ESP KH-2 Kirk Hammett Signature

I dont know what year mine was made. I purchased it new in 1997.I was told that it was made in Japan.It has a bolt on neck. Two EMG 81 , alder body,maple neck , floyd rose,and the skull and crossbone inlays.I really like the fact that it has 2 independent volume knobs.I wish it had an EMG PA-2 boost/cut switch on it.It took me a while to get used the "FLAT-U" neck after playing my Jackson with the ultra-thin neck.

It sounds awsome! All I play is SlAYER. I use a JCM 900 and a BOSS metal zone and E-Q.This particular Guitar has the best metal sound of any guitar that I have played. I played 5 different KH-2's at different stores.None of them compaired to this one.It
was also the heaviest and loudest when not pluged in. I have had a Gibson Explorer,Les paul stuido,SG,Jackson dinky Fender strat,Lead2 and a Yamaha I cant remember which one.I have played a friends PRS and a custom ESP M-2 neck through on my setup and NOTHING , that I have played, compares!

Perfect for 9-42's and standard tuning. I had to change it when I tuned flat. The fit and finish is better than any other guitar I have had in my hands. Including custom made 1960,s Gibsons and Gretch. Everything was and still is perfect after 6 years.

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never had a reason to.

I have been playing for 15 years.I still have my old Jackson and a ESP viper .The guitar has perfect workmanship. It stays in tune forever.There are no secondary buzz or rattles.It is built like a tank with a $20.000 paint job.If it was stolen I would cry then I would give ESP the serial # have have them make another one from their custom shop.I would give it a 11 rating if I could

My piece has been produced July 1st, 2003; 24 XJ frets; Skulls and Crossbones inlays; original floyd rose; 2 volume, one tone knobs, 3 way toggle; EMG 60 and EMG 81; NECK THRU (!) contruction; including case (with allen key and screw driver) and COA;

I mainly play Metallica and other heavy stuff and I had an ESP Explorer before. So in comparison I am very impressed with the sound. The guitar is way lighter than the Explorer was and it still has a very fat sound. Not as full as an Explorer but fat enough. Soloing sound is beyond imagination. In my wildest dreams I would have never expected such a perfect solo sound. This guitar has a wide range of sound options.

Now here comes the downer. It took me about 6 hours to set the guitar up properly. There are so many screws to set this thing up, that was really a pain in the a$$ and tuning the floyd rose is no fun. On the other hand if you are done with this you dont have to tune it for another year easily.

Additionally some words to action and finish. I have never ever seen a guitar in such a high qualitiy like this piece. There is not one edge to sharp or round, not one screw sloppy, no button sticky, no inlay lofty, simply most perfect craftsmanship .

I dont have the guitar long enough to judge upon it at this point.

As for all guitar companies their customer service is not really too good. Although their message board owns and if you wanna know anything about guitars or have a problem, thats the place to be. People there know everything about guitars!

I've been playing on a Mesa Boogie Rect-O-Verb with a Zoom Player 2020 and a Rocktron Intellifex Online in the FX loop. This guitar is by far the best I ve ever played on. Guitars can only be equally good than this. It has a very fast fretboard and is easy to grip and bend. This guitar is a perfect guitar for lead guitarists who dont wanna neclect their rythm guitar skills. A very impressive instrument and a clear 10.

Features two emg 81's bridge and neck. floyd Rose Bridge, tuned it for christmas thats when i got it and its still tuned and today is january 8th. 24 fret's with skull and cross bone inlays. and neck Thru i had to special order it to get neck thru dint want a bolt-on cause neck thru's got more sustain and plus kirk really doesnt use a bolt on.

SOUNDS killer!.. i own a ESP Grynch baritone james hetfield series guitar. a Gibson Explorer 76' with a emg 81 in the bridge and a emg 85 in the neck. a Schecter Vampira with some crappy seymore duncan pickups . a gibson Les paul standard plus on the way also. well anyways the kh2 neckthru i got threw my Mesa-Boogie Dual Rectifier with a mesa boogie 4x12 Cab. Blows all my other guitars away! so bad thats its not even funny. never played a guitar that sounds so good from prs's to gibson's to fender's the kh2 has the most killer tone. if you want killer distrotion. the clean tone is not as bad as i thought the guitar was gonna be the Clean is killer for your blues. but i suggest the emg 85 in the neck more then a 81 in the neck. the 85 has alot more bass got the 85 in my explorer. but still the 81 is more of a Cleaner blues tone. but this is the ultimiate guitar if your looking for Distrotion love it i will never sell it ever in my life. but i dont know how the bolt on's sound

WELL!!! first of all the main reason i bought this Guitar. is for the action.. the action is SOOoooOO. low that you will absolutely LOVE IT. you can speed threw this neck like never before.. just go to a ESP dealer and try one out and you will see for your self how low the action is.. its the no compareing ACTION is the best then any guitar ever.. please you must go try one out. and see for your self you will be amazed. the Finish on it i love its like a mirror BUT.. gets finger prints on it VERY easy. you must love the skull and cross bone inlays thats just a must.

well first of all you have to give this a 9.. on playing it live you have to back up more then 1 guitar thats just a must and plus if you play with emg's they run on 9-Volt battery's. the only thing is though i belive if you bump this guitar into somethin your finish is killed.

never called ESP never want too Either i pray i never have too.

well For Tone/Action/Finish/Look/Style you must give this guitar a 10. all around. i paid 2400 on it for the neck thru body. which sucked. but was it worth it.. i hate to say it but Yes.. the guitar is that good. if this guitar was Stolen... oh it would be a man hunt with a ak 47 in his mouth. with a 45 magnum to his head. and a Shot gun to the toe. and a gernade in his mommas mouth. i love metallica and i love that guitar. ive been playin for???????.. i think 6-7-8 years?. not sure?. but please go out and try out one of these guitars you will love it.. (i Gaurantee it)

(one thing you should keep in mind if you see the low price i payed for this,the neck pickup was replaced,and i didn't get a hard case with this,but sine I don't give a F#CK for these accesoires,...)An super nice guitar in every way. it plays like a dream and the sound is gr8. My guitar is a 1995 edition which was made in the ESP american factory and it is the best guitar i have EVER played.

This guitar sounds realy F#CKIN' insane.Altough the neck pick up is replaced by a symour duncan from lesser quality than te EMG 81,it still sounds great in every way.I play this guitar trough a mesa boogie dual rectifier,and I think you all know the result,INCREDIBLE!I also have a Boss ME-50 effectsprocessor,can do some freaky stuff with this combination

This guitar was perfect as I recieved it.Altough I bought it used,the action was perfect for me,and the finish hasn't lost anything of here glory.(only a small scratch on the back,nothing to talk about)The only problem I had was that one of the locking nut screws snapped of,no big deal tough

Did one gig whit it,and it didn't break down,so guess that 's a good thing?well,I havn't got this guitar long enough to judge about this,but my guess is it's build to last.

never dealt with these boys.

well i've been playing since i'm 6,that must be 11 years now.well,since I have a little experience with guitars (wich everybody with a guitar like this probably has) i can advise you one thing:RUSH OF TO YOUR MUSICSTORE,NOW DAMMIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This guitar has all the features a Metallica nut like me wants. 24 frets, EMG 81s, Skull and Cross-Bone inlays, Floyd Rose bridge, etc... Oh and of course it is ALL BLACK. Looks amazing.

Well, being that Metallica ismmy favorite band it pretty much suits me fine. Right now I have a Randall 20 watt practice amp (has amazing sound though). I plan on getting either a Fender Princeton 65DSP or a Marshall MG50DFX so it should sound even better with those. Some people don't like the dual EMG 81s, but you have to remember it is a lead guitar. It is meant to scream and that's what it does. I think that the 81 sounds amazing the neck.

The only reason this gets an 9 instead of a 10 is because I bought it used and it is kind of beat up. Dings and scratches scattered all over the body. I actually like it that way though and it's the reason I don't buy new guitars. I would have paid $1800 for this new which I would never do. Instead I got a broken in one used for $800. Still sounds and looks great, just doesn't look brand new. I also like not having to worry about babying it either. The action on this is lower than anything I have played. It is so easy to play and the inlays are amazing. You can tell some time went into those. Also I like the look of the headstock. It could probably be used as a weapon if needed.

First of all I do not play in a band so I wouldn't have to worry about gigging. However, if I was I would always have my LP DC there with me as my alternate tuning guitar, because the Floyd can be a b*#ch to mess with. I have EMG 81 and 85 in that and it is just much easier to change tuning for stuff like Sad But True and Feul, etc... This thing would definitely pass the test as a main guitar. Just ask Kirk.

Never dealt with them...

I have been playing for about 5 years and have wanted this since I started. Metallica has been a favorite of mine for a while now. I know I could have just bought another guitar and put EMG 81s in it like someone stated but it is the total package that I like. It would be hard and expensive to get the inlays which is the main reason I like this guitar. It just completes the look for me. So considering I got my "dream" guitar and saved $1000 over a new one I am very happy with it.

As far as other gear - I have a 99 Gibson Les Paul Double Cutaway Standard Lite with the Diamond Blue finish. I put the EMG ZW setup in that and it sounds amazing. I also have a Tacoma DM9 Acoustic and a Randall RG20 Amp. It is a pretty old amp but it actually sounds great.

If your reading this, I'm sure you know all the features by now...but here are a few gripes.
Two things I think it should have is some LOCKING TUNERS(what the hell were they thinking??!!) and an easy access compartment to change the battery(Again, what the hell...). I hope it really gets the 3000 hours people are claiming! Still gets a 10.

I play a wide array of stuff. This guitar can do it all. You might feel funny playing a blues/jazz gig with it visually screamin evil and death...but I think it can certainly do it all.
One thing I don't like is if you have the selector switch in the middle for both pickups and the volume is all the way down on one of the pickups, you get nothing. I would have thought you would at least get the juice from the other pickup. This does not of course alter my opinion of the guitar. It rocks.

When I bought it, someone ignorant idiot must have played it and left their finger prints all over it. I was excited, but dissapointed. I exepected it to be clean. Anyway, I cleaned it up in the store to make sure there weren't any real scratches(this guitar is very succeptable to fine scratches(you have to angle the guitar to see them), there is NO way around it...it's worth it though). I used what I think is called a "micro-fiber" rag, I would recommend that because it doesn't leave any traces, and it is VERY smooth. After cleaning it I almost blew my load all over it, almost had to clean it again! The action is crazy. I have several other axes that scream (EB Silhouette, Ibanez S, Fender Jeff Beck sig(the midnight purple one, It actually is a shredding Strat, and an ESP M-1 Custom). They are all great feeling guitars...but this one in my opinion feels nicer than them all. Obviously for the price I could have bought a PRS...Oh well!!!

It is true. The Floyd does NOT come out of tune. I beat the CRAP out of it and it really screams!! I would bring a backup (as you should, just in case) but I probably wouldn't need it. I would consider this axe very reliable. I mean come on, dont you remember when Kirk drags it around stage beating the crap out of it in LSB&P??? I think it even stayed in tune!!

Let's all give a big "F@#$ You" to ESP(US) for being so damn hard to get a hold of. UK and Japan on the bright side to care about there customers alot more. Not putting any contact info on your site is not a good thing, especially when your customers are throwing down a mortgage payment on a guitar. For some reason I did not get a certifacate of authenticity and I bought it from an authorized dealer(of course), I'm dealing with ESP now to see if they can send one out to me. Hope that works out. I'll take 1 point away for ESP US. Maybe I will change my mind if they ever send me my COA!!!(Just found out they stopped the COA thing in 2001...too many to keep track of!)

I have been playing most of my life (about 17 years), I am 23(not like how long you play defines your playability...anyway). Right now I am playing it through my Johnson Millenium and it is better than I expected. I can't wait to play it through my HeartBreaker(If I ever get it back from service), it will probably be too overwhelming. This has been my dream guitar for about 10 years now and I finally got it. Worth every $$$. As I said, I own some nice axes...I am actually getting rid of 2 sweet Ibanez S series and an American Strat because this thing makes those feel like crap, respectfully. If somebody stole or damaged this guitar, I would honestly stick it up...YES, I'm sure you get the idea...maybe "ride the lightening" would be a good song to play at that time!!! If you could drop the cash on one...go buy it now!!! If you can't save up and buy it later, or do payments!! Let the repo man take the car!! If you are thinking about it and need some positive reinforcment, shoot me an e-mail...I might be able to convince you. 10 - Fantastic Value

An exeptional guitar in every way ( what else would you expect from an ESP) it plays a dream way better than my ibanez RG and the EMG 81s sound gr8. This guitar was an early (95) edition which was made in the ESP american factory non of this japanese crap and it is the best guitar i have EVER played well worth the 2000 new price!

METAL METAL and more metal this guitar is not for anything else it sounds great with tons of distortion and the 81s really shine through giving a clear yet extreamly heavy sound. in a word fukin awsome

shiny black finish is flawless action is perfect

not broken down on me yet!! strings break if u go over the top wit the floyd rose tho

not delt with them

sounds gr8 even wit crap amps but shines on boogie! worth every penny

Made in Japan shredding monster. 24 fret Original Floyd Rose equipt beast with two EMG 81 active pickups. 2 Volume and a tone and a 3-way Strat type selector. Bolt-on neck and "reverse pointy" head stock. Essentially a Soloist body shape. Black as can be with Skull and Cross Bones inlays.
Goofy Skull and Cross Bones sticker on the trem plate seems cheap though.

Twin active EMGs, what'd you expect. Built for Heavy Metal. You either like them, or you don't.

Flawless.

Takes a kick'n and keeps on shredding!

Never dealt with the company...

I'm really happy with this guitar. A bit pricy for a bolt-on, but I guess that comes with a signature guitar.

http://groups.msn.com/TheArmitageGearPage/

P.S. I couldn't care less about Kirk, (no disrespect) I bought the guitar on it's own merits.

when I saw the package had arrived in the postal service I had to go to my room and jerk off. I alredy all about the features but I was so happy, I put on a jacket and to the post office the little paper said where to pick it up. then I came home with it and tore the package right out of existence. then I saw the case (I was horny there) I had to call my wife she didn't understand a word I said because I was drooling and babbling then I just opened the case and saw the most perfect guitar on earth even more beautiful than in the pictures with those emg 81 active pickups, the 24 frets, skull and crossbone inlays, the 3 way switch, the 3 knobs (2 volume 1 tone) the floyd roise tremolo, and the floyd roise neck put together perfectly in the most remarkable black finish I have ever seen. I just tought it was unreal!right now I still can't believe it and even now descriging the model makes me feel excited.

The day it arrived I was too babbled to play, but by the time I had been over the fact that the guitar was real and it really did arrive in my home I ran up to my attic to pickup my mesa boogie (which I had bougth a while back but my wife does't let me use too much because she says it is way too loud which is true but that day was a special ocassion) ran to a guitar store bought two instrument cables and took my roland vg-8 almost threw my old fender strat plugged everything in (the guitar came tuned) and just played till my fingers bled of joy, and I have to tell you that the sound accomplished by this guitar is like no other it is so awesome that you have towitness it for yourself. It is truly the greatest sounding instrument I have ever heard.

the action in this guitar it's like ACTION!!!! it fits perfectly to almost anyone, and the finish is like a mirror.

this guitar is made to last and for the time that I have had it never goes out of tune, NEVER!!!

in my oppinion without exaggerating this guitar is one of the finest out there. it is defenetly the best I have! better than my gibson les paul standard premium plus. worth every penny I paid and a lot more.

Got this brand new guitar from my local dealer in singapore. Was made in 2002. For your information, all esp signature series guitars are made in japan, even those listed on the espguitars.com website. I used to think they were made in the usa but it is made in japan. You know the specs already. I chose this guitar cause it has dual emg 81's which are great for metal and a floyd rose bridge, which means metal again. The floyd isnt really a pain to tune, and once you have got it set up properly, you can divebomb the whole night away and it will be still in perfect tune.

Finish is great, but im just afraid it will be scratched easily. I thought of putting a layer of clear plastic film just below the strings cause it dosent have a pickguard.

Neck is really good, thin and fast compared to my yamaha. However the fret spacing seems sligtly further apart.

Came with a free hardshell case.

Ah, this guitar is perfect for my style, and it screams metal. The neck is really fast and i played it side by side with a kh3. The kh3 had a thicker neck which made it harder to play fast unless you have got fairly large hands.

The emgs have great distortion and the clean sounds great too. Sparking clear. However i use this guitar for metal 90% of the time so the pickups are functioning as it was made to - to play metal.

Im using this together with a morley bad horsie 2 and a marshall avt50. Will be planning to get either a peavey 5150 or an xxx in probably 2 years time to complete my metal setup.

Overall this guitar again is great for shredding and metal, but certainly can be used to clean and blues too, although the image might just not cut it.

The action was fairly high when i got it. I prefer low action so i had it setup at the dealer when i bought it. It comes preset with 9-42 strings but i use 9-46 so i had the intonation set up the moment i bought it.

Pickups were adjusted fine. However on the 24th fret, there is just a tiny tiny nick on the inlay. Its really hard to notice but i did.

Otherwise finish was flawless on the neck, body and headstock

This guitar will definitely withstand live playing. The finish is black gloss so im really afriad i will scratch it, but i guess thats just part of playing guitar.

Strap buttons are really solid and do not seem to come off easily at all.

Well, since this has a floyd rose, if a string snaps, its a headache changing it, so i would probably bring a backup along.

The USA esp website has quite bad customer support. Firstly, they dont have an email which you can send them, and secondly, they are quite hard to reach via phone. However the JAPAN esp website has good email customer support.

I have a lifetime warranty with the local guitar dealer so it should not give me any problems

Have been playign seriously for a year and a half. Bought my first guitar, a yamaha pacifica 3 years ago.

If it was lost, id get another same guitar. I think this guitar suits my style perfectly. However, getting additional guitars for variety wouldnt hurt.

Was choosing between a gibson les paul studio, an ibanez jem, and the esp kh3. This had emgs which are suited for metal and it had a floyd which the studio didnt have. Also, the inlays make it look appealing too