James Hetfield’s Ibanez TS-9 Tube Screamer

For Ride the Lightning in 1984, James Hetfield used an Ibanez Tube Screamer TS-9 overdrive pedal paired with a Marshall JMP2203 amplifier and Marshall 1960B speaker cabinets. He adjusted the tone to minimize midrange frequencies, creating a more scooped sound. However, by 1985, Hetfield had grown dissatisfied with the thin, artificial distortion from pedals and the conventional use of Marshall amps.

By the time they recorded Master of Puppets in 1986, James and Kirk Hammett upgraded to a Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ amplifier. Hetfield slaved its preamp into his Marshall amp, which produced a much more natural and powerful distortion tone, giving the album its signature heavy sound.

Distortion always starts with the amp. Pedals just sit on top of the sound. They don’t feel like a full part of it, just some fuzz on top. You can fiddle with parametric EQs and all that shit for days, but it still won’t have the smooth distortion of an amp. The last time I used a distortion pedal was on Ride the Lightning. It was an Ibanez Tube Screamer, like Kirk uses. It really helps his solos cut through, but it puts a shitty coating on smooth rhythm tones, and it was hard to not make it sound like a pedal…

James Hetfield, Guitar Player, October 1992