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ESP LTD Kirk Hammett Signature KH-602 - Black

Solidbody Electric Guitar with Alder Body, Maple Neck, Ebony Fingerboard, 2 Humbucking Pickups, and Vibrato - Black
$1,399.00

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ESP LTD Kirk Hammett Signature KH-602 - Black
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Shred Like a Pro

The ESP LTD KH-602 solidbody electric guitar means business. Metallica axeman Kirk Hammett's signature guitar gives you a comfortable contoured alder body that fits you like a glove, while the speedy maple neck and smooth bound ebony fingerboard pave the way for extremely fast fretting. The guitar's neck-through-body design delivers sustain for weeks, while dual EMG active humbuckers dish out a massive arsenal of tone and a Floyd Rose bridge serves up the vibe. Shred with a guitar that oozes quality, tone, and playability: the ESP LTD KH-602.

ESP Signature Series guitars deliver the goods

Working closely with the influential guitar slingers in their roster, ESP has built an impressive collection of artist signature instruments. From James Hetfield to Jeff Hanneman, these are the who's who of rock and metal guitardom - and their signature axes sport the personalized features and specs that make them unique. ESP's Signature Series is all about tone and playability - and because they're members of ESP's affordable LTD Series, these guitars offer incredible value. Try an ESP Signature Series solidbody electric guitar. You'll be amazed.

ESP LTD - the perfect guitar for rock or metal

ESP LTD guitars were created to bring a more affordable version of the classic designs and quality of ESP guitars to a new market. The entire ESP LTD line of instruments features premium tonewoods, quality pickups, and solid hardware for a lifetime of use. An exacting eye for detail and quality means that every instrument is ready to rock when it leaves the factory. An impressive list of signature guitars by some of today's biggest guitar heroes shows the popularity and respect held by ESP LTD. If you're looking for the perfect rock or metal guitar, then you need to check out ESP LTD guitars.

ESP LTD KH-602 Solidbody Electric Guitar Features:

  • Neck-through-body construction; 25.5-inch scale length
  • Deeply contoured alder body with double cutaway
  • Maple neck with extra thin U-shaped neck; bound ebony fingerboard
  • 1.614-inch locking nut; 24 extra-jumbo frets
  • Black hardware; ESP tuners
  • Floyd Rose 1000 vibrato bridge
  • Active EMG Kirk Hammett Bone Breaker humbucking pickups

Why Buy Your Guitar from Sweetwater?

See how Sweetwater goes to great lengths to give you the very best online guitar buying experience. From our online Guitar Gallery that allows you to see and select the exact instrument you want to our 55-point Inspection process and our in-house guitar techs, we take the guesswork out of buying your next guitar online.

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Tech Specs

  • General
  • Number of Strings 6
  • Left-/Right-handed Right-handed
  • Body
  • Body Type Solidbody
  • Body Shape Signature
  • Body Material Alder
  • Body Finish Gloss Polyurethane
  • Color Black
  • Neck
  • Neck Material 3-piece Maple
  • Neck Shape Extra Thin U
  • Neck Joint Neck-through
  • Radius 13.7"
  • Fingerboard Material Macassar Ebony
  • Fingerboard Inlay Skull and Crossbones
  • Number of Frets 24, Extra Jumbo
  • Scale Length 25.5"
  • Nut Width 1.653"
  • Nut Material Locking
  • Hardware
  • Bridge/Tailpiece Floyd Rose 1000 Locking Tremolo
  • Tuners LTD
  • Electronics
  • Neck Pickup EMG Bone Breaker Active Humbucker
  • Bridge Pickup EMG Bone Breaker Active Humbucker
  • Controls 2 x volume, 1 x master tone
  • Switching 3-way blade pickup switch
  • Miscellaneous
  • Strings D'Addario, .009-.042
  • Case/Gig Bag Hardshell Case
  • Manufacturer Part Number: LKH602

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Customer Reviews

Write your review
Rated 5/5

HIGH-QUALITY INSTRUMENT!

I purchased this ESP/LTD KH-602 guitar a few months back from Sweetwater. This is by far the best guitar I've ever played. My personal favorite from the feel and the look of it. It's perfect! It's a dream guitar. It looks so cool in person being all blacked-out. The EMG Bonebreakers sound so good too!
Although it is made in Indonesia and not Korea this is an extremely well-made high-quality instrument where they cut no corners making it. It's a beautiful guitar that feels easily like a 3,000 + instrument. The skull and cross bones look way better in person and not cheesy or childish like I thought. They're quite cathartic and relaxing to look down at. They all have their own personality.
The weight of the guitar is spot on too, nice and heavy but not too heavy. The fret work is amazing as well. ESP/LTD is a brand that seriously cares about what they are putting out these days in terms of quality work. You can tell they are passionate and truly care about their instruments.

I will love this guitar forever and there's a good reason why Kirk's has been playing these guitars since 1987.

Customer service was spot on! Zac Terhune was kind enough to help me pick out the right guitar with the right weight. I got lucky with a Halloween serial number too. By far the best customer service experience out of any business I've ever experienced. The shipping was 2 or 3 days and was double boxed. Comes with a super nice case too.
Rated 5/5

Kh602 a Great Guitar

Great quality , Fantastic finish , plays like a dream
And sounds amazing !!! The guitar arrived flawless needed very little setup . Can't go wrong with this if your into hard metal…
Music background: Semi Pro
Rated 5/5

Freakin Awesome Guitar!

First off, I want to give a shout out to Josh for helping with his knowledge about A# drop tuning. I wasn't sure if I needed a baritone guitar or could down to a regular guitar that far. Josh told me many guitarists just use regular guitars for drop A#. Josh recommended to use a reverse head stock so the big 62 string would have the most length it could. I found this guitar and what a great guitar. The guitar is perfect, the inspectors did a great job. Huge thanks to the Luthier Fitz, who set the guitar up in A#! Perfectly done!! I was worried the tremolo would be an issue with that big 62 string, but Fitz has it laying perfectly flat with perfect action and intonation! The case is well made and looks great. The guitar looks awesome with the skull and cross bones. Sounds mean and nasty tuned down. No buzzing of strings. Feels sweet to play! 100% satisfied and worth the money! Thanks, everyone!
Rated 5/5

The Last Guitar You'll Ever Need

I've played some KH 602s at guitar centers before, so I already know just how amazing the specs were. I didn't going round buying one until now, since I finally had the money to do it.
Regarding the Guitar:
Holding it in your hands, you can really feel the quality that went into this model. I was a bit skeptical about buying the Demo version, not just because it was a bit scratched but also because it was an Indonesian model as opposed to a Korean one. However, compared to the Korean ones I've played before, this one definitely feels a lot better. Got mine with a Pau Ferro board I believe, could definitely pass as ebony based on how dark it is! From Top to Bottom: The headstock on this guitar is iconic. Might not be Grover tuning pegs but personally, I wouldn't see why anyone would care about what machine heads come on a Floyd-Rose equipped guitar. Headstock was clean, smooth finish. Excellent logo/decal and signature. String retainer looks clean. The Locking nut is about as clean as it gets. Moving down, the most noticeable aspect of this guitar has to be its ultra thin neck. As someone who has played with chunkier "C" shaped necks for the most part, it feels like they chopped off all that was slowing you down in your soloing. This is probably the fastest and most comfortable neck I've ever experienced. Doesn't mean you cant grip it well, though. Chording is incredibly comfortable and easy as well. Excellent finish on the neck, smooth. Most people don't like the gloss but I feel like its a nice touch, and something that can easily be tamed with the rough side of a sponge. The fretboard is perfectly put on the neck. Beautiful grain, side dots on point. One thing I thought that was gunna be really gimmicky at first were the skull inlays, but once I got to really examine them, I noticed that they're actually pretty **** cool. The first inlay on mine has the tiniest of chips on it, but I don't really mind. As for the frets... 24 beautiful XJ frets across the entire fretboard. Played up and down the neck and every single one of the frets feels amazing to play, bend, chord, etc. Very clean, beautiful, and easy frets to play on. Not a single sharp end. Fretboard looks well hydrated, once again clean and beautiful grain. As for the strings, Sweetwater did an excellent job with the setup (more on that in a bit). As you get closer to the body you notice just how accessible every single fret of this instrument is. The cutaway on the back lets you fret even the Low E string at the 24th with ease. Probably one of the most amazing necks of all time, really. The body shape is iconic. Not too thick (It is a very light guitar), the backplates were clean (always fun to take off the plastic hehe) and the comfort curve hones back to my Stratocaster days. EMG Bonebreaker pickups are clean, great sounding aswell. People like to trash on EMGs for being too compress or loud, but running it through a clean channel on BIAS FX 2 shows me that the neck, middle, and bridge all sound beyond beautiful clean. One thing youll notice, especially playing acoustically or clean, would be the insane sustain of this guitar. The neck-through design really shows itself through the sustain. Electronics feel clean, incredibly smooth and easy to use. Switch has no resistance, knobs are smooth and clean, etc. This is my first time having a Floyd Rose, but from what I've heard, the 1000 is a solid bridge. Very interesting bridge, so far stays in tune very well, especially after some crazy dives (you'll be doing this a lot trust me!). From top to bottom, this guitar is a gem. $ will get you a lifelong guitar worthy of practice or of being in the studio. Definitely a keeper here. An added bonus is the case. Beautiful beautiful case. Awesome ESP logo, leather-bound and beautiful inside. My only real complaint about it is the grey color, I wish it was Red or Purple. But hey, beggars can't be choosers.

Regarding Sweetwater:
This is actually my first time buying a guitar from Sweetwater. I've bought little accessories here and there from this company, and I've definitely always had a good experience with them. I was really skeptical about buying this guitar from any other store, ESPECIALLY guitar center, since the "brand new" ones that I've seen there always seemed like they were played by 1000 hands (which... they probably were...). Shaun Yingling and his awesome team made the process as smooth and easy for me as possible. As a teenager, I unfortunately had a limit on my debit card when paying. However Shaun and his team contacted me as quickly as possible and helped me solve the problem. The options to pay were great, and the option to buy the demo model was awesome. I saved $, and I honestly probably couldn't tell the difference between a brand new one and this demo one. Overall, Sweetwater made the process as smooth and enjoyable as possible. The best part always is getting to eat the little candies they send you!

Overall, Awesome guitar and Awesome service! Thank you!
Rated 5/5

Bang your head with this guitar!

This is a headbanging metal machine. It Is easily a $2000 guitar for a great price. Brian Hughes is the man! Very knowledgeable, helpful & gets your gear to you quickly & just like he says it will be. Brian & Sweetwater are the only people I do business with. Thanks guys for a rocking guitar.
Music background: Hard rock / 80s metal Ozzy, Metallica, Motley Crue
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