Description

Handcrafted one by one at the ESP Custom Shop in Japan, the James Hetfield ESP Signature Series Snakebyte features set-neck construction at 24.75″ scale with a mahogany body, a thin U-shaped single-piece mahogany neck, ebony fingerboard, and 22 extra-jumbo frets. This guitar includes premier components such as a bone nut, ESP Strap Locks, Sperzel locking tuners, and a TonePros locking TOM bridge and tailpiece, as well as James’ own EMG JH SET active pickups. The Snakebyte Camo is based on a camouflage pattern created by high-performance hunting gear manufacturer KUIU, a design chosen by Hetfield. The ESP Snakebyte Camo includes a matching hardshell case and comes with a Certificate of Authenticity from ESP. A portion of the proceeds from each Snakebyte Camo goes to Metallica’s All Within My Hands Foundation, a non-profit, philanthropic organization dedicated to creating sustainable communities by supporting workforce education, the fight against hunger, and other critical local services.

EMG JH “HET” SET:
In early 2009, James Hetfield contacted EMG Pickups president Rob Turner and presented him with a challenge: to create a “stealth” looking set that captures the clarity and punch of a passive pickup and still retains the legendary active tone that molded a generation.

The JH “HET” Set consists of the JH-N (neck) and the JH-B (bridge). Both were patterned after the pickups James had used for 30 years, but the end result was a completely different animal. The JH-N has individual ceramic poles and bobbins that feature a larger core and are taller than the 60. This produces more attack, higher output, and fuller low end in the neck position. The JH-B uses the same type of core but has steel pole pieces, unlike the 81 that uses bar magnets. This produces the familiar tight attack with less inductance for a cleaner low end.

ABOUT ESP:
ESP Company, Limited is a Japanese guitar manufacturer, primarily focused on the production of electric guitars and basses. They are based in both Tokyo, Japan and Los Angeles, California, United States, with two distinct product lines for each respective market. ESP Company manufactures instruments under several names, including “ESP Standard”, “ESP Custom Shop”, “LTD Guitars and Basses”, “Navigator”, “Edwards Guitar and Basses”, and “Grassroots”. www.espguitars.com