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Independent research by truerecs. Not affiliated with, endorsed or verified by Kirk Hammett. Every item links to its public source.
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What guitar does Kirk Hammett play?

Kirk Hammett uses Greeny, the 1959 Les Paul once owned by Peter Green, and told Guitar World that an Epiphone Greeny is his couch guitar. He has named a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier in his live sound, says Metallica still use their Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ amps, calls a SoloDallas Schaffer Replica EX Tower his secret weapon and has said he uses a Dunlop Dimebag Cry Baby From Hell in the studio.

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What gear Kirk Hammett uses: a sourced gear guide

Independent research by truerecs: every item links to the public source it comes from.

Guitars

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Amps

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Wah and rack

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Records that shaped him

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Questions

About Kirk Hammett's gear.

What guitar does Kirk Hammett play?

His main guitar today is Greeny, the 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard formerly owned by Peter Green and Gary Moore; he told Guitar World he played only Greeny and his ESP Mummy guitar on the latest album. Gibson, Gibson Custom and Epiphone all make Greeny replicas.

What was Kirk Hammett's first ESP?

He told Guitar Player that his original 1988 ESP KH-2 "Skully" was the very first ESP he ever got, and that it was the main guitar on one of Metallica's two touring rigs.

What amps did Kirk Hammett use on 72 Seasons?

Producer Greg Fidelman told Guitar World that Kirk used Friedman heads for rhythms and, for solos, a 100-watt master volume Marshall JMP combined with a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier, plus a 50-watt master volume JMP and an old Kirk Hammett signature Randall head.

What wah pedal does Kirk Hammett use?

He owns around 200 wahs and has two signature Dunlop Cry Babies, but he told Rick Beato that in the studio he always breaks out a Dunlop Dimebag Cry Baby From Hell.

What is Kirk Hammett's secret weapon for tone?

He told Total Guitar it is the SoloDallas Schaffer Replica EX Tower, a replica of the 1970s Schaffer-Vega wireless circuit. "Right on, bro, it's all about the Tower," he said.

What albums influenced Kirk Hammett?

He calls UFO's Force It the record that changed his life and picked UFO's Strangers in the Night, Jeff Beck's Wired and Al Di Meola's Elegant Gypsy for Consequence. He told The Irish Times that Thin Lizzy's Black Rose is one of his all-time favourite albums.

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Kirk Hammett
About this guide · Last checked

Kirk Hammett has been Metallica's lead guitarist since 1983. This guide covers the guitars, amps, wah and rack gear he and producer Greg Fidelman have named in interviews with Guitar World, Guitar Player and MusicRadar, centred on Greeny, the 1959 Les Paul Standard once owned by Peter Green and Gary Moore, plus the records he has named as the ones that shaped him.

truerecs put this guide together from public videos, interviews and posts. Each item says how we know and links to the source. Kirk Hammett didn't write it or choose anything on it. How we source gear guides.

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