“None of these other big bands are using these new fangled things” James Hetfield’s guitar tech explains how he got the Metallica riff king to switch to modelling amps
Metallica’s guitar tech has explained how he managed to get James Hetfield to switch to digital amp modelers such as Fractal’s Axe-FX system, putting the success of the change down to just having patience.
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During an episode of The Metallica Report, the band’s official podcast, Hetfield’s guitar tech, Chad Zaemisch, explains that he initially experimented with modelling amps due to his enjoyment of being creative and technical. “When we switched to the Fractal, you know, digital amp modellers, I had already had a little bit of experience with connecting my computer to the guitar player’s guitar sound. And that was another level and another layer of being for me.”
Modelling amps use a digital signal to emulate as many of the parts of an amp, cab, and mic setup as possible, with the potential to involve pedals, too. In some cases, they can also replicate a specific ‘real-life’ setup. “Then you also have to ask how you create these sounds,” explains Zaemisch, “Or James says, ‘Hey, we’re going to do this song from way back, but it’s got this weird sound on there.’ You’ve got to go in there and figure it out and add it, and he doesn’t want to sit around and listen to you try and figure it out. So we just have it ready.”
“That has been a lot of the challenge over the last number of years, changing the way that kind of works. But for James, I don’t want him worried about any of that stuff. It just takes a little bit of extra understanding,” Zaemisch continues. “None of these other big bands are using these new-fangled things.”
Zaemisch claims Hetfield was more than happy to “embrace it” and try something new. “If he hadn’t had that attitude, we might not have gotten through it, because it takes certain patience to have new things, and [there are] growing pains with this new stuff. Your technical tools then become a little bit more integrated with how I hear things and what I think a cool sound is, and what he should sound like.”
That patience and creativity around the technical aspect of digital modellers is something Zaemisch “really” likes. “It was less about pulling another pedal off the shelf, grabbing more cables, plugging it in and pushing the button at the right time. It became something different. It’s very interesting stuff to me, and it just keeps getting more and more in depth.”
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