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Metallica - Kirk Guitar Solo - Guitar Tab

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Key E minor
Metallica - Kirk Guitar Solo guitar tab video
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Metallica Thrash Metal E minor
Capo Advisor 0 E minor · Original key

About Kirk Guitar Solo

Eb Standard tuning sits a half-step below concert pitch here, so make sure your guitar is tuned down before you start, or every note will clash with the recording. At 120 BPM in E minor, the solo sits in a comfortable mid-tempo range on paper, but Kirk Hammett's phrasing, his wide vibrato, pull-offs, and wah-heavy runs, asks for real right and left-hand coordination before it sits cleanly. The challenge is not raw speed: it is locking the bends in tune and keeping the legato passages even under the wah pedal. Pick out the trickiest run, set the Practice Toolbar to loop it at 70 or 75 percent speed, and focus on each note speaking fully before you push the tempo. Metallica have long sat at the top of the Thrash Metal world, and Hammett's solo style, rooted in blues phrasing but sharpened into metal aggression, is worth studying carefully rather than rushing through.

  • The solo is played in Eb Standard tuning, a half-step down from concert pitch, so retune before playing along.
  • Kirk Hammett's signature wah pedal use is central to the tone, making wah-timing control a key skill to practice here.
  • Wide vibrato and expressive string bends in E minor pentatonic are the core technique the solo demands from your fretting hand.

How to Play Kirk Guitar Solo

The song moves through: • Pt. 1 - D@zed & Confused, • Pt. 2 - Rock Jam in A, • Pt.3 - Shred That Guitar, • Pt. 4 - Shuffle in Eb.

Tuning: Eb Standard · Key: E minor · Tempo: 120 BPM

It is played in Eb standard, a half step down, so tune down before you start or every position and bend will sit a half step sharp against the recording. It is built from a handful of distinct sections, so learn each one in blocks before stringing them together.

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 120 BPM to build it up to tempo.

Gibson Les Paul Standard
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Standard

Kirk Hammett's vintage 1959 'Greeny' Les Paul Standard delivers warmer, more dynamic PAF-style tones that contrast his EMG-equipped ESP guitars, adding organic sustain to his lead work. This guitar's traditional construction gives his solos a thicker, less compressed character than his signature models.

Gibson Les Paul Custom
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Custom

While not Hammett's primary choice, the Les Paul Custom shares the Les Paul's warm PAF pickup character and thick body resonance, offering heavier players an alternative to Strat-style designs for achieving Metallica's crushing rhythm tones.

Gibson Explorer
Guitar

Gibson Explorer

James Hetfield's early Gibson Explorer established his signature angular shape and thick body tone, delivering the aggressive midrange attack essential to Metallica's crushing rhythm style before his ESP signature models became his primary tool.

Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier
Amp

Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier

Kirk Hammett's Dual Rectifier heads provide the high-gain, midrange-forward aggression that lets his solos cut through Hetfield's scooped rhythm tone, creating definition and clarity in Metallica's dense wall of distortion.

EMG 81
Pickup

EMG 81

Hetfield's bridge EMG 81 delivers the hot, compressed output with tight low-end that defines Metallica's palm-muted riffs, the ceramic magnet and active preamp cutting through heavy arrangements with focused, aggressive attack.

EMG 60
Pickup

EMG 60

Both guitarists use the neck EMG 60 for warmer, more articulate rhythm tones and smoother lead voicings, balancing the 81's aggression with clearer note definition across Metallica's dense arrangements.

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