At the ESP booth, the star attraction was the new Kirk Hammett Demonology signature guitar which features not only an enigmatic sigil decorated finish but impressive specs: neck-thru construction, alder body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, Floyd Rose bridge, EMG 81/60 pickups. The recommended price is $1,640.
Although Hammett was not present at this year’s NAMM, the ESP booth nevertheless became jam-packed for performances by George Lynch and Gary Holt. George Lynch ESP signature model did not get an update this year, but Gary Holt’s did with a TonePros locking TOM bridge and tailpiece.
Also, Volbeat’s guitarist Rob Caggiano updated this signature ESP for 2017 with quilted maple top and silver accent colors.
Among the artists getting their first-ever signature ESP this year are John Campbell of Lamb of God (his LTD JC-4FM is based on the Stream body style) and Brian “Head” Welch of Korn. Welch’s 7-string LTD SH-7T includes the EverTune constant tension bridge, Fishman Fluence pickups, and a neck-thru-body design with flamed maple top over the basswood body, a 3-piece maple neck with ebony fingerboard, and see-thru-purple finish.
Lars Frederiksen of Rancid gave a talk and took audience questions at the ESP booth to announce his first ESP Signature Series guitar. It is a set-neck model based on the Viper body style and includes Seymour Duncan Lars Signature pickups, Gotoh tuners, and TonePros locking TOM bridge and tailpiece.
Next door at Schecter Guitar Research Al Jourgensen of Ministry held a signing session in support of his new Schecter Triton guitar which Jourgensen played on all three anti-Bush albums and which he describes as an “anti-idiot gun of choice.” The guitar’s body is shaped to form a “W” (Bush’s middle initial) and features mahogany body, mahogany neck, ebony fretboard, and Schecter USA San Andreas™ pickups in neck and bridge positions.
Other heavy hitters to make appearances at the Schecter booth were Zakk Wylde and Kings X along with Michael Anthony. Wylde and Kings X played at the Schecter party at the Grove club in Anaheim on Saturday, January 21. The show was not open to the public, but tickets could be purchased at the Schecter booth. Schecter also asked anyone interested in this concert to donate to the “Take Me Home” animal rescue in order to receive tickets — a nice touch in line with the company’s faultless reputation.
A few new Schecter artist models include acoustics from Synyster Gates and Robert Smith, two new Keith Merrow models, a Diamond Series DJ Ashba, and a beautiful Solo II from Mark Gemini Thwaite.
Talking of parties, Gretsch surprised this year not only with an array of great new instruments but also a concert at the Observatory in nearby Santa Ana in the evening of day one. Here Jeff Beck shared the stage with fellow guitar legend Duane Eddy playing heart-warming Fifties style rockabilly.
Gretsch debuts a Duane Eddy new signature model in its 2017 catalog. It comes in white pearl and black lacquer (both with white binding) and features DynaSonic pickups in the bridge and neck positions. Tru-Arc bridge matches the radius of the fretboard. Another Gretsch tribute model this year is the Cliff Gallup Signature Duo Jet, which Jeff Beck played at the Observatory concert. It is a replica of Gallup’s 1954 Gretsch Duo Jet and has all the original features such as DynaSonic pickups in bridge and neck positions, rosewood fretboard, compensated aluminum bridge with aluminum base, a Bigsby B3BBST vibrato tailpiece with black painted trough, and fixed arm. The heavily chambered construction makes it extremely light.
This year Gretsch also honors AC/DC’s Malcolm Young with a G6131MY-CS Custom Shop Malcolm Young “Salute” Jet. It is an accurate recreation of Young’s famous No. 1 guitar — a 1963 Jet Firebird from which Young stripped away the red finish and removed two of the three pickups. It has a double-cutaway chambered mahogany body with maple top, white binding, mahogany set neck, and a 12”-radius ebony fingerboard with a bone nut and 23 medium jumbo frets (including zero fret). The pickup is TV Jones TV Classic at the bridge, wired with three “G-arrow” controls (pickup volume, master volume, and master tone).
Kiesel Guitars revealed two unmissable signature guitars this year: Jason Becker JB24 and Greg Howe GH3. The stunning finish of GH3 is what catches attention first in this 24-fret bolt-neck guitar. The clas- sic Kiesel Bolt guitar concept has been improved here with Hipshot™ hardtail bridge. The guitar body is alder and the neck is Eastern hardrock maple with tung oil finish, inline headstock, 2-way adjustable truss rod and dual carbon-fiber rods for additional stability. The fingerboard is ebony, 14” radius. With pickups the options are three S60A single-coil pickups; optional Kiesel Lithium single coils; or optional Seymour Duncan Little ’59 mini-humbucker.
Greg Howe gathered a large audience this year not only at the Kiesel booth but also with his performance at DV Mark which the fans could hear through wireless headphones. This meant a superb listening experience while not interfering with the goings-on at neighboring booths.
Howe’s signature DV Mark DV LITTLE GH 250 amp produces both clean and distorted tones from the two channels with separate controls. The head is extremely portable (2.6 kg in weight) but offers enough power and headroom to suit big stages. The amp also features an onboard reverb and an FX loop to interface with external effects.
