What Pedals Does Kirk Hammett Use?
Kirk Hammett's pedalboard is built around one core principle: his wah pedal is first in the chain. This positioning — wah before any amplifier-stage drive — is a deliberate tone decision. Running the wah into a dry signal and then letting the amp provide gain produces a different, more organic sweep than running wah after overdrive.
Signal Chain
Guitar → Dunlop KH95 Wah → Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor → Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier → Mesa 4×12 cabinet
Additional effects are looped through the effects loop of the Mesa Rectifier.
Pedal 1: Dunlop KH95 Kirk Hammett Signature Cry Baby Wah
Always first in chain.
Type: Wah filter, Fasel inductor
Modification: Slightly different response curve than standard GCB95
The KH95 has a wider sweep range than a stock Cry Baby — the heel and toe positions access a broader frequency range, allowing more dramatic wah sounds.
Hammett's technique: He engages the wah for virtually every lead solo in Metallica's catalog. The wah appears in the intro, mid, and outro sections of solos as a harmonic and rhythmic expression tool. The specific sweep-as-you-pick technique creates the "talking" quality in his lead lines.
Notable uses: "Enter Sandman" outro solo, "Nothing Else Matters" lead fills, "Wherever I May Roam" solos.
Pedal 2: Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor
Position: After wah, before amp input.
Threshold: Set high enough to suppress noise between notes, low enough not to cut sustaining leads.
The Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier at high gain generates significant background noise. The NS-2 engages the noise gate when signal falls below threshold — cutting the noise floor between notes. Without it, the silence between palm mutes and between phrases would contain audible hiss.
Settings: Threshold approximately 10–11 o'clock, Decay 10 o'clock (fast enough for tight rhythm, not so fast it cuts sustains).
Pedal 3: MXR 10-Band Graphic EQ (M108)
Position: Effects loop (after preamp, before power amp).
Purpose: Lead boost — switching the EQ in for solos raises the level and adjusts the frequency balance.
Hammett's lead EQ boost:
- 80Hz: flat or slight cut
- 200Hz: flat
- 500Hz: +2–3dB (adds midrange presence for leads to cut through)
- 1kHz: +2dB
- 3.2kHz: +3dB
- 6.4kHz: +2dB
- Master Level: +5–6dB (overall level boost for leads)
The MXR EQ does two things simultaneously: boosts the lead volume above the rhythm guitar level AND shifts the frequency emphasis from the scooped rhythm tone toward a more midrange-present lead tone.
Pedal 4: Boss DS-1 Distortion (Early Career)
In Metallica's early years (Kill 'Em All era), Hammett used a Boss DS-1 distortion pedal into clean or lightly-driven Marshalls. The DS-1 provides aggressive, compressed distortion suited to the more raw-sounding early Metallica recordings.
Settings (Kill 'Em All era): Distortion 8–9, Tone 5, Level 7
This approach was replaced by high-gain amp channels by the Master of Puppets period.
Rack Effects (Effects Loop)
In addition to floor pedals, Hammett uses several rack units in his effects loop:
- TC Electronic G-Major or similar multi-effects for chorus, delay, and reverb in lead contexts
- Chorus: Subtle rate-and-depth for sustained lead harmonics
- Delay: Short slapback on certain leads; longer echoes for "The Unforgiven" style passages
- Reverb: Present but not dominant — hall or plate at low mix
Guitar and Amp Context
Hammett uses EMG 81 (bridge) and EMG 60 (neck) active humbuckers in his ESP signature guitars. The high output of the EMG 81 into the Mesa Rectifier's Modern channel provides the gain foundation; the pedals shape and refine it.
Replicating Hammett's Lead Tone
Essential:
- Dunlop KH95 Wah (~$130): First in chain, before amp gain
- Boss NS-2 (~$90): Noise gate after wah, before amp
- MXR M108 10-Band EQ (~$120): In effects loop for lead boost
Amp: Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier (Modern, Ch. 3) or budget alternative: Peavey 6505+, Randall RD45H
Why Wah Position in the Chain Actually Changes the Character
Placing the wah before any gain stage rather than after isn't a minor preference — it fundamentally changes what the wah filter is acting on. A wah placed before the amp's gain sweeps a clean, dynamic signal that the amp then saturates on top of, producing a filtered sweep that interacts naturally with the amp's own harmonic content as it breaks up. A wah placed after distortion or overdrive instead sweeps an already-saturated, harmonically dense signal, producing a more synthetic, less vocal-sounding filter effect. Hammett's wah-first placement is a deliberate choice for the more organic, "talking" quality that defines his lead phrasing, not an arbitrary pedalboard layout decision.
This matters for any player building a high-gain lead rig with wah — the placement decision genuinely changes the character available, and Hammett's approach is worth understanding as the reason his wah-driven leads sound different from a wah placed after a distortion pedal.
Common Mistakes
Placing the wah after a distortion or overdrive pedal. As explained above, this produces a genuinely different, more synthetic filtering character than Hammett's wah-first approach — the placement in the signal chain is a real tonal decision, not an arbitrary ordering choice.
Skipping the noise gate at high-gain settings. As the guide states, the Mesa Rectifier's Channel 3 at Gain 9 produces significant floor noise even with low-noise EMG pickups — the Boss NS-2 or ISP Decimator isn't optional cleanup at this gain level, it's load-bearing infrastructure for a usable tone.
Using the MXR 10-Band EQ as a general tone-shaping tool rather than a lead-specific boost. As the guide explains, its role is specifically to raise lead volume above rhythm level while shifting emphasis toward midrange presence — running it constantly rather than switching it in for solos defeats its actual purpose in the rig.
Applying Black Album-era settings to early Kill 'Em All-style tones. As the era breakdown shows, Hammett's early career used a Marshall JCM800 with a Boss DS-1, a genuinely different rig from the Mesa Dual Rectifier era most players associate with his sound — applying modern settings to recreate early Metallica tones produces a mismatched result.
ToneStakr's Take
For players building this lead tone, prioritize the wah-before-gain signal chain order and a genuine noise gate before worrying about the MXR EQ boost — the placement and noise management are doing more to shape the recognizable character than any single additional pedal. Add the 10-band EQ specifically as a switched lead boost once the foundational wah-into-high-gain-amp relationship is dialed in correctly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Hammett's wah first in the signal chain?
Running the wah before the amp's gain stage produces an organic, amp-saturated wah response — the filtered signal gets shaped by the amp's own breakup character as it saturates. Running wah after overdrive or distortion instead filters an already-saturated signal, producing a noticeably more synthetic, less vocal-sounding result.
What wah does Kirk Hammett use?
The Dunlop KH95 Kirk Hammett Signature Cry Baby Wah — a modified version of the standard GCB95 with a wider sweep range and a Vox-inspired Q, giving more melodic range for extended lead passages than the narrower stock Cry Baby.
Does Hammett use a noise gate?
Yes — the Boss NS-2 (and later the ISP Decimator) is essential given the Mesa Rectifier's high-gain Modern channel, which produces a significant noise floor at Channel 3 settings even with the EMG-81's active, low-noise design.
What replaced the Boss DS-1 in his rig?
The high-gain channel of the Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier — by the Black Album and Master of Puppets eras, the amp itself was providing all the necessary distortion without needing pedal-based gain assistance, a shift from his earlier Marshall JCM800-plus-DS-1 approach.
Does the specific EMG-81 pickup matter as much as the pedal choices?
Genuinely, yes — its active buffering and high output pair specifically well with the Mesa Rectifier's high-gain input, and the single-pickup simplicity of his signature ESP guitars removes pickup selection as a variable entirely, letting the wah and gate do consistent work regardless of playing position.
Is the MXR 10-Band EQ necessary, or can a simpler boost pedal substitute?
A simpler clean boost gets you the volume increase but misses the frequency-reshaping half of what the EQ does — Hammett's specific settings both raise level and shift emphasis toward midrange presence, a combination a single-function boost pedal can't replicate as precisely.