This guitar appeared around 1989, just as the band was shifting their production style for the Black Album. It appears to be Kirk’s “main” Les Paul for this era. While standard Customs feature gold hardware, Kirk had this one “blacked out” with all-black hardware to match the gloss black finish.
Mods
Although Kirk’s Les Paul looks like a proper vintage-style instrument, it was actually modified and modernized extensively. Most notably, the stock passive pickups were replaced with active EMG humbuckers. This makes sense logically – Kirk was using a high-gain rack system tailored for his ESPs. If he plugged in a standard passive Les Paul, the drop in output would have been significant. Installing EMGs allowed him to switch between guitars mid-show without messing up his gain structure.
Also, based on the hardware choices, it seems that tuning stability was a concern. Traditional Gibsons are often prone to string slippage, so this guitar was fitted with Sperzel Locking Tuners.
Usage
The guitar is clearly visible on the Live Shit: Binge & Purge DVD, most notably during performances of “Fade to Black” and “Welcome Home (Sanitarium).” It seems he used this mainly for tracks that relied on clean arpeggios and heavy sustaining chords – areas where the natural mass of a mahogany body offers an advantage over bolt-on guitars.
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