Hammett remains big daddy to the Mummy, one of his favorite instruments. It also evokes his love of classic horror films.
Like his tone and fire-breathing technique, Kirk Hammett’s guitar collection is legendary. It’s also in motion–and not just in the sense that guitars come in and out of Hammett’s flotilla. He is keenly aware of all its core instruments and plays them in the studio and onstage when the occasion beckons.
For Hammett, having an armada of amazing vintage guitars at his convenience is a dream come true–as it would be for any of us. “When I first started playing, I would go to the guitar store and all the vintage stuff was on the very top racks where you needed a ladder to get to them,” he relates from his home in Hawaii. “I would stare up at these guitars that were literally untouchable and unattainable, but right in front of me. And I remember seeing a korina Flying V and thinking, ‘My god, that’s the most beautiful V’ … thinking ‘it’s so different from modern Vs, and it has so much class.’ Then, when I got my first korina V … I was so happy. I brought it down to the studio while we were recording Reload, and I said to [producer] Bob Rock, ‘I have to put this on a track.’ He goes, ‘Okay, plug it in.’ And it’s on ‘Fixxer.’”
More stories, and more photos of historic guitars, pack the new book The Collection: Kirk Hammett, from Gibson Publishing. The 400-page volume comes in three configurations. The 300 copies of the autographed custom edition ($799) checks in at 19" x 14 1/2" and comes in a case, with a portrait of Hammett signed by the guitarist and photographer Ross Halfin, plus a mini replica of Hammett’s beloved 1979 Flying V, a tin with six of Hammett’s signature Dunlop picks, and a certificate of authenticity. The deluxe edition ($299) has a run of 1,500 autographed copies and comes in a slipcase with Greeny–Peter Green’s legendary Les Paul–on the cover and a certificate of authenticity. And the standard edition ($149) will have greater availability.I asked Hammett if he knew how many guitars were in his collection. “I don’t like counting,” he replied. That roughly translates into a lot! But he noted, “I have a core collection that’s about 35, 40 guitars that I play pretty regularly, and most of them are vintage and I just love them for whatever little discrepancy or uniqueness or customization they have. Then there’s a whole host of guitars I own because I needed them to play certain songs on tour, and people have a tendency to give me guitars, which I always thought was frustrating. I can’t say, ‘No, I can’t take your guitar,’ because sometimes that is more insulting than anything else to a person. So over the years I’ve acquired guitars that I just don’t use. I’ve gotten rid of a lot of guitars anonymously, so there’s a lot of guitars out there in the market that I used to own that people don’t know I owned, and I love that.”
And now, it’s time for the Big Three. I asked Kirk which guitars in his collection are not the most famous or valuable, but closest to his heart.
1979 Gibson Flying V
Kirk’s 1979 Flying V with his signature EMG pickups installed. “That guitar that enabled me to flesh out the elements of my style of playing,” he says.
Photo courtesy of The Collection: Kirk Hammett, Gibson Publishing
“My 1979 black Flying V, that I’ve had ever since I was 16 or 17, is obviously very close to my heart,” he says. “Some of the very first heavy riffs I ever wrote, I wrote on that guitar, like the ‘die by my hand’ part of ‘Creeping Death.’ That came out of that guitar. I was sitting there when I was 17 years old in high school, and that riff came out, and I was thinking, ‘That doesn't sound like anything that’s on FM radio right now. And I love it.’ And it was that guitar that enabled me to flesh out the elements of my style of playing. And so that guitar will always be very, very close to me.”
The Mummy
Hammett remains big daddy to the Mummy, one of his favorite instruments. It also evokes his love of classic horror films.
Photo courtesy of The Collection: Kirk Hammett, Gibson Publishing
“The Mummy guitar is very close to me, too, because when I got that guitar in 1995 or 1996, man, it was a triple threat. It looked fantastic, it played fantastic, and it sounded fantastic,” observes Hammett. The guitar also features a legend taken from the poster for the 1932 film The Mummy, featuring Boris Karloff, reading, “It comes to life!” And indeed the 6-string did.
“I was like, ‘Okay. I think I have an extraordinary guitar in my hands right now.’ And I use the Mummy guitar just as much as I use Greeny in the studio.”
Greeny
Kirk Hammett with the guitar he calls his Excalibur, Greeny, which was formerly owned by both Peter Green and Gary Moore. “All I have to do is sit there with Greeny in my lap and the music comes,” he says.
Photo courtesy of The Collection: Kirk Hammett, Gibson Publishing
So, what was it like for Hammett to have Greeny, which he purchased in 2014 after it was used by legends Peter Green and Gary Moore on a host of historic recordings, in his hands for the first time?
“It was confusion,” he offers, “because I knew that a bunch of major players had played Greeny and passed on it. And a couple of those major players were James Hetfield and Joe Bonamassa–people that I know love Gibson Les Paul Standards as much as I do, but for some reason or another, they passed on it. I was confused by that because when I played Greeny, within the first minute I was like, ‘Oh my god, I think this is the guitar I’ve always been looking for, because it had so much mojo and so much tone and such a unique sound, and, of course, the history of it was not lost on me either. I thought, ‘Why hasn’t anyone else bought this guitar? I’m buying it.’ I told the guy who was selling it, ‘You're not getting this guitar back. Let’s work out a deal. I’m going to hold onto it forever.’ I feel like I didn’t choose Greeny; Greeny chose me, and it’s my Excalibur.“
It’s had such a big impact on me, and I wasn’t expecting it. All I have to do is sit there with Greeny in my lap and the music comes. It is a beautiful, wonderful thing. I used to have to really work hard at composing music and making music parts fit, but not anymore. With Greeny, stuff just comes to me spontaneously, and if it doesn’t work, I just move on, because more stuff comes.
“It had a large, large, large part in helping me recognize the power of inspiration in myself. It had played the most amazing songs and the most amazing shows before me. So to have it in my hands it’s like, I don’t want to say a separate entity, but almost like a freaking partner in music. I’m so thankful, and so lucky.”
On Creating the Book
“It was my idea to do the book,” Kirk explains. “I’ve been wanting to do a guitar book, because I did a book about my horror movie poster collection about 10 years ago. And man, that was so much freaking work, but it was worth it. And it opened up a whole range of opportunities I never thought or I could never see coming. I'm hoping that the same thing happens with this book. I have no idea what those opportunities are, but I'm hoping that they're great musical opportunities.
“I hope this book inspires people to just go out and look in pawn shops, go over to their grandmother’s house, look under the bed and in the closet; look into the attic. Because there’s a lot of vintage guitars still out there that have not been found. I mean, when you think about the production of electric guitars, how many were produced from 1952 on, of all models? That’s a shitload of guitars that absolutely have not been accounted for in the vintage market. You just got to do the hard work and be lucky as fuck. Things can be found.”
Hammett feels the book not only echoes the inspiration and passion he has for guitars, but also for his adopted home of Hawaii. “These guitars are beautiful. They’re unique. Some of them are one of a kind, and I love that. They are also the tools that are in my toolbox. But this book is also a love letter to Hawaii. It’s the place where I love to be with my guitars–a beautiful backdrop to these wonderful guitars.” In fact, the Hawaiian landscape is often the setting in which Halfin photographed Hammett and his collection. Ross and I didn’t want this to look like a catalog or your average coffee table book that you would see in freaking a doctor’s office or a hotel lobby or something. We wanted the approach to be a little bit more homegrown. And for me, I like being outdoors all the time. I might go inside to sleep at night, but usually from the time I get up, even at night, I’m just outside. The landscape and sky and ocean here is always gorgeous and always changing.”
The Sequel
Hammett mentions that another guitar tome might be on the horizon. “I have at least three or four essential guitars that didn’t make it into this book,” he says. “They need to make it into a second book, just as relevant, just as rare, just as unique. And people have not seen them. I have a Les Paul that’s so rare–a Mickey Baker Les Paul I’d been seeking for 10 years. In 1956 or 1957, Mickey Baker, the jazz session guy who had a big hit with ‘Love Is Strange’ … Gibson wanted to make him a Mickey Baker model. They made less than 10 prototypes and never put them out, because Mickey never liked any of ’em. They’re unique because they have three pickups and instead of four knobs, there are three–all master volumes. At the top where the pickup selector is, is another knob and it’s a master tone. People need to see that guitar! It has not quite the aggression and attack that Greeny has, but the fullness and the freaking kick and the punch.”
There’s also a black 1959 Standard, a custom-color ’57 goldtop, and other rarities that didn’t make The Collection, but there’s plenty of eye candy in the current book. Provided, of course, you’re interested in a ’52 goldtop, a ’58 sunburst Les Paul, a korina V prototype, a ’60 TV Special, the ESP KH-1 Joker, and other gems.
“I’m a caretaker for these guitars, and especially for Greeny,” Hammett says. “At some point, it’ll be time to redistribute these magical instruments. Guitars are invincible. Look at guitars from the ’50s. They’re holding up and playing better than ever. Guitars were made to last forever. They don’t break down like cars. They don’t degrade like artwork. Maybe they do, but the upkeep is easy and you can interact with them. Greeny, especially, is like a magic wand. I feel very, very lucky, and I hope that I play Greeny for a nice length of time.”
Duane Betts enjoys a control set modification that was preferred by his father, the late, legendary Dickey Betts.
Guest Picker - Duane Betts
Betts’ 1961 ES-335 has its toggle and volume-dial positions switched.
A: My favorite mod is the one on my 1961 Gibson ES-335. The toggle switch and neck volume knob positions have been switched so the volume knob is more accessible for volume swells using your pinky finger. This is something my dad had done when he obtained the guitar in the ’90s as he loved using the volume swell effect.
A pedal primed for vintage fuzz sounds.
Obsession: My current obsession is this DanDrive Secret Machine fuzz that JD Simo gave me a few years ago. I don’t use fuzz often but I’ve loved it as a way to change things up and give the listener something fresh. My normal tone is very natural with the amp turned up. This is just a great fuzz tone that gives me a new angle that I really enjoy pursuing both live and in the studio.
Reader of the Month - Steve Nowicki
A: A push/pull knob for humbucker coil split. It’s a sneaky little mod I throw on my tone pots. You won’t get amazing Strat tone, but the ability to instantly swap between Les Paul chunk and Fender twang during a jam opens a ton of possibilities tonally. Plus, no extra switches or routing needed—even though it’s fun to hack guitars apart.
Obsession: The EVH 5150 Iconic EL34 amp. Owning an 80-watt half-stack in a Brooklyn apartment might be overkill, but damn this amp is awesome. It delivers insane amounts of gain and distortion, yet every little nuance of your playing comes through crystal clear. I pair it with a Bugera Power Soak so I can crank the head and get that warm “Brown Sound” tone at lower volumes.
John Bohlinger - Nashville Correspondent
John Bohlinger and his Lukather-ized Strat.
A: I’ve hacked up a bunch of guitars over the years, but my favorite mod remains the highly intrusive, expensive, and quixotic B-bender install. It is the equivalent of open heart surgery, and there’s no going back—but the first time you play the Clarence White “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” intro right, it’s totally worth it.
John at work. When it comes to mods, he know the drill!
Obsession: I recently filmed a PG video where we swapped pickups in my ’90s Strat with an EMG Lukather set. I never thought I’d go active, but what gets me is how smoothly the volume and tone work. I’m rethinking all my gear biases. Like maybe there’s been some progress since 1957.
Jon Levy - Publisher
Let it bleed: Jon dials back the treble on his Tele.
A: Installing a treble bleed on my volume pots has changed how I play electric guitar. Previously, I never dialed back my volume knob because it dulled my sound. Now I can fine-tune loudness and gain while retaining tone—it’s a game changer. I still swap pickups and hardware, but one mod always comes first: the humble treble bleed.
Did you know both John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page played on Shirley Bassey’s iconic recording of “Goldfinger?”
Obsession: John Paul Jones. I’ve always loved his bass (and other instrumental contributions) with Led Zeppelin. But after seeing the Zep documentary [Becoming Led Zeppelin] I searched his session work from 1964–1968, which includes Shirley Bassey, Lulu, Donovan and more. What an amazingly versatile and talented artist he is!
