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Randall KH103 – Kirk Hammett Signature Amplifier

Randall Amplifiers introduce the KH103, Kirk Hammett’s all-tube, 3 channel, 120 Watt signature amplifier head.

Randall KH103

This new amplifier is co-designed by the Grammy Award winning guitarist of Metallica, and the production model is exactly what Kirk is currently using on tour and in the studio.

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Being Metallica’s long time lead guitarist, Kirk needs no further introduction, and it is safe to say that he knows the sound of metal like the back of his hands. As such, fans of the band and metal music in general will definitely be interested in his latest collaboration with Randall, which resulted in a new Signature amp that meets his expectations.

Unlike other signature gear where the artist simply endorses the gear and uses a different more premium model, Hammett actually uses this exact same amp for his live performances and studio work. This means that the KH103 is not just an amp with a label, but rather a real workhorse amp that Kirk actually uses.

At the core of this amp are 9 12AX7/ECC83 preamp tubes, and 4 6L6 power tubes. These tubes drive the three independent channels that provide Kirk with all the sounds he need in one package. The first channel is the clean channel, the 2nd channel offers mid gain crunch tones for riff work, while the 3rd channel serves him his lead tone. Each channel comes with its own tone shaping controls including a 3-band EQ, gain and volume. There’s also a 3-way bright switch for each one for compatibility with different guitars.

Other control features of the amp include presence and depth controls, dual MIDI-switchable master volumes and dual MIDI-switchable series/parallel loops. For quick and easy compatibility with MIDI controllers, the KH103 amp has seven MIDI-assignable functions for each channel, which include boost, channel select, Low/Medium/High gain voicing, master volume 1/2 select, loop/loop2 switching and store.

Randall KH103

Since not all metal guitarists will have roadies to carry this amp around like Kirk does, Randall equipped this amp with dual side handles for easier transport. There’s also individual metering and bias controls included.

Check out the official video demo where Kirk Hammett himself shares the story behind the amp’s design:

To prove that this is the same amp that Kirk uses, no power attenuation is added, meaning that this amp is meant for medium to big venues. As a bonus, the amp comes bundled with the RF3 3-button MIDI footswitch.

I’ve already seen some online retailers selling this amp for just under $2000. For more information and other details on the new Kirk Hammett Signature KH103 amplifier, head over to Randall Amplifiers. The amp will also be on display at the 2016 NAMM Show in booth 5740, along with other Randall Amplifier products.

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