METALLICA's KIRK HAMMETT teams up with GIBSON for custom Raven acoustic guitar
29-04-2025
One of the most iconic rock guitarists of our generation, Kirk Hammett — legendary guitarist of the multi-platinum-selling, nine-time Grammy Award-winning band METALLICA — continues his long-standing partnership with Gibson. Today, the iconic instrument brand proudly unveils its latest collaboration: a bold new acoustic from Gibson Custom. Kirk Hammett teamed up with the master luthiers at Gibson Custom in Bozeman, Montana, to create the Gibson Custom Kirk Hammett Raven, a majestic counterpart to the legendary Gibson Hummingbird. The Kirk Hammett Raven is limited to only 100 guitars worldwide — and available at authorized Gibson dealers, Gibson Garage locations and on www.gibson.com.
While it shares the Hummingbird’s square-shoulder silhouette, Kirk Hammett‘s Raven distinguishes itself with a dark, artistic twist on the Hummingbird aesthetic. Crafted with a Sitka spruce top and mahogany back and sides, and supported by traditional scalloped Advanced X-bracing, it delivers the timeless acoustic tone that has captivated musicians and audiences for generations. Its mahogany neck features a comfortable Round profile and is topped with a bound ebony fretboard, complete with 20 frets and mother-of-pearl star inlays. A 16″ radius makes it ideal for fast, expressive playing. Grover Rotomatic tuners ensure reliable tuning, while TUSQ components — including the nut, saddle, and bridge pins — enhance tonal consistency and tuning stability. The headstock showcases the Gibson logo alongside a striking mother-of-pearl raven skull inlay, reinforcing the instrument’s bold identity.
This limited-edition model also pays homage to Gibson‘s tradition of wildlife-inspired designs, featuring intricately crafted double pickguards and a raven-themed tailpiece accent. It’s a visual and sonic statement piece. Equipped with an L.R. Baggs Element VTC +4 system, the Raven is ready for both stage and studio. The discreet soundhole-mounted volume and tone controls offer easy access without disrupting the guitar’s aesthetics, and the additional 4 dB of output provides extra headroom when needed. Each Raven ships in a black Gibson Custom hardshell guitar case adorned with a matching raven skull graphic and includes a certificate of authenticity and a custom raven-themed strap. Limited to only 100 guitars, each handcrafted in Bozeman, Montana, and personally signed by Kirk Hammett on the soundhole label, this Ebony-finished acoustic is destined to become a collector’s treasure. Availability is extremely limited — secure yours before they vanish into the night.
One of the most influential metal guitarists of all time, Hammett is the lead guitarist and contributing songwriter in the trailblazing band METALLICA. Kirk grew up in California and formed the group EXODUS during the birth of the Bay Area thrash metal movement. In 1983, he began his now 40-year career as the lead guitarist in METALLICA, selling over 125 million albums and winning multiple Grammy Awards. Kirk‘s first Gibson was the legendary 1979 Flying V he used on METALLICA‘s groundbreaking early studio albums. These days, his number one guitar is “Greeny,” the 1959 Les Paul Standard formerly owned by Peter Green and Gary Moore. Both instruments have been painstakingly recreated by Gibson for a range of tribute models.
When Hammett‘s partnership with Gibson was first announced in 2021, Kirk said about the collaboration: Yes, it’s official. I have become an official Gibson endorser and it’s been a long time coming. I’m really, really happy about it. And when I think about it, I’ve been playing Gibson, really, since the late ’70s when I bought my very first black Flying V, in 1979. I could barely play it and it felt funny putting it on because of the V wings. But I knew that it was the guitar for me, and within three or four days, I was just inseparable from that guitar. And I still have it to this day. Gibson guitars have been with me for pretty much 95 percent of my musical life. I’ve revered so many Gibson players in my life too, and the Gibson sound has been so inspiring to me. And at times, I didn’t even know it.
“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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