpine white Gibson explorer is clearly ready to...
- 1985 Gibson Explorer EXP83 "James Hetfield" - Reverb
- What Guitar Does James Hetfield Play?
- List of Amps and Other James Hetfield Gear
- Pedals Used by James Hetfield
James Hetfield primarily plays Explorer-style guitars made by Ken Lawrence, Gibson, as well as ESP. James is also known to own and play several V-style guitars as well as Les Pauls. He’s played many others throughout his career. See the full list of most notable James Hetfield guitars below.
Marshall JMP, Most Likely the JMP 2203 Model
Years Used:1982 to 1988 Now going over to James Hetfield’s guitar amps, we’ll first look into the old stuff that he used in Metallica’s earliest days. For the recording of “Kill ‘Em All,” as well as the band’s early career shows, James had a Marshall JMP amp head, most likely the JMP 2203 model. It was one of the go-to models among hard rock and metal guitarists, especially during the 1970s and the 1980s. It featured just one channel and basic controls. Some speculate that this amp could have...
Marshall JCM800 2203
Years Used:1984 to 1991 Right after the infamous theft of his old Marshall, James got ahold of a brand new JCM800 2203 for the recording of the “Ride the Lightning” album. Along with this amp head came a Marshall speaker cabinet equipped with Celestion G12-65 12-inch speakers. For a brief period in the mid-1980s, this was James’ main amplifier. The JCM800 model became pretty popular among metal musicians. Although a single-channel amp that basically has a “dirtier” clean tone, combining it wi...
Mesa Boogie Mark IIC+
Years Used:1984 to 1988 Now, this is where things took a completely different turn for Metallica. You don’t often see a single piece of gear changing the game for one band’s career, but the pretty tight tone of Mesa Boogie’s Mark IIC+ was so powerful that it helped them create one of the albums that eventually ended up in The Library of Congress. Working with producer Flemming Rasmussen, they took time to tweak the tone and perfect it, which is what we can hear on the “Master of Puppets” albu...
ProCo Rat
Years Used:1983 to Unspecified Going back to Metallica’s earliest days, James had a classic ProCo Rat pedal as his main distortion. Combining it with his old Marshall amp head that got stolen, he had a pretty wicked tone, the kind that was typical for the 1980s thrash metal bands. This combo was responsible for James’ tone on Metallica’s “Kill ‘Em All” record. The story goes that it got stolen along with his Marshall amp. This is a classic distortion pedal with some “fuzzy” overtones. It beca...
Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer
Years Used:1983 to 1992 For the “Ride the Lightning” album, James used the Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9 overdrive pedal in combination with the Marshall JCM800 amp. Reportedly, this is the only album where he used this classic device. Although a smooth-sounding overdrive, when you combine the TS9 pedal with Marshall’s JCM800 amp, you can get a pretty heavy tone with pronounced mids. When you drive its all-tube circuitry over the edge, it distorts pretty nicely and the Tube Screamer pedal truly ad...
Klon Centaur
Years Used:2012 to Present Here we have the mythical beast going by the name of Klon Centaur. These were designed by Bill Finnegan and manufactured between 1994 and 2008. There are about only 8000 of these in circulation and they can reach some head-spinning prices among collectors. Klon Centaur is well-known for adding the distortion without altering the original signal too much. With its IC MAX1044 converter, it raises the voltage up to 18 volts and feeds it to the operational amplifier, wh...
This guitar served as James Hetfield’s backup from approximately 1984 to 1988 and was essentially a twin to his first Gibson Explorer. While at first nearly indistinguishable from the iconic “So What” Explorer, over the years the two sported various stickers that set them apart.
This guitar is essentially a twin sister to the previously mentioned Gibson Explorer. James used it as a backup guitar from around 1984 to 1988. Although almost identical to the “So What” Explorer, this one featured different stickers on it – making it easier to separate the two.
New - EMG 81/60 + Switches + Pots, TonePros Tune-o-matic Bridge, SPERZEL 6 TL Chrome-Plated Staggered Machine Heads, Gibson Pick Up Rings, Gibson Jack Plate. Case is a Non Original Epiphone Explorer Hardcase that has seen better days.
This 83 alpine white Gibson explorer is clearly ready to ride the lightning. Someone at some point took the time to really spec out this 80’s Gibson to feature specs and details to accurately replicate the mighty Het’s 80’s explorers used up until his discovery of ESP.
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Sep 19, 2023 · Hetfield’s distinctive rhythm guitar technique, marked by forceful down-picking and refined palm muting, has drawn him to the Gibson Explorer. The appealing heavier tone and exceptional playability of these guitars contribute significantly to defining Metallica’s unique sound, thereby making Explorer models even more popular among heavy ...
