Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett opened up about a moment of buyer’s remorse involving a guitar that once belonged to Journey’s Neal Schon. He shared the story during his Kirk Hammett THE COLLECTION: LIVE event in Dublin.
Hammett explained how he purchased Schon’s Les Paul at auction for far less than its actual value. He felt so uncomfortable about it that he reached out to Schon directly to offer the guitar back.
“This guitar used to belong to one of my all-time star heroes, a huge source of inspiration, Neal Schon,” Hammett said. “And I got this in an auction, and I don’t know what was up, but I got this for, like, half the price that it was worth!”
“I felt kind of bad about it because I should have paid a fair price. But I paid a price that was lower than it should have been.”
Hammett then described how he took the unusual step of contacting Schon personally to make things right.
“So, I actually called Neal. I said, ‘Neal, do you want the guitar back?’ And he said, ‘No, man, you keep it. You buy it; you keep it.'”
Hammett went on to express his deep admiration for Schon, speaking about the Journey guitarist’s character and dedication to music.
“Neal Schon, he’s such a cool, cool guy,” Hammett continued. “If you guys ever, like, really get to know Neal Schon, I mean, he’s an amazing guitar player. He’s amazing. He lives and breathes music. And to me, he’s just such a inspiration, ‘cos I see him, and I see how he conducts his life, and how he plays, and his commitment and dedication to music, and I was just like, ‘Yeah! That’s what I want to do, too.’ So I’m doing it.”
The remarks were made during Hammett’s fan interaction session at his Dublin exhibition event. There, he shared personal stories connected to his extensive guitar collection.
The story of Schon’s Les Paul is just one chapter in a much larger collection that Hammett has spent decades building — one that spans some of the most historically significant guitars in rock history.
Among the crown jewels of that collection is the legendary “Greeny” Gibson Les Paul. The guitar was previously owned by Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green and later by Thin Lizzy’s Phil Lynott. Hammett counts it among his top three instruments, a testament to his deep reverence for the history and provenance behind the guitars he acquires.
That passion for collecting has been well documented. Gibson Publishing partnered with Hammett to release a comprehensive book titled The Kirk Hammett Collection. It is described as the deepest-ever dive into his guitar collection and the iconic instruments that have defined his career.
Beyond vintage acquisitions, Hammett has also built a long-standing relationship with ESP, for whom he is a signature artist. His dedicated ESP signature models — including the visually striking Kirk Hammett ESP Mummy — reflect a career-long partnership with the brand that runs parallel to his love of rare and historic instruments.
The Schon Les Paul story captures something essential about how Hammett approaches his collection. He is not merely a collector, but someone who feels a genuine personal and musical connection to the instruments he owns and the artists who played them before him.
