Kirk Hammett once felt so bad about buying a guitar from Neal Schon that he offered to return it.

The Metallica man paid $87,500 for the 1957 Les Paul Standard at an auction in 2021. But he believed he hadn’t paid enough for it.

Hammett told the story at a recent fan event in Ireland (video below). Showing a photo of the rare black version of the instrument, he said: “This guitar used to belong to one of my all-time star heroes, a huge source of inspiration, Neal Schon.

“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.”

He admitted: “I felt kind of bad about it because I should have paid a fair price… I paid a price that was lower than it should have been.”

Schon seems to have been a victim of circumstance – the post-pandemic auction market was in flux, and a number of items sold for considerably less than anticipated around that time. If he’d waited, he might have achieved the $150,000-plus price that had been predicted.

Hammett decided to do something about the situation, as he recounted: “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.’”

It only added to Hammett’s appreciation for the Journey leader. “Neal Schon, he’s such a cool, cool guy,” he said. “[H]e’s an amazing guitar player… He lives and breathes music.

Metallica Donate $100,000 To Venezuela Earthquakes Aid

“And to me, he’s just such a inspiration… I see him, and I see how he conducts his life and how he plays, and his commitment and dedication to music. I was just like, ‘Yeah! That’s what I want to do too.’ So I’m doing it!”

Meanwhile, Metallica donated $100,000 to emergency operations in Venezuela following the devastating earthquakes in the region which have killed over 2,000 people and injured more than 70,000, with an estimated 6,800,000 directly affected.

The payment came from the band’s All Within My Hands foundation. A statement explained that the grant “will support [humanitarian aid service] Direct Relief as the organization continues to respond to requests in the region as they become known.”

Watch Kirk Hammett’s Guitar Presentation