James Hetfield’s Danelectro/Coral Electric Sitar

James used a Danelectro/Coral Electric Sitar to record the intro on “Wherever I May Roam” from the Black Album.

On ‘Wherever I May Roam,’ I use open position chords and Coral Electric Sitar-my God, what’s going on?! Actually, I’d always wanted to use weirdo instruments, though the other guys didn’t give a shit. We weren’t going to write a specific song around a banjo, but I love learning how to use different things.

Bob, our producer, has eased me into that-he’s a guitarist himself, and he collects a lot of old ’60s and ’70s stuff.

James Hetfield, Guitar Player, September 1991

The Danelectro/Coral Electric Sitar is a guitar-like instrument designed in the 1960s to mimic the sound of a traditional Indian sitar. It’s basically a guitar with a flat bridge and extra strings that resonate to give it that classic sitar vibe, without requiring you to learn a whole new instrument.