LTD KH-602 Kirk Hammett [2002-2017]

LTD is ESP's budget line of guitars. These guitars are made outside of Japan and come with much lower costs than their fully ESP branded brothers. That does not mean these guitars are bad though. They pretty much come with all the same specs that the ESP models have at slightly lower fit and finish. Many ESP artists play LTD guitars because they find them perfectly acceptable and easier to replace if damaged. This is the LTD version of the KH-2 Kirk Hammett signature. This guitar pretty much has the same specs as that fully ESP version at like half the price. With this guitar you get an alder body with a neck through maple neck. The neck is 24 frets with a rosewood fretboard with pirate skull and crossbone inlays. You have a reverse headstock up top with the LTD logo and a locking nut for the Floyd Rose bridge. The pickups are a set of active EMG's. The pickups in this guitar are an 81 in the bridge and a 60 in the neck. This is pretty cool because Hammett uses an 81 in the neck on his personal guitars but the 60 in the neck is much more versatile. The controls are two volume knobs and a master tone knob with a 3 way blade switch.

UTILIZATION

This guitar plays great because it is based off of ESP's classic M-II model. The neck though construction means you get no neck joint heel to get in the way. The neck is nice and thin and the fretboard has a pretty flat profile. The frets are huge so you can get a low action and play pretty fast. The Floyd Rose is of a decent quality. once it is setup it stays in tune pretty well. If you do not know how to set one up I would recommend having a pro set it up because you can really mess up your guitar if you start messing with random things on the bridge. ESP is nice and gives you a seperate battery compartment for the active EMG pickups. Some guitars make you have to open up the entire control cavity to get to the battery. On this guitar you can change batteries on the fly.

SOUNDS

The 81 60 set is a classic EMG set along with the Zakk Wylde set. It has a more versatile sound than the Zakk Wylde set. This guitar has the active EMG 81 in the bridge and the 60 in the neck. The 81 in the bridge is a classic setup. It has a nice high gain crucnh to it and with a razor sharp top end. It has a bit of a scooped sound. The 60 in the neck compliments the 81 well. The 81 is kind of limited because it does not clean up well. It has so much output and top end even rolling off the volume it does not get a good clean tone. The 60 is all clean tone pretty much. It has a smoother tone and a lot less output than the 81 in the bridge. So with the 81 and the 60 you get the best of both high gain crunch and cool clean tones. If you are looking for even more versatility you can do the 18v mod. This is when you run the pickups on two batteries instead of one and in turn you get a much more organic sound and more headroom overall.

OVERALL OPINION

This is a great alternative to the KH-2. You get all the same hardware and the same specs for less than a thousand USD. I just done like the inlays. They stand out and pretty much make this guitar for Metallica fans only. I hate when guitar companies make signature models with silly logos on them that pretty much make them for fans of the artist only. This guitar is a good guitar overall but most people would rather just have plain inlays. If you are a Kirk fan and want a great guitar with Kirks Inlays this is a good option.

The ESP LTD KH-602 is the higher model LTD version of the Kirk Hammett signature KH-2 guitar. The KH-2 is one of the most well known signature models that ESP offers, so it's no surprise that they'd offer a budget model for those who can't afford the actual KH-2. The guitar features an alder body with a neck-thru maple neck and rosewood fretboard, the special skull and crossbones inlays with a special 24th fret inlay, 24 extra jumbo frets, a floyd rose 1000 bridge, EMG pickups, two volumes, one tone and a three way switch.

UTILIZATION

These guitars are generally pretty good. They're not quite up to par with the KH-2, but they don't do a bad job considering how much cheaper they are. The fretwork can be hit or miss, but it's generally pretty good. The biggest thing to watch out for is unleveled frets. The ends are generally nicely beleved and won't cut your hands, but proper fret leveling is an art that takes time, and these guitars don't have the time put into them that the signature ESP guitars do. The floyd rose on this isn't an OFR, but it's still a great floyd rose that seems to stay in tune unlike some certain other bridges out there.

SOUNDS

The sound is generally pretty good. The EMG 81 in the bridge delivers a great, aggressive metal tone that works wonderfully for those super tight, staccato riffs. It's one of my favorite EMGs in the bridge thanks to the harmonics and the pure cutting power. The EMG 60 in the neck is a newer edition as he used to run the 81 in the neck for the longest time. The 60 delivers a more single coil-esque style tone, and it's more fitting for clean tones, in my opinion. I prefer the 85 in the bridge, and thanks to the EMG quick disconnects, it's super easy to swap them out.

OVERALL OPINION

If you can't afford a KH-2, this is a great guitar to look into. It's nearly on par with the signature series guitar but at a fraction of the cost. The biggest thing to look out for would be the fretwork and making sure the guitar is resonant. I recommend trying to play one of these before you buy it as you can get an idea as to how these guitars sound. Try to play a few and pick the nicest sounding one for the best results.

In which country was it made? Korea
What type of bridge? Floyd
What kind of handle? Neck-three pieces, as in "u"
How many frets, what kind of microphone and their configuration? 24 jumbo frets, EMG 81 bridge pickup, neck pickup EMG 60
What are the settings? volume, tone, 3 way selector micro

UTILIZATION

The handle is it nice? Yes
Ergonomics is good? Yes, I like guitars that weigh a bit and it's nice for a "strat"
Access to acute (recent freight) is it easy? Yes
Do you get a good sound easy? Yes but so few "living"

SOUNDS

Are they adequate for your style of music? No, I prefer the sounds fatter and less sharp
What types of sounds you get and with what settings? Rather crystalline, sharp and defined.
With what (s) amp (s) or effect (s) do you play? Peavey Valveking and Blackstar HT-DISTX
What are the sounds you prefer, you hate?
Clean in the bridge pickup is so and so, in neck pickup is pretty nice for this type of guitar you buy but not so much as a scratch sounds for cleans.
In distortion, it is a great guitar for shredders and all Hammett, Vai, Satriani in herbs but for rhythm I find the sound "too clean".

OVERALL OPINION

How long you use it? Less than a year
Did you tried many other models before buying it? Yes
What is so special that you love the most, least? The build quality is top, I like less personal form
How would you rate the quality / price? Correct, at its cost there are tons of guitar very well made (Jackson, Tokai, PRS)
With experience, you do again this choice? No, not because of the quality of the guitar, it just does not suit my game (or my game does not suit him )

Scratches made in korea.
24 frets2 EMG 81 with active electronics
original floyd rose bridge
There are three knobs: one volume and two tones,
A split 3 positions
Maple neck driver

UTILIZATION

The neck is super fine, access to acute is simple and effective, in addition to the handle is painted in the back, ie you do not see the body-neck junction and is a super nice ..... regal ...
The finishes are top (and yes ltd requires )....
It is quite heavy but hey nothing to do with a gibson .....
The sound is powerful, dry cows punch (probably the active electronics).

SOUNDS

If you play hard, metal and others: this guitar is for you!
A fat and powerful sound, very aggressive, with good distortion and emg senvolent's all good ...
I have two amps: one 30 mg and MG100 dfx dfx .... you add to this a multi effects Toneworks ax 1500: ca c sends ..... agree not light but good when hard ca same ....
In the clean sound is pretty cold (EMG 81) but very clear, powerful ...
In lead by ca hard against: the distortion is wonderfully powerful, ca not crack, c power and bold at the same time ...... the brief must!
The sustain is long .... long ..... long .....
The agreement fits perfectly floyd is amazing ....
It is more a typical metal guitar but you can do everything with it is so cool ...

OVERALL OPINION

This scraper is super!
I use it for 2 months and a few ....... and it rocks .....
The value for money is very good (I had to lay c 1300 ).... as well esp the ke ...
If it again, no hesitation! I would definitely do it again ....
What I remember: the sound .....