ESP Signature Series James Hetfield Iron Cross Snow White

General

The ESP Iron Cross Signature is a strong contender for the position of ESP's ultimate metal guitar. It was based on the ESP Eclipse and fully modified to comply with the wishes of the riff master himself. This ESP is made completely in Japan. It is equipped with high-quality Sperzel Locking Tuners, a Tonepros bridge and Schaller security strap locks. What's more, the wood for these guitars is carefully selected. Both the manufacturing process and the final product are minutely monitored and inspected, resulting a guitar that is fit for a proper stage performance by James Hetfield himself.

Construction

The ESP Iron Cross is modelled after the ESP Eclipse, a guitar with a single-cutaway, a mahogany body and neck as well as an arched maple top. This classic composition ensures a full, deep sound and plenty of bite. Naturally, the neck is set into the body for better tonal transference and lengthier sustain. The neck of this guitar features 22 frets on an ebony fretboard with beautiful ESP flag inlays to mark the positions and an Iron Cross at the 12th fret. Naturally, it is equipped with EMG pickups.

EMG JH

EMG owes Metallica just as much as Metallica owes EMG. It was about 1989 that Metallica permanently got on the EMG bandwagon, and as they rose to fame, so did EMG's active pickups. These active pickups keep their definition even at the most distorted high gain, which is an important factor for tight staccato rhythm playing. EMG never stopped developing their pickups, ridding them of the shortcomings of the earlier models. The EMG JH HET set produces the active tone you're used to from EMG and adds the clarity, punch and warmth of passive pickups.