Mastodon's Bill Kelliher signs with ESP, announces two new signature guitars
Metal guitarist jumps ship from Gibson, says "working with ESP has been a breath of fresh air"
Just two years on from the release of his last Gibson signature guitar - the Halcyon Les Paul - Mastodon tonehound Bill Kelliher has joined the ESP roster and announced the release of two new guitars with the Japanese guitar titan.
The ESP Bill Kelliher and more affordable LTD-BK-600 are based on the classic ESP Eclipse single-cut outline, and pack mahogany bodies with full thickness and no waist cut, plus mahogany necks, ebony fingerboards and 24.75" scale lengths.
Crucially, and like his Gibson models, Bill's signature Lace Sensor Dissonant Aggressor pickups are onboard, while locking tuners and TonePros locking bridges also feature.
"Working with ESP has been a breath of fresh air," says Bill. "When I first set eyes on this guitar, I couldn't wait to play this mean-looking weapon of sound. After plugging it in and cranking it up, I couldn't put it down. What a great piece of work!"
The ESP Bill Kelliher and LTD-BK-600 both come in a Military Green Sunburst Satin finish with body, neck and headstock binding - tasty. They'll hit stores later this year, with prices TBC.
Bill's not the only Mastodon member to secure a signature model this year, of course, after bandmate Brent Hinds landed himself an Epiphone Flying V Custom back in April.
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Mike has been Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com since 2019, and an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict for far longer. He has a master's degree in journalism from Cardiff University, and 15 years' experience writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as 20 years of recording and live experience in original and function bands. During his career, he has interviewed the likes of John Frusciante, Chris Cornell, Tom Morello, Matt Bellamy, Kirk Hammett, Jerry Cantrell, Joe Satriani, Tom DeLonge, Radiohead's Ed O'Brien, Polyphia, Tosin Abasi, Yvette Young and many more. His writing also appears in the The Cambridge Companion to the Electric Guitar. In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock as Maebe.
