Even if you are just a casual rock fan, you’ve probably heard of Metallica. And if you’re checking out this review, then you most definitely know about their frontman and rhythm guitarist. I am, of course, talking about James Hetfield, easily one of the most prolific guitarists in rock. And when it comes to signature instruments, few mirror the actual artist as well as the ESP LTD James Hetfield Iron Cross.
The Features
Based on Hetfield’s personal custom instrument, the Iron Cross is a dual humbucker solid body guitar that is truly a premium piece of kit made for hard rock. Aesthetically, it is essentially a Les Paul body design with plenty of little custom visual touches, including an iron cross inlay at the 12th fret. The guitar itself features a set-neck construction and mahogany body with maple cap, along with a three-piece mahogany neck and ebony fingerboard with 22 extra-jumbo frets. More importantly, the Iron Cross features EMG James Hetfield signature pickup set—active humbuckers based on the EMG 81/60 combo. Other features include ESP LTD locking tuners and a TonePros Tune-O-Matic bridge and tailpiece.
The Build
The first thing that came to mind when I finally held this guitar was just how much of a gorgeous instrument this is. Honestly, pictures don’t do the Iron Cross any justice. While it is a bit on the light side compared to other similar-styled guitars, it feels solid through and through. The neck and board feel nice and smooth, allowing your fingers to glide across with precision and ease. The locking tuners and bridge are topnotch, keeping your strings in tune after hours of play. Overall, this guitar just screams quality and definitely shows how much care and thought was put in from concept to construction.
James Hetfied Iron Cross @ $1,249.00
The LTD Iron Cross is a Signature Series model of James Hetfield, the frontman of Metallica and one of the world’s most highly respected rhtyhm guitar players in any genre. The Iron Cross is based on James’ personal custom instrument design, and features set-neck construction of a mahogany body with maple cap, and a three-piece mahogany neck with ebony fingerboard and 22 extra-jumbo frets with an Iron Cross inlay at the 12th fret. The LTD Iron Cross is powered by James’ own EMG JH SET active pickups, and includes a TonePros locking TOM bridge and tailpiece.
The Sound
The bulk of the sound behind the Hetfield Iron Cross comes by way of the signature EMG James Hetfield pickups, which are based on the EMG 81/60 combo that helped carve out Hetfield’s signature sound. The story goes that Hetfield went over to EMG and asked them to design a set of active humbuckers that retained the clarity and attack of a passive pickup while retaining the thick tone of his 81/60 set. The results are the EMG JH set—active humbuckers that sound noticeably different than the originals that inspired them. Overall, these pickups produce a full and vibrant tone with more articulation than you’d get with a typical humbucker. The neck pickup, in particular, features plenty of output while the bridge has a nice attack that remains warm. While they feature notes that are normally seen in passive pickups, these are, no doubt, active humbuckers, which means you’ll get plenty of crunch with a high-gain setup — perfect for metal, thrash and hard rock. On the other hand, the Iron Cross also works amazingly well when played clean as well. In fact, the entire setup is actually extremely versatile, able to handle blues, jazz, classic rock and more. Overall, the tone definitely lives up to the quality set by the rest of the guitar.
The Verdict
While this guitar is a no-brainer for any Metallica fan looking to use the same set up as Hetfield himself, rock fans in general will also love everything the Iron Cross has to offer. Featuring a premium build, excellent features, and a surprisingly versatile tone, this is one guitar that definitely feels like it’s worth every penny.
