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Gibson James Hetfield Signature

jlb32

By jlb32
in Gibson Custom

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jlb32

jlb32

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Will Gibson ever do one? They came close not long ago but it fell through for some reason.

 

IMO it seems like it should be something Gibson would desire since it would bring in alot of money and James would love to have a Gibson signature guitar.

 

A version of his satin purple Gibson Les Paul Custom might be a good starter.

 

The last thread on this topic was lost during the mishap.

 

JamesHetfieldGibsonLesPaulCustomPur.jpg

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jlb32

jlb32

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ESP issued the Iron Cross LP' date=' which I thought was weird.

 

I just saw Metallica in concert and the James' Iron Cross LP had more crunch than Cap'n Crunch himself.[/quote']

 

 

Yeah, I think that is weird also. If the Iron Cross didn't work out with Gibson then why do it with ESP? Why not do something completely original with ESP?

 

I think James just got impatient with Gibson and with some ESP persuasion the ESP Iron Cross is what they came up with.

 

James's ESP's do sound very good live but his Gibsons sound even better IMO. The silverburst Gibson V he's been using live lately sounds great.

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Hillybilly

Hillybilly

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I would hope Gibson would only make custom model guitars for those guitarists who deserve the honor...

 

 

sure. only one of the best rhythm guitar players ever, as well as a tremendous songwriter and lyricist....yea, he's nothing compared to slash, tom delonge, the guy from green day, dave grohl, etc

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Blackie

Blackie

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So it should only be a matter of time before someone famous using a signature gets there version

of it. That would be a signature signature model.........and then so on and so forth etc.

I also am not a fan of overpriced sig models, it is like collectable franklin mint marketing and actually

is detrimental to the overall brand IMHO. We would be better served with more finish and feature options

on the existing lines.

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Hillybilly

Hillybilly

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IMO yet another reason to flood the market with more over priced instruments. He is more known for the "Other Brand Guitars" and those guitars would sell well in the Epi form but not in the Gibson form. I just don't understand these signature guitars; its a frigging guitar that someone owed' date=' how about I buy the base mdl and save a few thousand. I guess its good that I am not most of the buying public. I would buy a custom if I could justify the expense but never a signature mdl from any one or those over priced cabinet guitars[/quote']

 

???

 

maybe to non-metallica fans. but anyone who knows the band or has seen them live knows that both hetfield and hammett love gibson guitars. prior to the ESP contracts, hetfield's main axe was a gibson explorer; hammet's was a flying V. hell, even the guitars that ESP makes for hetfield are Gibson knockoffs- Vs, Explorers, and Eclipse/Truckster (LP).

 

not that it matters,but hetfield and hammett own at least 2 or 3 original Bursts between them.

 

when it comes to money, gibson dropped the ball. putting either hetfield's or hammett's name on a LP or other guitar would be a frickin' goldmine. After all, Hammett beat out Hendrix when Guitar World did their first mail-in poll for best guitarist ever.

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NeoConMan

NeoConMan

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May be something to it, I dunno.

I'm of the completely unscientific opinion that Hetfield/Hammet would sell a boatload of Epi's.

Gibsons? Not so much.

The price would be a barrier.

 

 

Of course, Zakk sells a boatload of Gibsons and Epiphonies.

Maybe even as many as the Chinese counterfeiters....

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SHO

SHO

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After all' date=' Hammett beat out Hendrix when Guitar World did their first mail-in poll for best guitarist ever. [/quote']

 

If that's true then it's hilarious. Back in the 90's when I subscribed to Guitar I never understood how Hammett kept winning the metal guitarist polls. There's far better guitarists than him in the big thrash bands alone, not to mention metal as a whole. Then I realised it's a popularity contest above anything else, and that most people are dumb as all hell.

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Hillybilly

Hillybilly

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If that's true then it's hilarious. Back in the 90's when I subscribed to Guitar I never understood how Hammett kept winning the metal guitarist polls. There's far better guitarists than him in the big thrash bands alone' date=' not to mention metal as a whole. Then I realised it's a popularity contest above anything else, and that most people are dumb as all hell.

[/quote']

 

 

i know. i love Kirk Hammett's work. but is he the greatest? nope. and its not like he thinks he's the greatest, either. hell, he's about the most humble celebrity i've ever heard talk; quite the opposite of their little gnome drummer. haha

 

but it is indeed a popularity contest. and Guitar World does indeed suck.

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SHO

SHO

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Well, I think Kirk is ok, but I never saw him as anyone special when it comes to guitar. Just to compare him to the other thrash greats, he has no where near the melody and expressiveness of Marty Friedman in Megadeth, nor the controlled chaos and flash of Alex Skolnick in Testament, just to name two.

 

And, unless I'm totally mistaken, some of my favourite Metallica solos where actually played by James. Like the melodic solo in Master of Puppets.

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LesBonfire

LesBonfire

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So it should only be a matter of time before someone famous using a signature gets there version

of it. That would be a signature signature model.........and then so on and so forth etc.

I also am not a fan of overpriced sig models' date=' it is like collectable franklin mint marketing and actually

is detrimental to the overall brand IMHO. We would be better served with more finish and feature options

on the existing lines.[/quote']

 

 

It's been said before on here...can't remember by who....but the Les Paul is technically a signature model...hell the his signature is on the head stock!

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jlb32

jlb32

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May be something to it' date=' I dunno.

I'm of the completely unscientific opinion that Hetfield/Hammet would sell a boatload of Epi's.

Gibsons? Not so much.

The price would be a barrier.

 

 

Of course, Zakk sells a boatload of Gibsons and Epiphonies.

Maybe even as many as the Chinese counterfeiters....[/quote']

 

 

Hetfield would sell a ton of Gibsons if Gibson kept them around the $3500-$4000 range. There is no doubt about that IMO. If there were Epiphone models also they would sell big too.

 

Zakk Wylde is nothing compared to Hetfields popularity. Zakk may be 5% as popular as Hetfield. Hetfield even dwarfs Slash as far as popularity goes. It's not even a contest.

 

If Gibson got Hetfield it would be their biggest hard rock/metal signature guitar by a HUGE margin.

 

I don't think Gibson realizes the popularity of him and Metallica as I doubt many here do that are not into hard rock/metal.

 

Hetfield and Hammett pretty much are what made ESP when most had never really heard of them before.

 

I also don't think most here realize how many Gibsons Hetfield has. Everyone knows he plays ESP's but he has just as many, if not more, Gibson guitars. His ESP's are given to him for free and he buys his Gibsons plus he has stated many times that having a Gibson Signature guitar is a dream of his.

 

 

The only thing is that Gibson can't expect him to only play Gibsons. He endorses ESP's but that's not all he plays. If that is a issue with Gibson then it would never work and IMO would be stupid for Gibson to even think that.

 

I am a hard core fan, just not a fan of over priced guitars that are already in production but because a decal is applied its now a "Signature Mdl". I am also down on the JP, JB, and other models majority of their guitars are normal guitars but because a famous guitar player has this guitar all guitar mfg's do these artist issues.

 

I can agree with that but some signature guitars are pretty awesome. I agree just buying regular models and having them as your own is a good thing over a guitar that has a jacked up price just because someone else's name on it. Having a signature guitar or 2 that are decently priced isn't bad though IMO. I'd just would never play them at a gig.

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jlb32

jlb32

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well it would require gibson to keep the price within reason' date=' at least for gibson. i dont think people would pay $6000 for JH LP, but if they charged $2-3k like ESP does....cha-ching.

 

but thats the thing, ESP builds guitars that are as good or better than gibson for less.[/quote']

 

I agree but I think Gibson would have to keep them around $3500 or so at the most. At that price they would sell big. You get to $5K or $6K then that really limits any guitar sales no matter what guitar it is.

 

ESP's new Metallica sigs of late are not $2K-$3K anymore. The last 2 Kirk Hammett ESP sigs. have been $10K retail and the Hetfield Iron Cross clone ESP just did has a $10K retail price also.

 

ESP does build very good guitars but I love my Gibsons also. I just think a Gibson Signature guitar for Hetfield would be killer. It's what Gibson needs to make money and what Hetfield has always wanted. James has did about all he can do with ESP signature guitars IMO. ESP can't do the explorer shape James loves, they can't do the V's James loves and they can't do the TRUE Les Paul shape.

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dem00n

dem00n

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Hetfield would sell a ton of Gibsons if Gibson kept them around the $3500-$4000 range. There is no doubt about that IMO. If there were Epiphone models also they would sell big too.

 

Zakk Wylde is nothing compared to Hetfields popularity. Zakk may be 5% as popular as Hetfield. Hetfield even dwarfs Slash as far as popularity goes. It's not even a contest.

 

If Gibson got Hetfield it would be their biggest hard rock/metal signature guitar by a HUGE margin.

 

I don't think Gibson realizes the popularity of him and Metallica as I doubt many here do that are not into hard rock/metal.

 

Hetfield and Hammett pretty much are what made ESP when most had never really heard of them before.

 

I also don't think most here realize how many Gibsons Hetfield has. Everyone knows he plays ESP's but he has just as many' date=' if not more, Gibson guitars. His ESP's are given to him for free and he buys his Gibsons plus he has stated many times that having a Gibson Signature guitar is a dream of his.

 

 

The only thing is that Gibson can't expect him to only play Gibsons. He endorses ESP's but that's not all he plays. If that is a issue with Gibson then it would never work and IMO would be stupid for Gibson to even think that.

 

 

 

I can agree with that but some signature guitars are pretty awesome. I agree just buying regular models and having them as your own is a good thing over a guitar that has a jacked up price just because someone else's name on it. Having a signature guitar or 2 that are decently priced isn't bad though IMO. I'd just would never play them at a gig.[/quote']

Hey kids whos james hetfield? "Who?"

Hey kids who slash? "Some famous guitarist."

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