No other instrument shaped Kirk Hammett's playing in Exodus and the sound of early Metallica albums as much as his famous
Using the Flying V of the late seventies as a model, both the neck and body of the Epiphone Kirk Hammett 1979 Flying V Purple Metallic are made entirely of mahogany. The one-piece neck has a strong Rounded-C neck profile on the back and features the volute behind the nut, which was common at the time, to further strengthen the neck at the transition to the headstock. On the front, on the other hand, a solid rosewood fingerboard offers 22 playable frets and a GraphTech nut with a classic width of 43 mm.
To revive the unique Metallica sound of the late eighties as heard on iconic albums like Master or Puppets or Ride the Lightning, Epiphone relies on two Gibson USA Calibrated T-Type humbuckers in neck and bridge position. The two dual coils are considered replicas of the famous seventies pickups with namesake T-engraving in the bobbin and follow the sound character of the original pickups before Kirk converted his instrument to active pickup. furthermore, the Epiphone Kirk Hammett 1979 Flying V Purple Metallic features high-quality potentiometers from CTS and real Orange Drop capacitors.
A special distinguishing feature of the Kirk Hammett 1979 Flying V is clearly the retrofitted Tune-o-Matic-style bridge construction, which is considered an extremely rare and popular piece of hardware, especially among tech-savvy fans. In combination with a LockTone stopbar, this offers a particularly resonant sound transmission into the body, while six Grover Rotomatic tuners with detailed 'Spade' wings skillfully complete the hardware equipment of the Epiphone Kirk Hammett 1979 Flying V Purple Metallic.