Kirk Hammett is finally getting signature pickups

[Pat6969]

Dave Mustaine is an excellent songwriter but if you're saying he's a better guitar player than Kirk, you've lost all your credibility.

 

[napalmdeath]

I think the fact that he doubles James rhythm every night AND plays most of the leads (which for most aren’t “easy”) proves that he doesn’t SUCK. How can James be the greatest rhythm player ever and a guy who doubles him every night suck? The math doesn’t add up.

It does add up, use your ears. Ever hear of Al Estrada here on this very forum? Dude smokes and doesn't need to double anyone. He's out front already and he should have his own but Kirk, please?!?!!
Since so many here obviously need to be reminded it was Cliff and Mustaine who wrote and arraigned all of the harmonies and taught these dudes how to be heavy. They lost it after Cliff sadly passed. Kirkless lost anything he ever had in the tank before AJFA and James carried those dudes through that whole period and ever since. Kirk is a weakling and so is anyone who stands in line waiting for a signature line of anything with his name on it.

Wrong

You might think so but no way was Kirk the heavy. Someone had to keep up with Mustaine and Cliff and clearly it wasn't Kirk out front. Never has and never was and never will be friend.

Let's not forget he formed Exodus & had to keep up with Gary Holt at one point. He was still in Exodus when he went to play for Metallica.

He must have had some chops at some point.

 

[cardinal]

You’ll never convince the haters.

 

[messenger]

Obviously he’s not the best, most technical player out there. And he over uses the wah, and has an annoying vibrato imo but it’s ludicrous to say he sucks. There are plenty of more technical players that I really can’t stand to listen to, but would never say they “suck”.

 

[Rock Bodom]

I'll be honest...if I still had my ESP KH-2 Greenburst, I would buy these just for the matching color logo.

And let's be honest...if you were a teenager in the 80's listening to those Metallica albums for the first time (like me), you didn't sit there in an armchair ruminating on how "the lead player needs to develop his vibrato technique, and rely less on using the Wah pedal as a crutch".

It was more like, "Metallica, fuck yeah!! Fuck yeah, Metallica!! What wah pedal do I need to play their solos? Fuck yeah, Metallica!!"

 

[messenger]

Up through the black album I couldn’t imagine those songs with different solos. I think the majority fit the song perfectly. And I think his slightly “sloppy” playing adds aggression.

 

[Exo-metal]

You’ll never convince the haters.

"The haters", here comes the Left...you pussies. The guy did have some chops at some point yes but it was brief. However this is a business and as part of a machine EMG obviously is making a move to sell, they're bets on Kirk mine is not. The coolest part about these pickups is that the logo is green.

Gary Holt IS another part of this who rips Hamlet three ways till sun. He chops Hamlett into little pieces, him and Lee Altus. Holt has real tone worth mentioning and in comparison there is none. Just bringing up Gary makes Kirk look worse, Gary is a beast

 

[RaceU4her]

Dave Mustaine is an excellent songwriter but if you're saying he's a better guitar player than Kirk, you've lost all your credibility.

i dont know how one could watch this first song and even put hammett in the same league both rhythm and lead as Mustaine, and im not even really much a megadeth fan and i love metallica

 

[cardinal]

You’ll never convince the haters.

"The haters", here comes the Left...you pussies. The guy did have some chops at some point yes but it was brief. However this is a business and as part of a machine EMG obviously is making a move to sell, they're bets on Kirk mine is not. The coolest part about these pickups is that the logo is green.

Gary Holt IS another part of this who rips Hamlet three ways till sun. He chops Hamlett into little pieces, him and Lee Altus. Holt has real tone worth mentioning and in comparison there is none. Just bringing up Gary makes Kirk look worse, Gary is a beast

The left? Just because Holt and lots of other people are great doesn’t mean Kirk sucks. If folks don’t like the guy, that’s fine whatever. But he’s been the lead guitarist in Metallica for a long time. If that’s not worth of some level of respect from guitarists, that seems nuts.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Dave Mustaine is an excellent songwriter but if you're saying he's a better guitar player than Kirk, you've lost all your credibility.

Depends what you base that opinion on.. rythmically, which arguably is the bigger part of one's chops, Mustaine absolutely demolishes Kirk. Kirk would have a harder time playing some of the material on RIP. Lead, yes based on the body of work I would have to give the nod to Kirk. Both don't have great vibrato though so that's a wash.

 

[Detroit1973]

The only other guy I have ever liked besides Zakk with EMG's was this guy..:

I like David Gilmour and Keith Urban with EMGs

And Prince & Reb Beach from winger.

 

[messenger]

Dave Mustaine is an excellent songwriter but if you're saying he's a better guitar player than Kirk, you've lost all your credibility.

i dont know how one could watch this first song and even put hammett in the same league both rhythm and lead as Mustaine, and im not even really much a megadeth fan and i love metallica

I don’t know how Marty can pick like that.

 

[Pat6969]

Dave Mustaine is an excellent songwriter but if you're saying he's a better guitar player than Kirk, you've lost all your credibility.

i dont know how one could watch this first song and even put hammett in the same league both rhythm and lead as Mustaine, and im not even really much a megadeth fan and i love metallica

I don't even know why Mustaine solo's. That was horrible. Just let Friedman take the lead and stick to rhythm and songwriting.

 

[Pat6969]

Dave Mustaine is an excellent songwriter but if you're saying he's a better guitar player than Kirk, you've lost all your credibility.

Depends what you base that opinion on.. rythmically, which arguably is the bigger part of one's chops, Mustaine absolutely demolishes Kirk. Kirk would have a harder time playing some of the material on RIP. Lead, yes based on the body of work I would have to give the nod to Kirk. Both don't have great vibrato though so that's a wash.

I disagree. I was front row for MOP and AJFA tours and watched Hammett playing. He can play, plain and simple. Is he Joe Satriani, no, but he can play.

 

[Startingline]

Holy fuck, this wasn't meant to be a bash Hammett thread!!!! Obviously he's good enough to be in one of the biggest bands of our time for over 30 years....and still going.

 

[romanianreaper]

I'll end my part of this thread (hopefully LOL) by just saying this. People get older, get stagnant, get lazy, etc. and the drive they had in their teens to early 20s can go away. Sure there are a few guitarists like Vai and Satriani that still have that drive and commitment to a certain extent.

But look at someone like Yngwie. Great the guy can sit and nail these neoclassical scales and his style is rarely duplicated, but he wears tight leather pants and still "kicks" toward the audience while wearing gold chains and talking about Ferraris. I was sitting in my bedroom in high school in the 80s reading a Guitar World article about Yngwie and his Ferraris and gold chains, etc.

I'm actually not this huge Kirk fan even though I'm a huge Metallica fan. But you can't deny his imprint on metal and the part he played. He tried other things, plain and simple. Yes I agree he should have backed off on some wah for a particular period but he is a great player. I think he has just got lazy but who can blame him? Only band in history to do a show on every continent. Has to burn you out.

 

[riffsfordaze]

Kirk is cool in my book! His work up through the Black Album cannot be denied! I'd kinda like to see all of you bashing him cut heads with him! You boys keep a tight one out there!

 

[Tone Monster]

The guy is good. Virtuoso? No. But better than most and wildly successful. I’d trade places with him in an instant. He gets bashed only because of their insane fame.

 

[mentoneman]

I wonder what kind of sound they'll have. The Het Set is probably my favorite thing EMG's ever come out with and I've played just about every and any combination of EMGs. But for some reason.. I trust Kirk's judgement of tone a lot less than James' . I'm hopeful they'll be cool, but I wonder if they'll be a mid scoop nightmare.

may rethink the trust thing when it comes to ol kirky’s tone discerment

kid’s brownies may have been left in oven a bit too long

 

[D-Rock]

So these pickups are starting to hit the market and they are getting some great reviews.
The bridge is an 81 with a preamp tweak making it less gainy and compressed, and more open and clear sounding. The beloved sharp, quick attack and treble bite of the 81 has not been sacrificed and apparently remains.
The neck is an alnico with another preamp tweak. No real solid report on it yet.