Open Box ESP LTD KH-602 Kirk Hammett Signature Series Electric Guitar Level 2 Black 197881273002

There's an old saying that ancient artisans would deliberately create their art with imperfections because only God was perfect. Now, I'm not anywhere near religious but, this guitar is near perfect. The imperfections are very slight and would probably only be noticed by someone with an eagle eye and who is utterly OCD about details. So, were these imperfections deliberate? Maybe, maybe not. But this is why I rate it only 4 stars. In order to get that 5th star, it would have had to have been made by God himself :)

I've been playing for many years and owned a lot of guitars, this is one of the best. The neck isn't too thin or thick, it's just right. The sustain is fantastic! This could be attributed to the neck through design, multiple piece maple neck, hardware, pickups etc... but I'm sure it's a combination of all them put together. I've thought about buying one of these for at least 20 years now but always pulled the trigger on something else. About 7 months ago I was at my local GC and they had one. I asked to play it and was impressed. That was mid summer and the humidity was annoyingly high which made the finished neck feel somewhat sticky. I told myself that would bother me. However over the next few months I would ask to play it when I stopped by to get something. If you have been considering getting something for that long, just get it. I traded in a guitar I didn't play much and the local store gave me an excellent deal. As it had been on the shelf all those months I did a full setup the next day with my preferred strings, set the neck relief and adjusted the trem height. She currently sits at 8 tho neck relief with 1.5 at the low E and 1.2 at the high E with no buzz. The fretworks is phenomenal, rivaling guitars 4 times the price and I found no filler around the inlays (I like the these new models have inlays on all the frets rather than the model name at the 24th). I also found no high frets nor any fret sprout. Why the KH 602 in the first place? I had seriously considered an E-II M-2 FR but ended up with the LTD KH-602 instead even though price wasn't a concern. Why? The M2 has a 12" radius, I like a flatter fingerboards and the 602 has a 13.7" radius The M2 has no tone knob and there are times I need / want to adjust that The M2 has 1 volume, the 602 has 2 so you can set your neck to a lower output or none at all for various effects (to my knowledge no other M or MH/Horizon has 2 volume controls) The M2 has Dual EMG 81s and the 602 has Bone Breakers - as I know I'm not a fan of dual 81s I wanted to try these and I'm loving them! They seem to a based upon an 81/60a (alnico) set but the output is a little lower, the bass increased and the compressed mids reduced a bit. For many years I was a headstock snob... but over the years, especially the past 5, that no longer matters anymore. There are truly some amazing guitars coming from all over the world with different brand names and price points. I knew LTD was reliable from owning an EC-1000 as my only guitar when things got tough financially many years ago. While I hadn't owned one in a few years it was very nice to see the quality is even better than the early 2000s. This guitar is truly amazing! If you are a fan of a certain band and guitarist then that may be your reason for considering it. However I would look past the signature on the headstock and recommend this for anyone looking for a reliable 2 humbucker instrument with a floating bridge. The new pickups will surprise you and the initial build quality is excellent and it comes with a very nice case. Cons - I wish it and an OFR but the FR 1000 is staying in tune perfectly since being setup. It's definitely much closer to an OFR than it is to a FR "Special." I would feel confident playing this guitar live without worrying about tuning stability. Oh... and once I cleaned the finished neck from other people playing it? It's amazingly slick, nothing like some more expensive single cut guitars I own. For reference mine was made at World Music (South Korea) in May of 2021

When I first got it, there was a little fret buzzing at the 1st fret of the low E. So the truss rod had to be adjusted. Asides from that, it is a metal powerhouse!! I recommend.

Showed up with perfect setup. Frets we're glossy, perfectly flat with low action. No buzz anywhere and no sharp fret edges. The sound is great. Love that classic EMG vibe. Guitar is great for chugging and speedy downpicking but also awesome for shreddy leads. Very articulate sound and I love the flat neck profile. Feels a lot like my MIJ Jackson soloist. The Pau Ferro fretboard is nice and dark too. The pics on the site look a lot lighter and I was worried it would look cheap. The cut they used was nice and dark like ebony with a few really nice streaks. The skull inlays look sick as well. I would buy this guitar again in a heartbeat.

I mainly use this guitar to play Thrash/Metal type songs, although even the cleaner tones sound great on it. I don't know what else to say other than it feels like well made guitar that rocks. I did a lot of research and this one seemed to be the best value in the $1000-$1500 range. I also have to disclose that I am a huge (old) Metallica fan and loved Hammett's early work. This model is just like the official KH-2, except it is manufactured in Korea - not hand build in Japan. Saves you about $3k. I don't know if I can tell the difference.

Great guitar with great sound! First guitar with active pickups, taking a little getting used to. Has sustain for days. Replicates Kirk's later sound pretty good. Happy with it so far and would recommend it.