Kirk Hammett thinks that PRS guitars are “basically Les Paul copies” and that’s why he doesn’t own one
He’s owned Gibsons, ESPs, Jacksons, Ibanez and other guitars over the years, but one brand you won’t catch Kirk Hammett wielding is PRS.
As Metallica’s lead shredder for over 40 years, Hammett has played some of the most iconic axes in rock history, though there’s one brand that has never found its way into his arsenal. And according to the guitarist, that’s not about to change anytime soon.
READ MORE: “Bro, check it out and play her on stage!”: The time Kirk Hammett let Jack White play Greeny onstage
Asked why he’s never been spotted with one of Paul Reed Smith’s builds, Hammett tells Guitar World, “I don’t think they’re aggressive-sounding.”
“There’s a part of me that always wants to scream out. My whole life there’s been this inner anger or frustration, I don’t know what it is. And it sounds crazy, but that’s just how I play my guitar.”
“I need the aggression right there at my fingertips,” he adds. “I’ve never been able to coax a sound that had the right kind of attack or bite out of a PRS.”
Beyond sound, Hammett also sees PRS guitars as threading too closely to another classic design — one that he already owns in abundance.
“They’re basically Les Paul copies, let’s be frank. It’s a Les Paul style guitar and I already have amazing Les Pauls. So I will stick with those.”
Reiterating that PRS models just “don’t have the right kind of bite” for his playing style, Hammett continues, “I will walk into a guitar store and I’ll see all these amazing PRS models with crazy finishes with all these dragons and birds and whatnot. They look amazing but they just don’t tick that aggression factor that I need.”
In other news, Kirk Hammett recently revealed that other famous guitarists had passed up on the opportunity to purchase his iconic ‘Greeny’ Les Paul, saying “It’s been offered to other major players, and they passed on it for whatever reason, but when I saw Greeny, I knew in less than a minute that I was never gonna give it back! I had such an instant connection to that guitar, it’s such an amazing source of inspiration and it’s my best-sounding guitar.”
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
