James used a Line 6 Variax 700 modeling guitar during Metallica’s WorldWired Tour from 2016 to 2019. The guitar was however heavily modified in order to work better with what James needed – which was a reliable acoustic guitar that could play both the regular 6 string sound, but also model a 12-string guitar if needed.
Specs
Part of the Line 6 Variax series and built in Korea from around 2005 to 2010, the Variax 700 is an acoustic guitar with built-in electronics that allow for sound modeling. As stock, it has a hybrid pickup system combined with an active preamp, allowing for a range of modeled acoustic tones.
The guitar also features a dreadnought body shape with a spruce top and mahogany back and sides, and the neck is made of mahogany, with a rosewood fretboard and 24 frets.
However, James Hetfield’s Variax 700 had all the original electronics stripped out and replaced with Auto-Tune ATG-1 electronics from Antares. Additionally, James’s guitar is customized with a print on the front, displaying a screenshot from the Unforgiven II video and lyrics from the song reading: “Black heart scarring darker still.”
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