Here’s How Many Guitars Metallica Brought on Their Current Tour

Metallica isn’t a band. It’s an army.

Here's How Many Guitars Metallica Brought on Their Current Tour

A new video showcased how many guitars Metallica has brought on tour.Metallica’s traveling army arrived in Minnesota recently, and WCCO-TV’s Jeff Wagner was given a closer look behind the scenes of the Thrash Kings’great show.Metallica’s touring troupe consists of 156 personnel, including 40 steelworkers, an additional 168 local production hands, and 92 truck drivers.

 

As if that wasn’t enough, 800 locals are employed to support the production on each specific date of the tour.

However, the most interesting detail is Metallica’s arsenal of guitars brought on their travels.

 

In total, the band is equipped with 64 guitars – the number split between electric and bass. 36 guitars must be ready for play at any moment, meaning 12 instruments per member.

Tour coordinator Jon-Michael Marino explained this figure, noting the importance of quickly swapping guitars:

“Across, let’s call it 15-16 songs, there’s various tunings. There’s also things that happen naturally like strings breaking, guitars going out of tune that have to be swapped in the moment.”

The number of guitars and the large production makes sense, given the fact Metallica is playing two shows on consecutive nights at each stop, performing two different sets without repetitions.

Another interesting detail is the setup of Metallica’s tower system.

 

It requires about 36 hours of labour, there are 8 towers, each weighing over 14 tons and standing nearly 100 feet high.

 

Once the towers are set up, an additional 12 hours are required to build the stage, audio, and video.