Gear & Rigs
The Box That Killed the Backline: Inside the Fractal Audio Axe-Fx III Mark II
The Fractal Audio Axe-Fx III Mark II Turbo is the world's most powerful guitar processor. Full specs, player guide, tone recipes, and buying advice.
Metallica
Gear & Rigs
The Four-Headed German Beast That Rewrote Heavy Guitar in 1992
The Diezel VH4 is a 4-channel, 100W EL34 German amp used by Tool, Metallica and Smashing Pumpkins. Full specs, tone recipes, and a buying guide.
Gear & Rigs
ESP E-II Eclipse: The Single-Cutaway Shape Two Metallica Guitarists Both Call Home
James Hetfield's Truckster and Kirk Hammett's KH-3 Spider both trace back to ESP's Eclipse shape — the real story behind this single-cutaway. (147 characters)
Gear & Rigs
ESP E-II M-II: The Superstrat Behind Metallica’s Most Famous Horror-Themed Guitars
Kirk Hammett's "Mummy" and "Ouija" guitars are both built on this exact superstrat platform — the real history behind the ESP M-II. (135 characters)
Gear & Rigs
ESP LTD James Hetfield Snakebyte: Metallica’s Rhythm King Designs His Own Explorer
How James Hetfield hand-drew the ESP LTD Snakebyte from scratch, its EMG JH SET pickups and Explorer-derived shape, and a full buying guide to the model.
Gear & Rigs
ESP LTD Kirk Hammett KH-602: The Affordable Path to Metallica’s Skull-and-Bones Tone
How the ESP LTD KH-602 brings Kirk Hammett's skull-and-bones tone within reach, its EMG pickup history, and how it compares to the Custom Shop KH-2.
Gear & Rigs
Epiphone Explorer: The 1958 Flop That Became Metal’s Favorite Shape
The Gibson Explorer bombed in 1958, then Hetfield, The Edge, and Collins made it their own. History, specs, and buying guide inside.
Gear & Rigs
Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus: The Amp That Refused To Break Up
Inside the Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus: true-stereo design, the Dimensional Space Chorus, verified players, tone recipes and a 2026 buying guide.
Gear & Rigs
Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+: The Fourteen-Month Amplifier That Rewrote Metal
Inside the Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ — 14 months of production, Metallica's Crunch Berries mod, verified players, tone recipes, and the 2024 reissue.
Gear & Rigs
Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC++: The Mod That Was Never a Model
The Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC++ story — Vivian Campbell's 1985 Metal Mod, Metallica's Crunch Berries amp, verified players, tone recipes and the 200-unit run.