James Hetfield’s National Resolectric

James Hetfield was seen playing a National Resolectric guitar during the acoustic segment of MTV’s ReLOAD, Rehearse, Request gig, which was filmed on March 21, 1999, at Baker Hamilton Square in San Francisco, CA.

The guitar was used on several tracks during the performance, including Tuesday’s Gone (although this song wasn’t filmed), as well as The Four Horsemen, Low Man’s Lyric, Helpless, and Last Caress.

Specs

The National Resolectric features a figured maple or mahogany top and a mahogany body, paired with an ebony fingerboard. It uses a combination of a Lollar Firebird and a Fishman Nashville Series pickup, offering both resonator and electric tones. The guitar has a 1.75″ nut width, 25″ scale length, 16″ fingerboard radius, and a weight of 8 lbs 6 oz.

It’s available in finishes such as Denim Blue or Revolver—the latter of which James’ model featured.

Please note that the Resolelectric seen on the featured photo on this page is not James’. His guitar is noticeably different – it has no tortoiseshell veneer on the headstock, and the fretboard inlays are regular dot ones, with double dots on the 12th and the 17th fret.