Kirk Hammett On Rick Beato (Fractal content)

LiamH said:
I've had a good first hand look at that guitar before Kirk Hammett owned it, and was fortunate enough to be able to spend a morning comparing it with some of my favourite Les Paul Juniors, and a Special, as well as a really nice '54 Gold Top that I know well. (Probably early 2013, who knows? Definitely a while back.)

Greeny is less "Frankenstein" than anyone might imagine. Gary Moore's car crash headstock damage was clearly a bit of a jigsaw puzzle to repair, but it's really beautifully done, and very stable. The neck and bridge pickup position sounds are just killer. I was really surprised that the bridge pickup is is both more aggressive and soulful than my "best" Les Paul Junior (a 1955 example). Both pickups have a remarkable 3-D quality about the tone. And then when you flick to the middle position, the out-of-phase thing is another world (unless you turn both volume controls up full, and it's better than average, but kind of dies on you). When Beato says "oh wow" as Kirk turns the knobs on fading notes, that's the opening of Pandora's box. Also, action, intonation, playability - all were beyond reasonably perfect, just exactly spot on. (I was at the home of possibly the finest electric guitar luthier that ever lived when doing all this. I never actually asked, but I'm guessing he will have at least checked over and tweaked truss rod and bridge saddles. God Bless the late, great Terry Morgan.)

Holy grail to rich guitar nerds? Maybe. Clearly way out of reach for most of us. It's a slightly oddball feeling '59 Les Paul if you have handled a few. Definitely an original, but a quirky feel to the neck shape compared to most (in a good way), and while most are beyond good, Greeny really has quite a unique "voice". I'll be surprised if Kirk sells the guitar in his lifetime. I have some really nice '50s electric guitars, but that one would be a keeper had I been fortunate enough to be able to afford it. Greeny is genuinely an outrageously good 1959 Les Paul.

I feel like Kirk has great taste from the bits I have watched so far, and his Fractal experience echoes mine (although I thought I was late to the party. Seems I wasn't the last!) Hopefully his tech has been switched onto some of the more useful firmware updates, and might even encourage Kirk to twiddle a few knobs in the near future. It's definitely getting easier.

Liam
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Interesting that you got to play it before Kirk bought it. You must have ‘connections’.
Honestly, it sounded average to me when he noodled on it… but I dunno. EVERYONE who owns them says how the ‘burst’ Les Paul’s (‘58-‘60) are the greatest thing ever. The originals with no headstock repairs that are in great shape and have highly flamed tops command huge bucks… and the celebrity guitars from that era of course. But I wonder just how great some of them really are, or how much is ‘magic fairy dust mojo’ nostalgia. The pickups are a big factor of course. But they’re really only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.. like anything else. YMMV
 
I always liked Kirk’s playing. People always give him sh$$ for the wah stuff, but in some interview I saw he was like “I like the sound of the wah and it inspires me” or something close to that and I thought “hell yeah man - then do what makes you happy and keeps you inspired to play”. He seems like a nice guy, who just happens to be in a killer band but someone you could easily just sit down with and hang. Although if we were buddies, I’d have to say something about those gold shoes. Haha
 
I think our own @Andy Eagle has had his hands on Greeny as well.

I can’t give Kirk any grief for abusing a wah pedal, I feel the exact same way about it. I’d be curious to see who has more recorded time on a wah pedal (studio albums); Hammett or Vai, you could even throw Petrucci in there, I don’t think he’d be trailing too far behind.
 
Brian Coonan said:
I always liked Kirk’s playing. People always give him sh$$ for the wah stuff, but in some interview I saw he was like “I like the sound of the wah and it inspires me” or something close to that and I thought “hell yeah man - then do what makes you happy and keeps you inspired to play”. He seems like a nice guy, who just happens to be in a killer band but someone you could easily just sit down with and hang. Although if we were buddies, I’d have to say something about those gold shoes. Haha
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I’d ask him what’s up with that black fingernail polish.
I watched the video. I’m not really a Metallica fan, but he does seems like a cool dude.
 
Brian Coonan said:
I always liked Kirk’s playing. People always give him sh$$ for the wah stuff, but in some interview I saw he was like “I like the sound of the wah and it inspires me” or something close to that and I thought “hell yeah man - then do what makes you happy and keeps you inspired to play”. He seems like a nice guy, who just happens to be in a killer band but someone you could easily just sit down with and hang. Although if we were buddies, I’d have to say something about those gold shoes. Haha
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Yeah people are boring, let them talking . I listen to them since +30 years now and i learned guitar with Kirk’s stuff amongst others. The master of puppets album is my first ever metal tablature songbook …
I’m back from the theater/cinema for their Texas livestream show, it was a cool gig. These guys kick ass with their 60, the day they will stop it will be a big loss . These records are the soundtrack of my life. I listen to many things … but Metallica …. I don’t know if there is one week without one of their songs here .
 
Also I am glad that they finally found a way to have a long sustain,for the end of “nothing else matters” for example, for James, because since the beginning of the fractal era, he was never able to catch a feedback and sometimes the sustain stopped in long notes. First show I see with the problem solved! Probably less gate ☺️
 
I'm a selective Metallica fan (musically) and Kirk has always been my favorite. It's really nice he is so open and honest about his experience.
 
My name is mud said:
Yeah people are boring, let them talking . I listen to them since +30 years now and i learned guitar with Kirk’s stuff amongst others. The master of puppets album is my first ever metal tablature songbook …
I’m back from the theater/cinema for their Texas livestream show, it was a cool gig. These guys kick ass with their 60, the day they will stop it will be a big loss . These records are the soundtrack of my life. I listen to many things … but Metallica …. I don’t know if there is one week without one of their songs here .
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I had that tab book too!
 
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