ESP LTD Kirk Hammett Signature KH-602 Review

Freakin Awesome Guitar!

First off, I want to give a shout out to Josh for helping with his knowledge about A# drop tuning. I wasn't sure if I needed a baritone guitar or could down to a regular guitar that far. Josh told me many guitarists just use regular guitars for drop A#. Josh recommended to use a reverse head stock so the big 62 string would have the most length it could. I found this guitar and… read more what a great guitar. The guitar is perfect, the inspectors did a great job. Huge thanks to the Luthier Fitz, who set the guitar up in A#! Perfectly done!! I was worried the tremolo would be an issue with that big 62 string, but Fitz has it laying perfectly flat with perfect action and intonation! The case is well made and looks great. The guitar looks awesome with the skull and cross bones. Sounds mean and nasty tuned down. No buzzing of strings. Feels sweet to play! 100% satisfied and worth the money! Thanks, everyone!

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The Last Guitar You'll Ever Need

I've played some KH 602s at guitar centers before, so I already know just how amazing the specs were. I didn't going round buying one until now, since I finally had the money to do it. Regarding the Guitar:Holding it in your hands, you can really feel the quality that went into this model. I was a bit skeptical about buying the Demo version, not just because it was a bit scratched… read more but also because it was an Indonesian model as opposed to a Korean one. However, compared to the Korean ones I've played before, this one definitely feels a lot better. Got mine with a Pau Ferro board I believe, could definitely pass as ebony based on how dark it is! From Top to Bottom: The headstock on this guitar is iconic. Might not be Grover tuning pegs but personally, I wouldn't see why anyone would care about what machine heads come on a Floyd-Rose equipped guitar. Headstock was clean, smooth finish. Excellent logo/decal and signature. String retainer looks clean. The Locking nut is about as clean as it gets. Moving down, the most noticeable aspect of this guitar has to be its ultra thin neck. As someone who has played with chunkier "C" shaped necks for the most part, it feels like they chopped off all that was slowing you down in your soloing. This is probably the fastest and most comfortable neck I've ever experienced. Doesn't mean you cant grip it well, though. Chording is incredibly comfortable and easy as well. Excellent finish on the neck, smooth. Most people don't like the gloss but I feel like its a nice touch, and something that can easily be tamed with the rough side of a sponge. The fretboard is perfectly put on the neck. Beautiful grain, side dots on point. One thing I thought that was gunna be really gimmicky at first were the skull inlays, but once I got to really examine them, I noticed that they're actually pretty **** cool. The first inlay on mine has the tiniest of chips on it, but I don't really mind. As for the frets... 24 beautiful XJ frets across the entire fretboard. Played up and down the neck and every single one of the frets feels amazing to play, bend, chord, etc. Very clean, beautiful, and easy frets to play on. Not a single sharp end. Fretboard looks well hydrated, once again clean and beautiful grain. As for the strings, Sweetwater did an excellent job with the setup (more on that in a bit). As you get closer to the body you notice just how accessible every single fret of this instrument is. The cutaway on the back lets you fret even the Low E string at the 24th with ease. Probably one of the most amazing necks of all time, really. The body shape is iconic. Not too thick (It is a very light guitar), the backplates were clean (always fun to take off the plastic hehe) and the comfort curve hones back to my Stratocaster days. EMG Bonebreaker pickups are clean, great sounding aswell. People like to trash on EMGs for being too compress or loud, but running it through a clean channel on BIAS FX 2 shows me that the neck, middle, and bridge all sound beyond beautiful clean. One thing youll notice, especially playing acoustically or clean, would be the insane sustain of this guitar. The neck-through design really shows itself through the sustain. Electronics feel clean, incredibly smooth and easy to use. Switch has no resistance, knobs are smooth and clean, etc. This is my first time having a Floyd Rose, but from what I've heard, the 1000 is a solid bridge. Very interesting bridge, so far stays in tune very well, especially after some crazy dives (you'll be doing this a lot trust me!). From top to bottom, this guitar is a gem. $ will get you a lifelong guitar worthy of practice or of being in the studio. Definitely a keeper here. An added bonus is the case. Beautiful beautiful case. Awesome ESP logo, leather-bound and beautiful inside. My only real complaint about it is the grey color, I wish it was Red or Purple. But hey, beggars can't be choosers.Regarding Sweetwater:This is actually my first time buying a guitar from Sweetwater. I've bought little accessories here and there from this company, and I've definitely always had a good experience with them. I was really skeptical about buying this guitar from any other store, ESPECIALLY guitar center, since the "brand new" ones that I've seen there always seemed like they were played by 1000 hands (which... they probably were...). Shaun Yingling and his awesome team made the process as smooth and easy for me as possible. As a teenager, I unfortunately had a limit on my debit card when paying. However Shaun and his team contacted me as quickly as possible and helped me solve the problem. The options to pay were great, and the option to buy the demo model was awesome. I saved $, and I honestly probably couldn't tell the difference between a brand new one and this demo one. Overall, Sweetwater made the process as smooth and enjoyable as possible. The best part always is getting to eat the little candies they send you!Overall, Awesome guitar and Awesome service! Thank you!

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Bang your head with this guitar!

This is a headbanging metal machine. It Is easily a $2000 guitar for a great price. Brian Hughes is the man! Very knowledgeable, helpful & gets your gear to you quickly & just like he says it will be. Brian & Sweetwater are the only people I do business with. Thanks guys for a rocking guitar.

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Nothing but perfect!

I was blown away by the build quality and sound from this piece of art! I received it packed flawesly without a mark on it. The team over at Sweetwater will truly make you feel like family! They're VERY knowledgeable as well a helpful!

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Superb!

So I've been looking at this guitar for some time and finally decided to get it. I have been hesitant because I have never had active pickups before and I expected them to just be hot metal sounds only pickups. Well they do not disappoint for a really heavy chunking Metallica sound but surprisingly the EMG 81 in the bridge cleans up and provides a really decent clean and slightly… read more dirty rock and blues sound. I'm very excited about the playability of the neck on this guitar it's super fast and very comfortable to me. The frets are clean and there's not a blemish on it. The KH signature Skull and Crossbone inlays are spot on and right out of the box this axe was ready to play with only some minor string tuning. Sweetwater continues to provide me with quality knowledgeable support and instruments that are ready to play. Kent Sallaz has been my consultant for a number of years and he always goes above and beyond to be sure I get the best products available. Thanks Kent!

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