ESP
JAMES HETFIELD
SNAKEBYTE
Mahogany body
and neck
BY JORDAN WAGNER
Electric Sound Products, better know to guitarists as ESP, started humbly
enough in Tokyo, Japan in 1975. The company rose on its reputation for high-quality,
custom-made replacement guitar parts and
components, but it didn’t take long for ESP
to start crafting their own instruments.
Entering the American guitar market only a
few short years after inception, they began
building custom guitars for the likes of
Vinnie Vincent and Bruce Kulick. By the
’80s, their handbuilt axes had started to
grab the attention of high-profile players
from Ron Wood to many of the shredders
riding the ’80s-metal wave.
Metallica’s James Hetfield, who began
using their guitars extensively in the late
’80s while in the twilight of the band’s
thrash-metal era, often championed ESP’s
quality, playability, and tone. And in the
years since, ESP has produced a plethora of
Hetfield signature models. But their newest offering, the Snakebyte, merges them
into one unique instrument with a flair and
character all its own.
Hetfield designed the Snakebyte’s body
shape, headstock, and other aesthetic elements. There’s an obvious Gibson Explorer
influence—no surprise given that he’s wielded Explorers since the Ride the Lightning era
and it’s the Explorer that inspired most of
Hetfield’s ESP guitars. But the Snakebyte is
built around several, evolutionary alterations
to the shape, including a carved bout on the
back edge, a beveled cutaway, and a hooklike end on the headstock.
The first thing that struck me when
I took the Snakebyte out of its case was
how light it was. On a shipping scale,
the guitar weighed only 7 1/2 pounds,
even though the body and neck are built
EMG 60 neck pickup
EMG 81 bridge pickup
entirely from mahogany. The case alone
weighed over twice as much as the guitar
at 19 1/2 pounds.
Metallica’s rhythm king has long been
synonymous with EMG’s 81 and 60 pickups—two humbuckers that have likely
remained in favor thanks to their association with Metallica’s classic-thrash era. Dual
Volume knobs and a 3-way switch control
the active, molten-hot fire breathers in
the Snakebyte. And the pickup battery
compartment sports a cool-looking metal
door—located on the back of the body—
that resembles a car’s flip-out ashtray.
Crushing All Deceivers,
Mashing Non-Believers
Hetfield’s sound has always been primarily about power—leaving comrade Kirk
Hammett with the effects and extreme
guitar-wizardry duties—and the Snakebyte
definitely reflects his focus. It’s built
to pummel, and make the player feel
