Great news in the guitar world this week is that Gibson Custom Shop has announced the Murphy Lab Kirk Hammett 1989 Les Paul Custom. The not so good news is that there are only 125 pieces being made and only one set aside for Australia, which you can acquire if you have a spare nineteen grand laying around!
To fans of metal, Kirk Hammett needs no introduction. Long-time fans will also no doubt be familiar with his “blacked-out” 1989 Gibson Les Paul™ Custom, which he has used on numerous Metallica albums and tours. Now the Gibson Custom Shop has recreated this renowned guitar in exquisite detail. Like the original, the Kirk Hammett 1989 Les Paul Custom features all-black hardware, and per Kirk’s wishes, it comes equipped with uncovered T-Type pickups, along with a Fishman® Powerbridge piezo bridge pickup system with a Fishman Powerchip preamp and volume control that bring simulated full-bodied acoustic tone to this versatile Les Paul Custom. Artfully aged by the Murphy Lab to match the look and feel of Kirk’s original 1989 Les Paul Custom, it is a fitting tribute to a metal guitar master and one of his favourite instruments.
“This black 1989 Les Paul Custom is actually the first Les Paul I ever played live on stage and on tour,” says Kirk Hammett. “I got it when we were on the …And Justice For All tour, specifically for “Fade To Black” because I really wanted that big, fat, creamy Les Paul sound for the intro. I loved how fast the neck was and after my tech modified a bunch of the hardware, making it ‘none more black,’ it ended up being a great live metal guitar. It’s a very dependable and reliable guitar, and I’ve used it for decades. I hope you all will enjoy it as much as I did!”
METALLICA.COM | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM
Gibson: GIBSON.COM | X | IG | FB | GIBSON APP | GIBSON GARAGE | GIBSON TV
Gibson distributed in Australia by Australis Music Group