James Hetfield is probably one of the most recognized figures in the world of rock and metal, being the co-founder, main songwriter, and vocalist/rhythm guitar player for Metallica.

Hetfield has been a major endorser of ESP guitars since the 1980s, and is best known for playing custom-made Explorer-style guitars with the EMG-81 inthe bridge and the EMG-60 in the neck and most recently collaborated with EMG founder Rob Turner on his signature EMG-JH Set. Hetfield's main guitar from the early days was a Gibson Flying V, used almost exclusively until about 1984 when he switched to the Gibson Explorer model.

James Hetfield Unleashes New EMG Signature Set at The Big 4 May 13, 2011

History was made April 23, 2011 at “The Big 4” event in Indio California with four of the biggest acts in metal playing together for the first time in the U.S. On this same day Metallica founder and front man James Hetfield unleashed his new EMG JH Set to 60,000 metal-hungry fans.

The JH Set is a totally new dimension for EMG with the design being driven solely with the input of James Hetfield. In early 2009 James Hetfield contacted EMG Pickups president Rob Turner and presented him with a challenge: to create a “stealth” looking set that captures the clarity and punch of a passive pickup and still retains the legendary active tone that molded a generation.

Featuring sleek black nickel plated caps and EMG’s Solderless Installation System™ components, the JH Set consists of the JH-N (neck) and the JH-B (bridge). Both pickups were patterned after the pickups James has used for 30 years but the end result was a completely different animal. The JH-N has individual ceramic poles and bobbins that feature a larger core and are taller than the 60. This produces more attack, higher output, and fuller low end in the neck position. The JH-B uses the same type of core but has steel pole pieces, unlike the 81 that uses bar magnets. This produces the familiar tight attack with less inductance for a cleaner low end.