James Hetfield’s ESP JH-3

JH-3 is the third James Hetfield signature model made by ESP. He used a few of them himself, and he even seemed to use the prototype model upon which the production model was based. This pre-production model was basically an ESP Eclipse with EMG pickups.

The JH-3 Specs, Usage

The JH-3 guitar was heavily inspired by the existing Eclipse model, featuring a black finish with custom tribal artwork designed by James Hetfield. Its hardware was entirely gold-plated, including custom pickup covers for the EMG 81/60 set. The body was made of alder, paired with a maple neck and rosewood fretboard, featuring 22 XJ frets and unique “flag” inlays on the 1st and 12th frets.

The guitar featured two pickup switches: one positioned at the top in the standard location and another at the bottom, near the tone and volume knobs. However, only the bottom switch was functional, while the top one was purely for aesthetic purposes, enhancing the guitar’s overall look without serving any real function.

Hetfield primarily used these guitars during the “Reload” tour.

Production Model

The JH-3 was released as a limited production model, with just 100 pieces ever made. Today, these guitars are highly prized by collectors and often fetch prices of up to $10,000. However, there appear to be some variations among the production models available today. Some guitars are equipped with gold-plated pickup covers, while others lack them. Additionally, certain models feature black control knobs, while others have gold ones.

It seems that only one of James Hetfield’s original JH-3 guitars came with the gold-plated custom pickup covers and rings. Over the years, many owners likely modified their own guitars to resemble Hetfield’s, which would explain these inconsistencies among the existing models.