One of only a few bands of ANY genre that are truly household names anywhere in the world. Not much more you can add to that. Basically the first five albums are essential listening. Everybody wants to be James Hetfield. Everybody secretly wouldn't mind being Lars Ulrich either.
A special note about ESP Guitars
Here is a key concept to note: ESP as a Japanese company, generally splits its markets into two- the Japan domestic market, and Export~the rest of the world (USA is a market on its own, but for simplicity will lump in with the rest of the world as being outside Japan). Many casual fans or collectors ignore or have no understanding of this. Actually the JDM market is huge, perhaps larger than the whole rest of world combined. There are many domestic-only models and artists unheard of outside Japan who generate huge domestic sales for ESP. But for some reason, especially in the 90s to 00s, JDM vs Export versions of the same model would have some slight differences in name, specifications, markings, COAs, etc. Not to knock export; if you could find a mid-90s EXP it is a solid guitar, but was priced cheaper and with seemingly lesser specs to a comparable MX250 which was only available in Japan. Don't ask me why, (potential litigation is one but not the only reason) but JDM products were generally more true to the artists' vision. There were like 3 Alexi Laiho models for the rest of the world and like 6 for Japan. They were even shaped slightly different. Even the Custom Shop had different tiers! All very confusing for the average buyer. However, this also cuts both ways. There are many special runs or one-offs that were ordered for the US and other markets, which are highly desirable anywhere. For example, not many people realize that the JH-1 and JH-2 were created primarily for the export market. They aren't even in the Japanese catalogs of that era! Of course a small 'official' number would have been allocated to the huge Japanese market, but the specs weren't typical of what the Japanese fans were used to. What is a JH-2 but an EXP with a metal plate slapped on it and fancier tuners? They probably weren't expecting to sell that many at the time, but if they did.. are they truly strictly limited to 100 or 200... across all markets? I can't answer for their business model, but I will say this, having been to Japan many many times over the years, with their roots primarily as a Custom Shop, and their business being to sell guitars, don't be surprised to see something that you never expected, that will question your 'knowledge', when you walk down the guitar street in Tokyo.
Metallica has everything to do with the popularity of this brand, but I doubt even they could have predicted the massive explosion of interest into the minutiae of their ESP guitars. Perhaps the only equivalent rival in terms of fan interest for their 'signature gear' would be Slash or Eddie Van Halen. As recent as say five years ago, nobody outside of hardcore guitar nerds were referring to an ESP Explorer as an MX250 (Japanese designation). Not even Metallica themselves. Now the parlance has solidly entered the mainstream vernacular. Metallica's publicity dept even refers to 'MX250' in their online content, since apparently 'Explorer' will not suffice. There are roadshows and exhibitions dedicated to their instruments. In other words, in recent years fans have really come to care about this shit, and the suits at ESP and Metallica have started to take notice.
Metallica has everything to do with the popularity of this brand, but I doubt even they could have predicted the massive explosion of interest into the minutiae of their ESP guitars. Perhaps the only equivalent rival in terms of fan interest for their 'signature gear' would be Slash or Eddie Van Halen. As recent as say five years ago, nobody outside of hardcore guitar nerds were referring to an ESP Explorer as an MX250 (Japanese designation). Not even Metallica themselves. Now the parlance has solidly entered the mainstream vernacular. Metallica's publicity dept even refers to 'MX250' in their online content, since apparently 'Explorer' will not suffice. There are roadshows and exhibitions dedicated to their instruments. In other words, in recent years fans have really come to care about this shit, and the suits at ESP and Metallica have started to take notice.
ESP Man to Wolf Explorer 1992
The history of this model is shrouded in legend and rumour. Since owning one for close to 10 years, this guitar has left my possession. Out of respect for the new owner's privacy I shall not be revealing private details of this particular guitar. To my knowledge there are only a handful that have surfaced publicly. Back in 1991-92, when James was using this guitar extensively on the Roam tour, ESP in Japan made a special limited run of these guitars called the Metallica MX-Special. As you can see in the original ad that I found and display below, it was advertised for sale at 300,000yen. Not many were made/sold before being pulled hence their extreme scarcity.
Of the legitimate ESPs that were made, the original run has extremely fine inlays. A high watermark of ESP craftsmanship in my opinion. There also exists at least one other custom order that was made much later, which under scutiny has less detailed inlays, in fact merely an approximation of the original.
Of the legitimate ESPs that were made, the original run has extremely fine inlays. A high watermark of ESP craftsmanship in my opinion. There also exists at least one other custom order that was made much later, which under scutiny has less detailed inlays, in fact merely an approximation of the original.
ESP Explorer MX220 1988 dot inlays
The infamous "Fuk Em Up" guitar, which straddles the period between AJFA and the Black album, used on the Damaged Justice tour & prominent gigs at the Marquee and 100 Club, appears in the "Year and a Half" docu-video, and was present during the Black album recording sessions, is not as noticeable as the "Eet Fuk" or Man To Wolf and commonly mistaken for an MX250.
Yet it is a million times harder to find than an MX250 because this is from an early period when they were somewhat famous but not quite the megastars of the 90s yet. Indeed unless your last name happens to be Hetfield or Rock ... chances are you have never come across one.
Yet it is a million times harder to find than an MX250 because this is from an early period when they were somewhat famous but not quite the megastars of the 90s yet. Indeed unless your last name happens to be Hetfield or Rock ... chances are you have never come across one.
Often sloppily described as "black", even in the Messengers book... and Eric Peterson has a copycat one... hehe no not really, they were actually quite popular back in the day with many other metal guitarists (thanks to James' influence of course)
ESP Explorer MX220 1989 middle finger inlays
Here is the MX-220, crudely nicknamed the 'Eet Fuk' Explorer, of which 30-40 are thought to have been made until discontinued. Though that is hearsay. Judging from the years that it was in production and the regularity with which I have seen examples pop up, I personally would estimate closer to 100 in existence. Just a guess- and still not very good odds for you to snag one by chance.
This is a well-known and adored guitar; more or less the holy grail to guitar-playing Metallica fans, the image of Jaymz lashing out the action on his Eet Fuk with broken headstock imprinted as if through a crash course in brain surgery in many a headbanger's brain, indeed turned into obsession. As seen all over the Live Shit video and pictures from the Justice era. Given its ultra-popularity with the fans, innumerable Chinese or Eastern European-made fakes abound, while the battered original is displayed alongside the Man To Wolf at exhibitions, or otherwise kept under lock & key as a significant part of Metallica history. The hysteria has extended to people demanding silly money for even damaged or refinished examples.
When you see certain wannabe individuals spam social media with dozens of embarassing posts of the same thing, and flood auction sites with the item at overinflated prices just to gain i don't know, some kind of credit or fame, honestly, now you can understand why Hetfield didn't want his designs being sold to the general public don't you!
Now I shall be the custodian of this rare example in unbelievably clean, well-preserved condition (with plastic still on the control cavity cover).
This is a well-known and adored guitar; more or less the holy grail to guitar-playing Metallica fans, the image of Jaymz lashing out the action on his Eet Fuk with broken headstock imprinted as if through a crash course in brain surgery in many a headbanger's brain, indeed turned into obsession. As seen all over the Live Shit video and pictures from the Justice era. Given its ultra-popularity with the fans, innumerable Chinese or Eastern European-made fakes abound, while the battered original is displayed alongside the Man To Wolf at exhibitions, or otherwise kept under lock & key as a significant part of Metallica history. The hysteria has extended to people demanding silly money for even damaged or refinished examples.
When you see certain wannabe individuals spam social media with dozens of embarassing posts of the same thing, and flood auction sites with the item at overinflated prices just to gain i don't know, some kind of credit or fame, honestly, now you can understand why Hetfield didn't want his designs being sold to the general public don't you!
Now I shall be the custodian of this rare example in unbelievably clean, well-preserved condition (with plastic still on the control cavity cover).
ESP custom Explorer MX250 1993
ESP Explorers from Japan aka 'lawsuit model', were discontinued due to a lawsuit from Gibson guitars and are still very much sought after for their association with James Hetfield. As they unfortunately cannot be sold outside of Japan anymore, and the relatively few that they made sold for high prices even in the day (new about US$2000 in 1990, about $5500 today) you would need deep pockets and some luck to obtain one in good condition, though the advent of ebay has made things much easier today. Although a certain design spec sheet exists for the MX, as a custom shop ESP did and still do produce one-offs with slight variations from the norm. By now you would have seen many MXs surface online with very slight differences. I have owned a few different variations over a decade, black, white, or natural, and old to recent. I prefer the older ones, as they seem to have a thinner finish resulting in a more weathered appearance, but I do believe you can't really go wrong with a real MX, new or old.
Shown here are 2 early 1990s original MX250s from the Black Album era, black with classic style truss rod cover, and white one with rosewood board. Hetfield's aged white MX220 can be seen in the video for "Nothing Else Matters" and in the Some Kind of Monster documentary (or youtube= Metallica Kimo's gig). White 'Papa Het' MX250 seemed to be used pretty regularly in the late 2000s.
Shown here are 2 early 1990s original MX250s from the Black Album era, black with classic style truss rod cover, and white one with rosewood board. Hetfield's aged white MX220 can be seen in the video for "Nothing Else Matters" and in the Some Kind of Monster documentary (or youtube= Metallica Kimo's gig). White 'Papa Het' MX250 seemed to be used pretty regularly in the late 2000s.
It's important to remember the "MX250" shape was not exclusive to James Hetfield as several other artists were using it at the time, including Bruce Kulick who was also a big user of ESP guitars in the late 80s and early 90s and had at least a few ESP Explorers, black or white, with or without pickguard. Here you can see one with a definitively MX250 shape with rosewood fingerboard, with the classic truss rod cover as well.
ESP -EXP
Signature model for overseas markets. Because they are bolt-on and with rosewood fingerboard they are wrongly seen as the poorer cousin of the Japan market MX250s. The truth is, they are built to the same excellent standard as the MX250s except that they were marketed a little cheaper in the export market to differentiate from the premium Japan domestic offering. Ebony is slightly more costly and looks great but really doesn't sound as good compared to rosewood. All of James' early MX220 guitars were rosewood. And what is the JH-1 and JH-2 if not some of the most desirable models, with rosewood. In fact over the years he could also be seen live using MXs (they might even possibly be EXPs) with fretboards that are clearly rosewood. So don't be the one going around knocking something based on pre-conceived notions or ignorant reasoning. Or maybe do; if you ever see any rosewood MX250s somewhere you can leave those for me!
ESP JH-1
signature model limited to 200 pcs released in 1997. Interesting harpoon style headstock. Ninja star inlay that was introduced during the Load album era. I remember that this guitar divided opinion when it was first released. Much like the Load album and the band's dramatic reinvention. It was perhaps seen as a bit gaudy, coming off of the all-black imagery of the Black album and being a bolt-on guitar, people weren't too impressed. I remember even in the mid-2000s this guitar could still be bought used for $1500. "Bah..it's just a bolt-on guitar...I don't really fancy a V... I couldn't be seen in public with something like that..." Lol! You've probably read or heard people making statements like that. Where are they now
ESP JH-2
signature model limited to 200 pcs released in 1998. Diamond plate front, first fret inlaid with the 90s Metallica 'ninja star', and Sperzel tuners. I suspect these would have been based off of his black diamond plate Explorer with Elk Skull inlays, and another one with Chrome diamond plate. He also uses a couple of actual JH-2s. This guitar just screams late-90s Metallica. You won't be able to resist playing 'Fuel' and 'Bleeding Me' or something like that, and it sure as hell will nail the tone. You might suspect a guitar capped with a piece of metal would sound like ass, but in fact the tone is big and meaty.
ESP MM-270 'Zorlac' 1990
The infamous Zorlac as used on the "Damaged Justice" tour, with the lawsuit Jackson-style headstock, and vertical skull inlays. With ESP Sinclair trem. The clear Zorlac sticker from 1988 was obtained at great expense!
ESP KH-3 bolt-on, lawsuit
1994 KH-3 bolt-on version. This guitar may not seem particularly rare, except that it has the correct shape. The original built for Kirk was clearly based off a Gibson Les Paul Special or more specifically the Melody Maker type silhouette, i.e. flat top with rounded lower horn, and narrow, open book headstock. As has often been the case with ESP they then had to modify the shape to a sharp cutaway and rounded headstock to avoid a potential lawsuit. Therefore only those few made in the early stages of production are of the correct shape. Later revisions of the KH-3 description tries to gloss over this by referring to it as an Eclipse-style body. But that is incorrect as well because an Eclipse has a carved top. That is simply trying to hide the fact that they can't sell the actual body shape that Kirk used and did continue using well into the 2000s, while still calling it a 'KH-3'. However the neck-thru and correct shape was still available in domestic Japan over the years. In fact for so many years they weren't even known as 'KH-3' in Japan, but in their catalogs as MS-290. I'm very sorry to say, it was not all that difficult to get, for somebody who was determined; it would only have been expensive. So if you paid a huge amount of money outside of Japan for whatever Custom Shop neck-thru but with the incorrect shape or even worse, the so-called '30th anniversary' reissue, then... *shrug*
There's certainly nothing wrong with variations in spec of the same model, in fact it is common especially for ESP, and some changes may be seen as improvements, for example new pickups, better construction, hardware, etc. so , but the actual shape of the guitar? How about if they reissued the "JH-2 anniversary edition" tomorrow, but with the EX shape?
There's certainly nothing wrong with variations in spec of the same model, in fact it is common especially for ESP, and some changes may be seen as improvements, for example new pickups, better construction, hardware, etc. so , but the actual shape of the guitar? How about if they reissued the "JH-2 anniversary edition" tomorrow, but with the EX shape?
Aria Pro II SB1000-CB
Made in Japan, not the SB-CB made in Korea.
Aria was making these unofficial tribute models for a short time before they ordered to stop by the Burton family and thereafter releasing the much more expensive 'official' Cliff Burton SB Black & Gold model.
This combines features of 2 main Aria basses that Cliff was known to use; SB1000 and SB Black & Gold.
So it has the active BB switching circuit plus the cats eye inlays of the black & gold.
Aria was making these unofficial tribute models for a short time before they ordered to stop by the Burton family and thereafter releasing the much more expensive 'official' Cliff Burton SB Black & Gold model.
This combines features of 2 main Aria basses that Cliff was known to use; SB1000 and SB Black & Gold.
So it has the active BB switching circuit plus the cats eye inlays of the black & gold.
Alembic Persuader 1985
Probably not the first player bass purists think about when the topic of Alembic basses come up, but Jason Newsted certainly had a few and no doubt helped popularise them (especially solid black ones) amongst the metal elite. He used Alembic basses pretty much exclusively from 88-93 onstage and in studio. Less known is that Cliff Burton also played a black Spoiler bass for a time before he switched to the Aria Pro basses.
