1973 Gibson Les Paul Custom Hetfield Black Iron Cross Uncle Milty Metallica UM73

1973 Gibson Les Paul Custom Hetfield Black Iron Cross Uncle Milty Metallica UM73 What can I say... you can see it all for yourselves! This is a dream that I personally made come true for myself. When I was just starting out with guitars, I saw this guitar; in 6 years, I have seen 3-4 examples, and I don't rule out that it was the same ones, maybe there are only two in the world or even one, and the second one is with Het. As they say, "only I and Hetfield have one like this" =))) Why is that? The thing is that Gibson NEVER issued the Iron Cross. James had a 1973 Les Paul Custom (absolutely the same as this 73 with a sandwich body, maple top, three-piece mahogany neck, and ebony fretboard), he modified it himself in the 80s, namely by attaching a Maltese cross and painting stripes, the wear and tear were, of course, done naturally over the years of active playing on this guitar, over time he scratched UM73 - Uncle Milty 73 (the year of the Custom) on the back of the body, installed Jumbo metal frets, moved the 3-position switch to one of the volume knobs, disconnected the upper 3-position switch, installed a brass nut, installed Sperzel locking tuners, EMG 81/60 pickups, etc. That's how the so-called Uncle Milty came to be - later the model was called the Iron Cross. Why? Well, Hetfield and Gibson didn't reach an agreement on producing the UM73 reissue, so there was and is no official edition, but ESP happily took on the reissue of the Uncle Milty - they took the specs of Hetfield's Gibson, artificially aged it, installed everything Hetfield put on the guitar, and released it in 2009 in a limited edition of 100 copies worldwide - the model was called ESP Iron Cross James Hetfield Signature Series Guitar 2009 Distressed Black with a street price of 11000 $, the guitars were sold out on the first day to dealers. Taking inflation into account, the guitar would cost about 15 k $ now, however, the guitars are in private collections, and collectors rarely want to part with them even for 15 000 $. ESP later released a more affordable white ESP Iron Cross with a price of 4-5 k, I brought such one in on request - they are very high-quality guitars, but they are also starting to rise in price, and well, it's still not an Uncle Milty... In general, the fact is that such guitars are NOT on sale ANYWHERE, and if they do appear, they go at auctions for crazy prices. I paid 2,5 k just to reserve this guitar, with its subsequent full buyout =)) And I was chasing it for a very long time. I bought it from a Metallica fan, the guy is a real fan and a collector, a very pleasant person; the guitar was well cared for and almost never played. What exactly is it about it??? The first thing collectors chase is weight! Even despite the huge metal cross, the weight of the guitar is about 4 kg, which is rare for Gibsons from the late 60s - 70s. And the guitar is made exactly like Papa Het's Gibson itself! Namely, a USA luthier did all the aging and also did everything to the guitar that I wrote above: - Sperzel locking tuners in gold - Shaller strap locks in gold - EMG 81/60 pickups with gold and aged covers - 22 XJ Stainless Frets - Jumbo metal frets - Brass nut - 3-position switch moved down - correct "Dummy" Toggle Switch - metal Maltese cross and ribbon along the body - aging - ORIGINAL finish, the guitar was not repainted, which is VERY important for its value. By the way, the ESP has different inlays so as not to fight with Gibson in court, and here are exactly the ones needed - square and pearloid! And also the electronics themselves consist of two volumes and one common tone. And this guitar is a vintage made in the USA, not a new Japan one. So the pluses are obvious, besides the fact that the edition also wins in price - now until the New Year, I am setting the price 20% below the minimum price of the 2009 ESP Iron Cross (those of which there are 100 pcs. in the world). I think it's worth seizing the moment! The guitar will only go up in price! A few interesting facts: Some sources claim that the stripes on the guitar are racing stripes, but to me they resemble the ribbon of the Iron Cross award - an order established in 1813 in honor of the liberation of Germany from Napoleon; actually, the Maltese cross itself on the guitar creates this unified composition. As I wrote above, the ESP company, for which Hetfield is an endorser, released James' signature guitars with such a design twice (black with a gold cross and white with a black cross) under the name Iron Cross, although the original instrument was called differently. The real name of the prototype along with the year of the guitar's release was encrypted in the abbreviation UM 73, scratched on the back of the guitar, and meant Uncle Milty — the stage pseudonym of American comedian Milton Berle. All because the guitar had a very dense sound, and the English adjective Burly (dense) is consonant with the comedian's surname. Here on the collector's site is the description of Papa's PERSONAL UM73 - http://www.guitarscollector.com/2003---gibson-les-paul-custom--iron-cross---1973-.html There you can also examine this Custom with young Het without the cross, and later with the cross, the same one. And here is exactly personal Hetfield's UM73 from the front and back, you can compare how clearly everything is done In terms of sound - the best Custom I've had, early 70s customs in principle cost at least $5000 on their own, and that's the minimum, they are heavy, but this one has a weight of about 4 kg, sustain - is a bomb, the tightness of the sound is amazing, everything is like clockwork, because the frets are new, the comfort is fantastic, you pick up the guitar and don't want to put it down for another couple of hours, until your fingers hurt =)) there is not a single downside, except that it comes with an ESP case with a cutout in the shape of Het's. Everything about the guitar is perfect! It will be interesting both to Metallica fans, and to guitar collectors and guitarists, the guitar is a bomb, and if you dreamed of one, believe me, it is worth every cent!!! And I know for sure that if I sell this LP, I will immediately start looking for the same one, and it does not matter how many years I spend on it! The guitar is in excellent condition, there are no breaks on it, all aging is like Het's. Comes with a case. The guitar is in Dnipropetrovsk! It can be listened to on good tube equipment of your choice — Mesa Boogie, Marshall, Engl…. I will deliver to any point in the world