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NAMM 2024: Gary Holt, Bill Kelliher and George Lynch signature guitars feature in ESP’s eight-strong Signature Series lineup
ESP has announced a plethora of new guitars and basses for artists on its roster.
Credit: ESP
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NAMM 2024: It’s almost here – yep, the NAMM Show 2024 is merely hours away, and the gear announcements are already hotting up. We’ve seen a slew of new products from across the guitar sphere, and now it’s time for one of the industry’s giants – ESP – to throw its hat into the ring.
While the company has announced a plethora of new products – including new LTD Deluxe models and its 2024 Exhibition Series lineup – we’re particularly intrigued by some new additions to its Signature Series.
They include new guitars for Exodus’s Gary Holt, George Lynch, Kreator’s Mille Petrozza, Mastodon’s Bill Kelliher, Death Angel’s Ted Aguilar and Rancid’s Lars Frederiksen, and two new basses for Kreator’s Fred Leclercq and Soulfly’s Mike Leon.
FL-4 (Black Red Burst Satin) – Fred Leclercq (Kreator)
The new signature bass for Fred Leclercq – who has played in DragonForce, Sinsaenum and Amahiru, and currently plays in Kreator – features an undeniably metal-ready body shape that nods to the look of ESP’s Forest/F Series, with a Satin Black finish with red edges. Specs include an alder body, extra-thin five-piece maple/purpleheart neck, neck-thru-body construction with 34″ scale length, Macassar ebony fingerboard with black binding, red offset dot inlays and 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets. In terms of electronics, it sports a single active EMG 35P pickup.
GH SV-200 (Black) – Gary Holt (Exodus)
For a thrash guitarist like Exodus’s Gary Holt, only the most metal of guitars fit the bill. Holt’s new ESP signature model bears the look of his LTD GH-SV model at a more affordable price tag, and features an offset ESP SV body shape, black finish with red binding, bolt-on construction, mahogany body, three-piece mahogany neck, 24.75″ scale length, roasted jatoba fingerboard with pearloid split block inlays and 22 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets.
Other features include black hardware, a Floyd Rose 1000 double-locking tremolo, LTD tuners, and a set of direct-mount high-output ESP LH-301 pickups with red covers.
GL Desert Eagle (Desert Eagle) – George Lynch
The reimagining of his famous Kamikaze model, George Lynch’s new Desert Eagle model features an alder body, maple neck, bolt-on construction, 25.5″ scale length, feather and arrowhead aesthetics, a U-shape neck profile, Macassar ebony fingerboard, dot inlays, 22 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, a Floyd Rose 1000 SE double-locking tremolo with stainless steel screws. Electronics include a special low-friction volume pot, and a special pickup combination that includes a Seymour Duncan Distortion pickup in the bridge, with push-pull coil splitting on the single volume knob, and an ESP SS-120 single-coil in the neck position.
Additionally, a portion of the proceeds of every LTD Desert Eagle will go to Lynch’s non-profit charity that assists Native American communities and causes.
MK-EC FR (Black Satin) – Mille Petrozza (Kreator)
Offering a sleek black aesthetic, Mille Petrozza of Kreator’s new signature model features the single-cutaway shape of the ESP Eclipse, as well as a neck-thru-body construction, 25.5″ scale, alder body and a three-piece thin U-shaped maple neck, and is said to “offer days of sustain and handle downtuning like a champ”.
Other features include a Macassar ebony fingerboard with mother-of-pearl dot inlays, Luminlay glow-in-the-dark side markers and 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets. Elsewhere, there’s a Floyd Rose 1000 SE double-locking tremolo, Grover tuners, and a set of EMG 81X and 85X active pickups with brushed black chrome covers.
MLB-4 (Black Blast) – Mike Leon (Soulfly)
The second signature bass in the lineup – this time for Soulfly’s Mike Leon – the MLB-4 features a sandblasted swamp ash body, black satin headstock, extra-thin five-piece wenge/purpleheart neck, 6-bolt construction, 35″ scale, Macassar ebony fingerboard with offset mother-of-pearl dot inlays and 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, and a pair of Nordstrand Big Split pickups. Other features include metal dome knobs, Gotoh tuner and a Gotoh 404BO-4 hardtail bridge.
Royal Shiva (Silver Sunburst) – Bill Kelliher (Mastodon)
Joining the Bill Kelliher Signature Series, the LTD Royal Shiva is based on a guitar that the Mastodon guitarist created with the ESP Custom Shop and used extensively on recent tours.
It features a unique double-cutaway body shape with a Silver Sunburst finish, as well as a traditional set neck construction, 25” scale, maple-capped mahogany body, three-piece u-shaped maple neck, Macassar ebony fingerboard with large mother-of-pearl block inlays and 22 extra-jumbo frets.
Nickel-finished hardware on the Royal Shiva includes a TonePros TOM bridge and tailpiece, LTD locking tuners, a bone nut, a multi-ply black pickguard, and a set of Bill’s signature Mojotone Hellbender humbucker pickups.
TED-EC (Black) – Ted Aguilar (Death Angel)
The TED-EC joins the Signature Series of Ted Aguilar, of thrash titans Death Angel. It features a black finish with gleaming white pickup covers/rings and white pearloid tuners, as well as a 24.75″ scale, mahogany body with maple cap, thin U-shaped three-piece mahogany neck, and a Macassar ebony fingerboard with mother-of-pearl dot inlays and 24 extra-jumbo frets. Other features include a recessed Gotoh TOM bridge with string thru body, LTD locking tuners, and a set of powerful and aggressive EMG 81 (bridge) and EMG 60 (neck) active pickups.
Volsung (Oxblood Satin) – Lars Frederiksen (Rancid)
The latest signature model for Lars Frederiksen of iconic punk rockers Rancid features ESP’s Viper shaper with a new Oxblood Satin finish, 24.75″ scale, mahogany body, thin U-shaped three-piece mahogany neck, 22 extra-jumbo frets, Macassar ebony fingerboard, Luminlay glow-in-the-dark side markers, and a white binding that extends around the headstock. Other appointments include a TonePros locking TOM bridge and tailpiece, Gotoh tuners, and a set of Lars’ signature EMG pickups, the LF-DMF.
For more info on any of the new Signature Series models, head to ESP.