Metallica's James Hetfield reflects on early love for Flying V guitar

Dan Weir

7 years ago

ABC/Randy Holmes

ABC/Randy HolmesJames Hetfield has obviously played a ton of guitars in his life, but when he was a kid, he had only eyes for one: a white Flying V. In a new episode of his “Guitar Talk” video series, the Metallica frontman remembers his youthful obsession with obtaining the coveted instrument.

“[Like] most kids who love certain bands, you just want to get the same guitar that guy’s playing,” Hetfield says. “I wanted a white Flying V forever. That was it. I mean, c’mon! The Scorpions! Judas Priest! It was a heavy metal guitar.”

When he finally got one, though, he found that the shape of the Flying V wasn’t as comfortable as he thought it would be. Eventually, the ESP Explorer took over the Flying V to become Hetfield’s ax of choice, and has remained his signature guitar.

To see Hetfield’s guitars in action, you can catch Metallica on their upcoming U.S. tour, which begins in September and stretches into March 2019.