The ProCo Rat is a classic distortion pedal known for its aggressive and gritty tone. Hetfield has been known to use this pedal to add a fuzzy, biting distortion to his guitar sound, particularly during Metallica's earlier years.

James Hetfield How He Learned: Self-taught, though he did take piano lessons at the age of nine.

Kirk can play everything that James can, but not with as much precision that James can, which is why James is widely considered as the best rhythm guitarist even when Kirk is playing the same stuff most of the time.

The Jackson King V Custom named “Kill Bon Jovi” was used by James Hetfield throughout Master of Puppets in 1985. Manufactured on May 24th, 1985, it featured a white body finish, a Tune-o-Matic bridge, a set of Grover tuners, and two Seymour Duncan Invader pickups.

Metallica aren't distinguished for using pedals to achieve their core tones. James Hetfield has famously stated that he prefers the direct distorted tone from an amplifier, as opposed to relying on pedals.

Metallica's Amps Metallica crafted some of their most desirable distorted tones with Mesa Boogie valve amps. The Mark IIC+ head was used extensively for the recording sessions of Master of Puppets and … And Justice for All, later employing Rectifiers in the '90s for their self-titled album and Load/Reload.

Christian Frederick Martin Although steel-stringed acoustic guitars are now used all over the world, the person who is thought to have created the first of these guitars was a German immigrant to the United States named Christian Frederick Martin (1796-1867). Guitars at the time used so-called catgut strings created from the intestines of sheep.

What brings his playing to superhuman levels of endurance comes from how he plays the instrument. While most guitarists are comfortable strumming up and down to play their licks, Hetfield has adopted a slightly obsessive habit of down-picking.

Ranked: The 10 Most Influential Heavy Metal Guitarists

• Dave Mustaine (David Scott Mustaine) Megadeth.
• Randy Rhoads and Dimebag Darrell (Randall William Rhoads and Darrell Lance Abbott) Ozzy Osbourne and Pantera.
• Randy Rhoads.
• Dimebag Darrell.
• Below are some of the top ranking metal guitar players of 21st century!

Overwhelmingly, we found Jimi Hendrix in the number one spot with Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page often locked in a wrestling match for second ranking. Remarkably, among the 33 guitarists mentioned in the top ten places across these lists, not one was a woman.

Metallica's Guitars Both Hetfield and Hammett have used numerous ESP signature guitars since the early '90s, all equipped with active EMG pickups. James Hetfield's MX Explorer copies have been a mainstay since the late '80s, but his current ESP Snakebyte signature model is arguably his most used on-stage instrument.

Metallica aren't distinguished for using pedals to achieve their core tones. James Hetfield has famously stated that he prefers the direct distorted tone from an amplifier, as opposed to relying on pedals.