METALLICA's JAMES HETFIELD Helps EMG Celebrate 50th Anniversary With Limited-Edition Signature Set Release

METALLICA's James Hetfield celebrates the 50th anniversary of EMG pickups with a limited-edition signature set featuring a custom engraved 50th-anniversary logo designed by James himself. Limited to only 200 sets.

Both the neck and bridge positions were patterned after the pickups James had 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.

Make sure to check the instructions for pickup measurements before purchasing to compare your existing pickups with EMG models.

All EMG pickups are built to order. Estimated shipping is between 7-14 business days.

Limited quantities will be available from EMG direct on Friday, November 13, 2026.

In a short video announcing the release, James said: " Howdy, it's James from METALLICA. I am here to help EMG celebrate 50 years of building incredible pickups by creating this limited-edition anniversary set of the 'Het' Set. I personally designed the 50th-anniversary logo using our very own METALLICA font for this set. So happy 50th anniversary, EMG. I love you."

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 in the bridge and the EMG-60 in the neck. He 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.

In 2025, Turner told Thomann that working with Hetfield forced EMG to completely reinvent its methodology as the METALLICA frontman pushed its craft to the limit.

"Hetfield was the toughest [to voice a pickup for]," Turner said at the time. "We built 19 different models. He more or less changed what we were doing. Normally, we use a very narrow core in the pickup, and he wanted to have pole pieces. So then we're going to start with a larger core and a larger coil. That means [having] a larger aperture, which means there's going to be too much low-end. So then it's, like, 'Okay, we've got to change the dimensions of the coil. They need to be taller and thinner. We need to be able to space them accordingly.'

"The hardest one was the neck pickup," he added, "because it uses ceramic poles. Typically, nobody does that. They're too strong. So, we had to magnetize them to a certain extent. Then we showed him a tray of sample finishes, and he picked the hardest one to do, which is this black, shiny, stealth-like, and it's the hardest thing to prevent from getting scratches in production."