ESP LTD KH25 Kirk Hammett Electric Guitar
Ride the lightning of active humbucker tone with this signature ESP.
Overall User Ratings (based on 2 ratings)
Submitted September 26, 2012 by Branden R in Pittsburgh, PA
"Updated review after using the guitar for two months"
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zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
The neck, sad to say, was twisted badly upon arrival and caused me a lot of grief and wasted money. Swapped strings for heavier gauge ones and had the guitar shop adjust the bridge and truss rod to stop the massive amounts of fret buzz. The shop thought I had floating frets - or "Epiphone-itis" as they called it - but it turned out that the entire neck was warped.
ESP USA support is just awesome. zZounds told me to call them because it went past the 30-days for returning it, so I did. They are completely replacing the neck and are getting the guitar in perfect working order as I write this, and have been in communication with me throughout the whole process. All free, of course, because it's so early that nothing I did would have caused this amount of problems. I just got a bad guitar, sad to report, but they are fixing it and making it right.
Unfortunately, per the above, though the support rating will go up, the quality rating is going down. Bolt-on neck for an anniversary edition of a famous guitar player? Made in Vietnam? I'm so glad ESP is standing behind their product, but if the quality were better for $600, this wouldn't have been an issue. I'm hoping I don't have more issues with the guitar at this point, but I'm not holding my breath and am already saving my pennies to buy a Gibson Les Paul. Not that Gibson can't make a bad guitar, but I think a guitar made in the USA is a much better prospect for higher quality.
I have an old Ibanez that I bought 13 years ago for $200 and it still plays well and functions as my backup. How can a new $600 guitar 13 years later end up much worse? And it's a special model. Bums me out, but oh well, lessons learned.
So I'm adjusting my star ratings after two months of barely being able to play the guitar due to the immense quality issues. The Features, Ease of Use, Sound (the pick-ups just rock hard on my Randall RT100H tube head with Dime cabinet), Manufacturer Support, and Wow Factor all get 5-star because it deserves that score in each of those categories. But value, quality, and overall suffer a bit as a result of experience.
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Submitted July 23, 2012 by Branden Robertson in West Newton, PA
"My first guitar purchase in over twelve years..."
Verified Customer
zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
...and the ESP LTD KH25 signature series anniversary edition was priced perfectly for my budget for the quality I was looking for.
I've always been into the guitar, but was kinda forced to learn piano instead as a child/teen. Having said that, the piano is an amazing segway instrument for the guitar, and the theory and fingerings I learned on the piano help tremendously.
This guitar's blemished finish is really cool and makes the "Wow" factor truly shine. People really wanna take a look, and since Kirk is so well known even among Christians - hey, good guitar talent is good guitar talent even if you don't agree with the messages in the songs - the guitar is an eye-catcher.
With its classic stratocaster-style solid body, it's easy to hold and play. The locking Floyd Rose tremolo helps keep the guitar in tune and is a feature not usually seen on a guitar priced this well.
I am very pleased with this purchase and the guitar looks, feels, and plays wonderfully given my lack of experience overall. I am looking forward to putting countless hours into building my skill on a guitar made famous by one of my favorite players of all time.
Sound
The EMG active pick-ups definitely make mince-meat of my Roland Micro-Cube amp. The sound quality change between my ESP KH25 and my old Ibanez GTO20 was instantly noticeable. Huge gains all across the sound spectrum and no buzzing in the speaker.
Features
The jumbo frets and locking neck are big features that make the guitar easier to play and easier to keep in tune, respectively. The EMG active pick-ups make monster clean sound, too, powered by a single 9V battery. I wish it had neck-through construction, but sadly with this price point, something had to be sacrificed. Still, that's splitting hairs at this point. The guitar feels, plays, and sounds great!
Ease of Use
Very easy. One volume knob for the neck pick-up, one for the bridge pick-up, and a tone knob. The vibrato bar is easily removed or installed for whatever floats your boat with that function. The locking neck is easily adjusted with the supplied hex wrench.
Quality
Time will tell, but it's ESP, and they have a great reputation for longevity and reliability. So far, it seems like it will last a long time. The guitar is lightweight, but heavy enough to install a sense of durability. I won't be attempting to drop this down any stairs, but since the finish is already distressed, maybe no one would notice!
Value
The value is off the chart, honestly. For less than $600, I have an ESP LTD quality guitar made famous by an amazing guitarist with over 25 years of experience. It looks and sounds beautiful.
Manufacturer Support
N/A
The Wow Factor
Yeah, big wow factor here. The distressed finish and the "Caution: Hot" and "Kirk's Guitar" stickers make this an eye-catcher. The skull and crossbone pearl fret inlays give the guitar an edgy appearance, and the pointed head makes it look like a sword!
Musical Background:
I have played piano and trumpet for about 13-15 years (each) and the guitar off and on for a combined one year (maybe).
Musical Style:
I am into Christian rock (Skillet, Decyfer Down, Matthew West, Casting Crowns, etc.), but have my roots in hard rock and metal.
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