KIRK HAMMETT: 'The Collection' luxury coffee table book coming from GIBSON PUBLISHING
18-03-2025
Coming soon from Gibson Publishing is “The Collection: Kirk Hammett” a luxury coffee table book. Sign up for e-mails now and be the first to find out when the book is available for sale.
For over 40 years, Kirk Hammett has been holding it down as the lead guitarist of METALLICA, inspiring generations of players to pick up the guitar. With over 125 million albums sold and sold-out stadium shows worldwide, you can bet Kirk has acquired a guitar collection fit for rock royalty.
Last October, Gibson TV released an episode of “The Collection” series on YouTube in which host Mark Agnesi explored Hammett‘s impressive guitar collection. Watch below as Hammett discusses his incredible journey with guitars, starting with how a job at Burger King led him to purchase his first Gibson Flying V, which he still plays today, and how it helped shape his iconic sound. Kirk talks about his legendary acquisition of “Greeny,” Peter Green‘s famous 1959 Les Paul, and shares stories about owning some of the rarest Gibson guitars ever made, including a 1963 Gibson Explorer from the first production run.
Get an inside look at some of the guitars he owns, including a selection of 1958 and 1959 Les Pauls, and the guitars Kirk used to write his most iconic riffs and solos from “Kill ‘Em All”, “Ride The Lightning” and the Black Album.
He also reveals the rare guitars he’s still hunting for and reflects on what it means to return to Gibson as an artist. If you’ve ever wanted to know which guitars Hammett plays and see the guitars that he used to write your favorite METALLICA tracks, this is your chance!
Chapters:
0:00 Introducing Kirk Hammett
0:45 Interview – Kirk’s first memories of guitar
10:42 – 1952 Les Paul Goldtop
14:05 – 1960 Les Paul TV Special
16:42 – 1956 Les Paul Custom
19:50 Interview (cont’d) – guitars used on Metallica albums and collecting guitars
24:19 – 1958 Les Paul Standard
28:10 – 1958 Les Paul Custom
31:08 Interview (cont’d) – Playing Bob Rock’s sunburst Les Paul
33:50 – 1958 Les Paul Standard
37:35 Interview (cont’d) – Buying “Greeny”
43:35 – 1959 Les Paul Standard “Greeny”
50:55 – 1959 Les Paul Standard
55:02 – 1960 Les Paul Standard “Sunny”
57:26 Interview (cont’d) – A love of Korina Flying Vs
58:43 – 1957 Korina Flying V Prototype
01:02:26 – 1963 Korina Explorer™
01:07:27 – 1979 Flying V
01:13:30 Interview (cont’d) – Collecting Flying Vs
01:18:16 – 1972 Medallion Flying V
01:22:12 Interview (cont’d) – What Kirk looks for when buying vintage guitars
01:26:08 – 1959 ES-335TD
01:30:53 – 1955 ES-295
01:34:00 Interview (cont’d) – How Kirk designed his first signature ESP guitar
01:37:10 – ESP KH-1 “Joker”
01:41:15 Interview (cont’d) – Kirk on returning to Gibson as an artist
01:44:15 – 1964 J-180 Everly Brothers
01:47:16 Interview (cont’d) – Talking about guitars forever
Hammett was a member of EXODUS‘s original lineup before replacing Dave Mustaine in METALLICA in 1983. In fact, Hammett was not only the person who came up with the EXODUS name, but also the first from the band to meet original EXODUS singer Paul Baloff and brought him into the group. With Hammett on guitar, METALLICA went on to record its debut album, “Kill ‘Em All”, later in 1983.
In a 1994 interview with Metal Hammer, Hammett said his EXODUS bandmates were less than happy about his decision to leave the band.
“I remember when I first started playing guitar, I was just blown away by the sound of Jeff Beck‘s guitar — ‘Let Me Love You’, off (the 1968 JEFF BECK GROUP debut album) ‘Truth’. Pretty much the opening lick, I was just, like, ‘How did he get that sound?’ And I remember it was one of the very first guitar licks I learned, very simple lick, G position, blues lick, but I could never get it to sound the way that sounded with that tone, that attack, that distortion… And it wasn’t until decades later that I realized it was because he was using a certain guitar, it was a Les Paul Standard. And then it all made sense to me.”
Hammett went on to say that the time was “right” for his partnership with Gibson.
“When I really think about it, Gibson guitars have been on every single METALLICA album,” he said. “And primarily on the first three albums. It was all Gibson-powered because all I had was my Flying V, and then I had a Strat copy, and I had a Jackson. The Jackson didn’t really come to me ’til ‘Master Of Puppets’. That Gibson Flying V was a real workhorse in the studio for the first four or five albums, and then after that, I started playing vintage Gibsons from ‘Load’ on, and I started playing Standards almost all the time.”
Kirk added that he loves Flying Vs. “I think I have almost every ’70s Flying V, from ’79 to ’81,’ he revealed. “I really like that particular run of Flying Vs. There are a lot of cool colors, and I like the design, I like the weight, I like the sound. I have one of the very first Flying V’s from 1957, a prototype.”
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