Sophie Lloyd becomes the first Kiesel Guitars female signature artist with the SL6

Kiesel Guitars Sophie Lloyd signature models
(Image credit: Kiesel Guitars)

Kiesel Guitars has launched the first signature model for UK guitarist Sophie Lloyd with the SL6, the first female artist to have a permanent addition to the Californian company's electric guitar catalogue.

“If you’d have told me when I was a kid I’d have my own signature guitar line coming out I’d never have believed you, let alone being the first female signature artist for Kiesel!” says solo artist and Machine Gun Kelly touring guitarist Sophie. 

“Kiesel took me on when I barely had a thousand followers, it’s been amazing to grow with them and become part of the family. They are one of the most innovative and exciting brands out there and their A6 model has become such an extension of me and my playing that I could never imagine playing anything else." 

The model follows on from her limited edition Artist Edition A6H Aries model in 2021. 

Sophie Lloyd with her Kiesel signature guitars

(Image credit: Kiesel Guitars)

Sophie: “My signature model combines all the best bits of my artist series such as the chambered black limba body and 24 fret 14” radius thin neck profile, but adds some incredible new features such as a walnut neck, sustainiac pickup option, and gives peoples the ability to customise the guitar to their own taste, choosing their own fretboard, top wood and colour, making each guitar truly unique.

"They are really unlike any guitar I’ve ever played and are sure to enhance and inspire players of every ability.”

For company founder Jeff Kiesel, it represents Sophie coming into her own as an artist.

“It’s been such a great time working with Sophie and watching her career continue to thrive,” he stated . “Not only is she a great guitar player but also an amazing person with a great personality. This signature model marks a first for Kiesel, offering a kill switch and Sustaniac pickup system in her model(s). 

"Looking forward to seeing her on stage with them and also the amazing custom builds from her fans as they customize their very own SL6 signature model to their liking.” 

The new model features in the video for Lost; Sophie's latest collaboration with Canadian guitarist Cole Rolland. And it reflects not just the future for her but also her past music too.

“I knew I wanted at least one instrumental song on the album to pay homage to my first EP, Delusions,” Sophie explains. “We’d had the basic idea of the song written for a while but I was struggling to turn it into anything I thought was cool enough – we were actually going to remove it from the album. However, I decided to send it to one of the most incredible guitarists I know and a great friend of mine, Cole Rolland. 

I’d worked with him once before on a Beethoven goes metal symphony so I knew he’d be great, but he completely flipped this song around and gave it a whole new life, he really gave it a whole story without the need for any words and bought a great new energy to it. When we started adding layers and harmonies we really knew we had something special.”

Check out the options for the new Kiesel SL6 at Kiesel Guitars

Rob Laing
Guitars Editor, MusicRadar

I'm the Guitars Editor for MusicRadar, handling news, reviews, features, tuition, advice for the strings side of the site and everything in between. Before MusicRadar I worked on guitar magazines for 15 years, including Editor of Total Guitar in the UK. When I'm not rejigging pedalboards I'm usually thinking about rejigging pedalboards.