Metallica’s Kirk Hammett has amassed an enviable assortment of guitars over the previous 40-plus years, and he credit an early job at Burger King for getting him one in every of his first prized possessions, a Gibson Flying V that he nonetheless performs at the moment.
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The steel icon goes in-depth about his guitar assortment in a virtually 2-hour video that simply premiered on Gibson TV’s YouTube channel. Sitting down with host Mark Agnesi, Hammett discusses quite a few his notable guitars, together with “Greeny” (initially owned by Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Inexperienced), a 1963 Gibson Explorer, and extra.
On the subject of one in every of his earliest guitars, the Flying V, Hammett recollects, “I bear in mind I used to be going out with this one lady on the time, she mentioned, ‘Let’s go to Burger King.’ … So we’re sitting there, consuming a Whopper or one thing, and he or she goes, ‘I’ll be proper again.’ … She comes again and he or she goes, “I obtained you an software for a job right here. Signal right here.’ I’m like, ‘Huh?’”
He continued, “However then … I assumed, ‘That is good. I’ll simply work at Burger King simply lengthy sufficient for me to avoid wasting up some cash, so I can commerce in my [old] Strat and perhaps $200 or $300 towards a brand-new black Flying V that was at Leo’s Music in Oakland.”
Hammett went on to say that he good friend that labored at that music retailer, and informed him to carry onto it till he had sufficient cash. Finally, he traded in his Strat and a pair hundred {dollars} for the black Flying V and “was so blissful.”
Elsewhere within the dialog, Hammett says a toy Monkees guitar that his grandmother obtained him when he was 7 years outdated was one of many first issues to ignite his ardour for the guitar. “I used to pull it round with me to each single room in the home, outdoors, and simply faux that I used to be taking part in it till it actually fell aside,” recalled the Metallica legend.
Along side the brand new video function, Gibson Publishing will launch a espresso desk guide on November twenty ninth titled The Assortment: Kirk Hammett, that includes photographs and tales of his guitars.
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Followers can catch Hammett taking part in a few of his prized guitars when Metallica proceed their “M72 World Tour” in 2025 with a brand new North American leg that includes Limp Bizkit and Pantera. Tickets can be found right here.
Watch Gibson TV’s full video function on Kirk Hammett’s guitar assortment under, and choose up a Kirk Hammett signature guitar through Reverb. Be taught extra about his signature guitars on the official Gibson and Epiphone web sites.