The LTD KH-V is being made available in three finish/hardware choices: Black Sparkle, Red Sparkle, and Metallic Gold.
“I actually got goosebumps when I saw the KH-V for the first time,” says Hammett. “It was like the perfect hybrid of reality and my vision. It’s such a beautiful guitar. I strapped it on and played it later that day; just jamming out with friends for four or five hours. It’s an amazing, amazing guitar.”
The LTD KH-V is the newest addition to the Kirk Hammett Signature Series. It’s available in three different versions: Black Sparkle with black hardware and black pickguard; Red Sparkle with gold hardware and gold pickguard; and Metallic Gold with gold hardware and cream pickguard. The KH-V offers neck-thru- body construction at 25.5” scale with korina body and a three-piece extra-thin U-shaped maple neck. Its Macassar ebony fingerboard features pearloid wave inlays and 24 extra-jumbo frets. The sound of the KH-V is powered by a set of Kirk’s signature EMG Bone Breaker pickups, with the BB-B ceramic bridge and the BB-N alnico 5 neck pickups for crisp, crushing leads or smooth, rounded rhythm tones at the flip of a switch. Controls of the KH-V include volume, tone, and a three-way pickup selector toggle. Other pro features include a TonePros bridge with string-thru-body and LTD locking tuners. The LTD KH-V includes a deluxe ESP hardshell case.
ESP will be shipping all three versions of the LTD KH-V to US dealers and international distributors in March 2023. More information and detailed specs on the LTD KH-V can be found on the ESP web site at espguitars.com.
For more information, please visit espguitars.com.
- ESP Guitars Unveils New Artist Signature Models ›
- ESP Guitars Unveils Bill Kelliher Signature Model ›
- ESP Guitars Announces the Cult '86 ›
- 12 New Artist Signature Series Models from ESP Guitars - Premier Guitar ›
- ESP Guitars Welcomes Slipnot's Mick Thomson to Artist Roster - Premier Guitar ›
- ESP Announces Eight New Models for their Signature Series ›
- ESP's 19 New Guitars in the LTD Deluxe Series ›
If you’ve been on the path of this spring’s Rhett Schull/Zach Person tour, you’ve been treated to one of the coolest rock ’n’ roll double bills criss-crossing North America this year. Person, who is based in Austin, put out his second full-length record, Let’s Get Loud, in March 2024, and it was packed with alt-, blues-, and psychedelic-rock anthems built around his take-no-prisoners playing.
This year, Person is road-doggin’ it around the United States as a two-piece unit with just a drummer, and PG’s Chris Kies caught up with him before he and Shull played the Eastside Bowl in Madison, Tennessee, to see what goods Person is bringing for this spring’s shows.
Brought to you by D’Addario
Customized Custom
This Gibson Jimi Hendrix 1967 Custom SG came from Gibson’s custom shop, and for Person, an SG with humbuckers is a hard combination to beat. He removed the Maestro trem system and had a tailpiece installed for tuning stability on the road, and he subjected the neck humbucker to a “Jimmy Page mod,” which entails removing the pole pieces to get closer to single-coil tones. This SG stays in standard tuning, with Ernie Ball or D’Addario strings (usually .010–.046s). Person digs Dunlop Flow Grip .88 mm picks.
Brown Sound
Person brought this 1967 Gibson SG Special back to life with a list of modifications and upgrades, including new pickups and a refinish, but its wood, neck shape, and original frets all made it worth it to him. The neck shape is narrow but chunky in Person’s hands, landing somewhere near the feel of Tyler Bryant’s 1962 Stratocaster. The pickups now are OX4 P-90s, and like the Custom, this one’s had its Maestro system amputated.
Jeannie Comes Alive
One Thanksgiving at his in-laws’ home in Dallas, Person mentioned how badly he wanted a Gibson LG-2 acoustic. As it happened, his father-in-law suspected his mother had one, which had been relegated to storage in a shed. Person and his wife’s father ventured through rain to dig it out, and sure enough, a very beat up LG-1 was withering away in its case. No local techs in Austin thought it was worth saving, except for Elaine Filion, who was used to taking on bigger restoration projects. Filion succeeded, taking the top off and installing an X-bracing system to turn the LG-1 into an LG-2-style guitar. Now, it’s got an L.R. Baggs pickup and bears the nameplate “Jeannie” on its headstock to commemorate his wife’s grandma, the original owner. Jeannie usually stays home, but Person brought her out specially for the Rundown.
Marshall Muscle
This Marshall JTM45 MkII is Person’s usual go-to. It runs just at breakup volume and gets pushed with some variation of a Pro Co RAT, his favorite dirt box.
Supro Signature
This Super Black Magick Reverb, Tyler Bryant’s signature, is along for the ride as a backup to the Marshall.
Zach Person’s Pedalboard
Person has done tours with just an overdrive pedal and nothing else, so by comparison, this two-tiered Vertex board is luxurious. Still, it’s compact and carries all he needs at the moment. The JHS Pack Rat is the core sound, set fairly heavy and dirty. The rest includes a Boss TU-3, EarthQuaker Devices Double Hoof, Vox Clyde McCoy wah, Boss BF-2, DigiTech Drop, Strymon El Capistan, and an Interstellar Audio Machines Marsling Octafuzzdrive. A TC Helicon Mic Mechanic rides along as a vocal effect so Person can keep control over his voice from night to night.
“All the kids in all L.A. / Come to hear Dick Dale play,” or so goes the title track from Dick Dale’s Wrecking Crew-heavy 1963 album, King of the Surf Guitar. Immodest though it might seem to proclaim such a status, he was indeed at the top of the heap.
For many, Dale’s legend precedes him. His sound, first heard in a So Cal beach ballroom, created the surf guitar vocabulary and transformed the guitar universe, starting with the 1962 release of his take on the traditional song “Misirlou.” Ever the showman, he worked closely with Leo Fender developing the right gear for the gig as he played his ripping instrumentals to larger and larger audiences. He also inspired a Hendrix lyric and had a late-career renaissance thanks to Quentin Tarantino.
In this episode of 100 Guitarists, we’re talking all things surf rock, from reverb to tremolo picking and much more. And while “Misirlou” is undisputedly his most influential work, maybe Dale’s best records didn’t come until a few decades later.
This episode is sponsored byTraveler Guitar.
