ESP Kirk Hammett Signature KH-2 Vintage

A great guitar. Other reviewers are right about the color of the photo—way off, and not sure why they can’t get a true to life color photo. In full sunlight it really lives up to the Lemon Drop name, and in less direct light it has a beautiful golden tone. Plays great and a couple minor issues on arrival are not worth taking any stars away. The jack was recessed behind the jack plate, which had to be removed to unscrew the nut that is meant to hold it in place. Also two strings (E, A) unraveled within days, so I replaced them with new strings, and no problems since. Keeps in tune fairly well, and sounds great in humbucker and coil split modes. A great guitar at this price point.

Plays like butter. Beautiful guitar mahogany body neck and neck, maple top is stunning. Neck are great the frets are medium so perfect for me since I have small hands. Mine was made in China, but was inspected in the USA. So, electronics are in great shape. They put Daddario strings on it, set up the neck so no fret buzz no need to set it up just pick up and play. Don't get caught up in all the insane guitar marketing saying you need all this expensive stuff. You dont. For the most part you're just paying for labour cost. Only thing I don't like is the tuners. I suggest to do what I I'm doing: buy some locking tuners Sprezel. No need be screwed over by Gibson outta your hard earned money.

The guitar that came in was poorly assembled. The volume knobs weren't properly tightened n came off. Some of the allen screws were loose. It came with a piece of paper a certificate of authenticity saying it was inspected. It wasn't. That's only half of the problem. The other half is that my kirk hammett guitar has a lot of buzzing frets all around the guitar especially the top 4 strings. Only the top 2 strings were tuned in also. Ud think that paying 5000 dollars for a somewhat high quality guitar it would be almost perfect but it isn't. The only thing that is working properly is the emg pickups. If I take out the pickups I'll have a 5000 dollar piece of fire wood. Amazon.com sent this abomination from Northern California. I'm not saying they sell cheap guitars I guess I just got dealt a bad hand. I have the ltd kh602 the esp kh2 bolt on n this piece of crap. My 602 is 5 times better than this n it is an ltd version. I give two stars just for the emg pickups working. I am very displeased n disappointed for wasting money on this signature guitar but like I said I most likely got dealt a bad hand. Please who ever else bought this guitar n it is better than what I posted please leave a review so I can get a replacement for this piece of s*** so I can know this version really is a piece of shit or not

I'm tempted to give 4 stars because mine had a wiring defect from the factory--the bridge pickup was weak due to a short in one of the wires. However, the guitar is incredible for this price range. I had mine professionally set up (and the wiring fixed) and I plan to keep it forever. The pickups sound great and the quality of wood is superb. With the push/pull coil tab you can turn it into a strat and get some really useful sounds. The tuners are a little cheap and something I plan to upgrade eventually. Also, the nut does not have true Gibson spacing even though the bridge does, so I might replace that since I have big hands and it's a little narrow down low.

It said made in japan on a paper sticker. Who knows where it came from. It could be anywhere and ship it to japan to get that cheap sticker. Very diappointed with ESP company.

Nice guitar set up was good, plays & sounds nice. Would recommend.

I’ve had this instrument for about a month now. Clearly this guitar was made with tender loving care. You can tell by the beautiful flamed top and buffed finish, perfect binding, immaculate fretwork and inlays, and smooth feel/low action for playing. It feels like it has a soul and is inspiring to play. I’m a perfectionist and am very happy with this purchase.

Knew what I was ordering, and it was exactly what I received . Came quick and very well packaged. A very good beginners guitar and should last for many years. The price was half of a new one and still looks and sounds fantastic. I'm more of a journeyman guitarist and play American Strats, But a beginners guitar of this quality for under 250.00 and shipping... cant be beat.

Ok, first of all let me just say, Amazon are flawless when it comes to delivery or returns. So reliable I rarely use my local music store. Right, now for the real review of this particular guitar I received, this of course being no fault on Amazon's part. The guitar arrived on time and perfectly packaged. However the guitar itself straight from the factory was probably the worst inexcusable example of an instrument I have seen in my entire 30 years of buying and playing guitar. Truss rod access hole drilled completely wonky and truss rod cover not even able to cover the truss rod hole! Pick up mounting rings bowed so much you could fit 5 credit cards under. Frets were so sharp I did actually slice fingers, and that is not exaggerating! Not one area of the guitar had a straight masking line. There was paint overspay everywhere. Headstock, body, neck, Really poor. The guitar has a clear coat back and sides so easy to see the maple cap, which had lifted off the body already by 6mm. Clearly not even glued on from factory... Lacquer had fish eyes all over the body and hair stuck underneath. Very visable. I am not joking when I say this guitar had to have been built by a blind man. Obviously no quality control. Built in Vietnam. Just a word of warning, I would skip this 256 model and go for something more expensive if it's LTD you want. Maybe the 400 or 1000 series! This was my first purchase into the world of LTD and my last. However, I will be using the refund to buy an epiphone Les Paul direct from Amazon.

J'ai déjà quelques guitares (Fender strat, Gibson Jr, Dean MAb1...) et je voulais une guitare de complément pour les répèt avec un son assez vintage. Je joue du blues rock. Je me suis orienté sur ce modèle car les avis son généralement assez bons. J'ai aussi craqué pour son look (ne vous fiez pas au rendu jaune radioactif de la photo sur Amazon, elle a une couleur beaucoup plus jolie que ça, un très beau jaune orangé qui laisse bien en avant les veines du bois...elle est tout simplement superbe) Les Micros sont de très bonnes facture, beaucoup d'expression pour jouer en rock/blues avec un crunch léger ou appuyé, ils répondent vraiment bien à ce qu'on veut exprimer. Le sustain de la guitare est très bon, comme ce qu'on peut attendre d'une Les Paul en fait. Les micros doubles sont splitables (pour les passer en simple) c'est très appréciable pour varier l'intensité et l'expression de son jeu. C'est une guitare assez versatile, surtout dans le rock et le blues (si vous voulez faire du métal, il faudra changer les micros pour aller vers des trucs plus agressifs) LTD est fabriqué par ESP qui est une marque haut de gamme Américaine, donc l'accastillage et le design tient la route. Bon c'est fait au Vietnam, donc on est toujours un peu stressé à la livraison (qualité du vernis, montage et finitions correctes....) Je n'ai pas à me plaindre sur celle que j'ai reçue. Elle est très bien finie (j'ai juste du mettre un coup de lime sur une frette) Le manche était légèrement trop courbé, et j'avais quelques buzz sur la douzième case. J'ai touché un peu le truss road et ajusté le chevalet (Tune o matic, très pratique) et hop ! problème réglé ! On se fait souvent une montagne de toucher au manche soi-même , mais il n'y a rien de sorcier (vous n'aurez pas la précision d'un luthier...et il ne faut surtout pas forcer hein! mais sinon , c'est une opération relativement simple, il y a plein de tutos sur le net pour vous guider) Le manche est très fin et très agréable (ne conviendrait pas à des trop gros doigts à mon avis, mais pour moi qui ai des petites mains, c'est tout simplement génial, surtout en haut du manche) Seul bémol; après avoir lu plusieurs avis disant qu'elle est assez légère...bah non pas du tout, elle fait son poids la bougresse ! (plus lourde que ma strat par exemple) Donc pour les longues répèt ...bah ça tire un peu sur le dos. C'est donc une très belle guitare, très jolie (franchement, j'adore la regarder...c'est un bel objet) avec un son très polyvalent pour les accros du rock. Le rapport qualité prix est difficilement battable Je recommande vivement comme guitare d'appoint , ou plus si affinité

relación precio muy buena. suena muy bien, es cómoda y nada que envidiar a guitarras más caras. hasta ahora estoy muy contento.no le encuentro nada que no me guste

Ok, hab die Gitarre jetzt erst 2 Std. und kann hier keine Langzeitanalyse zum besten geben, aber: doppelt verpackt geliefert und trotz dessen, dass ich die versehentlich beim Bax-shop in Niederlande (nach Berlin) statt Musikhaus Korn bestellt hab, kam sie schnell und ohne äußerliche -an der Verpackung- sichtbare Blessuren hier an. Nach dem Öffnen dann die Überraschung: Alles unbeschädigt, auch innen sehr gut verpackt und auf den 1. Blick von sehr guter Qualität. Auf den 2. Blick sind sowohl Lack als auch der Mechaniken und selbst die Bünde (maximum blank poliert) top. Auch das Palisander-Griffbrett zeigt keinerlei Poren, ist nicht rissig oder trocken und überragt manch 400€ Ibanez dahingehend, obwohl sie in Vietnam (!?) gefertigt wurde. Auch die Inlays/Intarsien sind sehr gut eingearbeitet, also keinerlei Übergänge zum Griffbrett zu merken. Gewöhnungsbedürftig scheint mir der modern-U-Hals .. dieser ist etwas dicker als modern C-shape, also bspw. bei Strats etc. .. jedoch angenehmer (im Sinne von schneller) zu spielen als z.B. bei Epiphone- od. Gibson Les Pauls, die eine Sattelbreit von 43mm haben (hier sind es 42). Nach genauer Betrachtung wurden neue Saiten aufgespannt (Achtung an Anfänger: oft stimmen in den ersten Tagen angesagt) und es scheinen mir 10er zu sein und die klingen gar nicht mal schlecht, wenn sie auch stark geriffelt sind und daher beim drübergleiten quietschen! Die Decke ist statt >Lemon Drop< eher Bernsteinartig (-> hier bitte mal bei thomann.de nachschauen, die dortige Abbildung ist realistischer!). Hals und Saitenlage lassen ein sofortiges Stimmen und spielen zu. Hier kann man sicherlich noch feintunen, denn trotz relativ niedriger Saitenlage schnarrt sie nicht (außer ich hau Punk-mäßig voll in die Saiten-logo!). Der Sattel ist gut gekerbt, sodass die tiefe E nicht am 1. Bund aufliegt od. schnarrt (siehe z.B. die Kritiken der Harley Benton LP im 170 €-Bereich oder auch anderen wie Rocktile). Im Vergleich zu meiner Yamaha PXA mit Doppel-Humbuckern sind selbst diese klar überlegen, denn sie matschen im Zerr-Bereich nicht und sie klingen mit der push/pull-funktion auf Singlecoil (klingt ähnlich wie Strat, für mich aber besser) oder Humbucker einfach nur überragend und haben ordentlich output!!! Der eingeleimte Hals (statt geschraubt wie in der 300€-Preisklasse manchmal noch üblich, z.B. billige Charvel, auch wenn diese Gitarren sehr gut sind) sorgt hier für ordentlich Sustain ... sie singt und schwingt - geil! Nur mit der Halsform muss ich mich anfreunden ... diese wirkt wie meine Semi-Akustik Ibanez-Artcore im 400 € - Bereich ... also insgesamt von ordentlicher Qualität, aber etwas dicker/anders als modern-C. Die Binding sind sogar sauberer eingesetzt als bei meiner 400€-Ibanez. Ja gut, die Plastik-Poti-Deckel in gülden wirken etwas billig und sind etwas schief draufgesetzt worden; die werde ich gegen Messing-metallernde mal austauschen. So, ich spiele weiter - kauft Leute kauft .. so genial.

When I placed the order I was hoping that this was going to be a good experience, but since reading reviews and looking on YouTube I came to a much different conclusion. The guitar carries the badge of LTD, which in UK terms is Limited. But the parent company is ESP and they produce the same style if a little different class of guitar. So what's the difference, basically the way in which the neck is attached to the body and some hardware is different, oh and the ESP versions are hand built whereas the LTD is shall we say factory built, and the ESP is Japanese and the LTD are built in other locations, such as Vietnam where my beautiful beast came from. Many reviewers who are seasoned professionals have concluded that this guitar plays and sounds on par with those on the higher price bracket. The only area that some have commented is the Humbucker pickups being in need of a possible upgrade. Even upgrading should still keep this guitar, cost wise, well below the best in class. I could have saved for a Gibson, or even a top of the range ESP. But my needs are not for professional use, and so my aim was to buy at a price that suited my needs. So what is my opinion? If ESP/LTD made beer, it would probably be the best tasting beer in the world, and I'd be completely sloshed. Would I recommend it? If you haven't realised by now that is exactly what I am doing. Is it good value for money? No... It's extraordinary value for money. The colour in the picture is of a yellowish colour, but the maple top is a gorgeous golden colour. If I had to chose between my wife, kids and the LTD 256FM (Flame Maple) Les Paul guitar. No contest, guitar wins every time. But don't tell them.