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MusicRadar

Entertainment

Amit Sharma

"If you’re hoping to dial in the same kind of tones as the world’s biggest metal band and wield a guitar that will turn heads wherever you may roam, look no further": ESP LTD Vulture James Hetfield Signature review

James Hetfield Ltd ESP Metallica

ESP LTD Vulture James Hetfield Signature: What is it?

You could say it’s been a bit of a big 12-months for Metallica. The thrash innovators unleashed their eleventh studio album, 72 Seasons, to largely rave reviews, with fans delighting in the renewed sense of purpose and passion on songs like Lux Æterna, as well as the symphonic sophistication explored on its opening title track and epic closer Inamorata. This is why ESP have really timed the release of James Hetfield’s latest signature electric guitar so well – it feels like the world has gone mad for Metallica again and with good reason.

That said, this is not a completely brand-new model. The ESP LTD Vulture has been available in Satin Black for some time, but this Olympic White version feels more aesthetically pleasing and, dare we say it, elegant.

It seems to show off the radical cut – the unique hook on the hockey stick headstock and the dramatic wings inspired by the Metallica logo – in a much more obvious way. And that’s not the only special feature here, either, as proudly demonstrated by the custom inlay graphic around the 12th fret and Hetfield’s initials on the truss rod cover.

If you’re a Metallica fan hoping to nail the great man’s tones – from 1983 debut Kill 'Em All through to their most recent work – in theory, this guitar should do the trick better than other options in the same price bracket…

LTD Vulture James Hetfield Signature (Image credit: Future)

ESP LTD Vulture James Hetfield Signature: Performance and verdict

Our review model arrives in tune and well-protected in the fitted case that comes included. On closer inspection, the build quality and finish are as you’d expect with a mid-tier guitar, with no causes for concern whatsoever. And though the action out of the box is perhaps on the high side, this is very easily adjusted by the two screws on each side of the TonePros bridge – a locking version of the Tune-o-matic design closely associated with classic Gibson builds. Coupled with the locking tuners, this makes for a high-performance instrument that will resonate well and hold its tuning/intonation no matter what you throw at it.

Plugged into an American-voiced high-gain amp with 6L6 power tubes, there’s an instantly familiar chug to anything you play on the bridge pickup – particularly if palm mutes are involved, as per Metallica favourites such as Master Of Puppets, Creeping Death and Through The Never. And it comes as no surprise that the EMG JH bridge pickup – a variant of their storied 81 pickup but with steel pole pieces instead of a bar magnet – absolutely roars its way through more open-sounding riffs like Wherever I May Roam, Sad But True and King Nothing.

As for the JH neck pickup – his own customised version of the EMG 60 – it packs no shortage of warmth and sustain, with notes seemingly ringing out to infinity. The three-way pickup selector also has a middle position, which can work well for adding a bit more chime to clean tones when the neck may be lacking in definition, but it’s not really a setting Metallica tend to use.

Watch the thrash metal pioneers in concert and Hetfield will spend the vast majority of the set on his bridge pickup, switching to the neck position only for clean sounds and rare lead moments in songs like Nothing Else Matters and Master Of Puppets. So it would be fair to say the bridge pickup is home for him tonally, though in any case, you can rest assured knowing both of these pickups are exactly the same as the units installed on Papa Het’s own instruments.

As for drawbacks, it probably won’t surprise people that the active EMG pickups sound a bit too compressed for vintage clean tones – and while the JH neck is less extreme and more versatile than something like an EMG 85 – it’s still not going to work too brilliantly for country, low gain blues or surf rock.

Similar things can be said of its visual appeal, as it’s a very striking and modernised take on a Flying V, and therefore more suited to hard rock and metal players than fans of early electric guitar designs. But if you’re hoping to dial in the same kind of tones as the world’s biggest metal band and wield a guitar that will turn heads wherever you may roam, look no further.

MusicRadar verdict: With two humbuckers, one volume and one tone control, this ESP LTD James Hetfield Vulture is simple enough in concept. But on closer inspection, it’s the signature pickups, locking tuners and bridge, custom inlay and, of course, that unforgettable body shape that make it a weapon tailor-made to seek and destroy.