ESP Guitars: Seeing is Believing

CMI is one of Australia’s premier distributors of fine musical instruments: they’re the ones responsible for bringing ESP and Blackstar to our stores, studios and stages. And like many Australian musicians, they’re itching to get back out there in front of an audience at the Melbourne Guitar Show. They’ll be bringing some special treats to the show this year, as Guitar & Accessories Brand Manager Steve Lane tells us:

“We’re teaming up with the guys at Bedfield Music this year, who are based out in New South Wales,” Lane says.

“They’re one of our bigger ESP dealers nationally, and we’re really going to show attendees at the Melbourne Guitar Show the finer end of ESP.”

So what does that mean?

“That means Custom Shop. That means some one-off ESP USA models. We’ve also got a kind of pretty top secret announcement. It’ll be happening from ESP on the day of the Guitar Show; we’ll be launching the three new guitars in the LTD range. So that’s very exciting. And there will be a lot of exclusive models that have just arrived in Australia on the stand for the dates.”

It’ll be a rare opportunity for Aussie guitarists to see the kind of flash that ESP regularly displays at its booth at the NAMM Show in Anaheim each year. NAMM attendees will recall the absolute glitz and showiness of the ESP booth, where you will not only see catalogue models, but also some of the finest handcrafted instruments in the world, a sort of ‘best of the best’ opportunity for the brand to really go allout on looks and features.

“That’s right,” Lane says. “And on the ESP stand this year at the Melbourne Guitar Show, there will be at least three guitars that are in that category. We’re talking super high end; one of the guitars, for example, is from what’s called the Exhibition Series. And this guitar is really next level. The woods that are used… I mean, it says it’s quilt maple but it’s one of these maples that looks 3D in real life. You have to see it in person. Photos can’t capture it. It’s really a ‘seeing is believing’ thing. So I would definitely ask people to come over and have a look at that guitar on the stand!”

ESP has long been known for its range of signature instruments, from legacy artists like George Lynch and Ron Wood to modern players. ESP’s LTD brand even got on board with Australia’s Parkway Drive to offer signature models for Luke Kirkpatrick and Jeff Ling in 2016. There are ESPs and/or LTDs designs with members of Of Mice & Men, Testament, Breaking Benjamin, Slayer, Judas Priest, Deftones, Lamb Of God, Unearth, Korn, Mastodon, Animals As Leaders, Darkest Hour, Soulfly, Behemoth, A Day To Remember, Code Orange, Goatwhore, Rammstein and many more. And with a new Metallica album out this year, there’s gotta be some Hetfields and Hammetts on display, right?

“Correct,” Lane says. “I would say to any Metallica fans that will be at the Show, definitely swing by and see what we’ve got on offer there. Because we do have some exclusive models that I think, possibly outside of the US, Melbourne will be the only place globally to see. We’ll have those guitars on show. The Metallica signatures do well for us and having the biggest metal band on Earth obviously helps push out the message, for sure!”

CMI will also be showing off the latest and greatest from Blackstar.

“For us the show is about showcasing the force of ESP and also highlighting Blackstar’s St James Range. These are lightweight valve models which came out twelve months ago. They sound great and we’re really looking forward to seeing what people think of them. And we’ll actually have someone on the stand from ESP, a gentleman called Miguel who is coming over from the US. He works with us very closely and he’s going to be there on the Saturday, and he can talk ESP to the next level! That will be his first time in Australia and it’s going to be great to have him along as well.”

BY PETER HODGSON

Melbourne Guitar Show 2023 Live Performance And Session Program

Program subject to change. See Artist profiles tab for more information about sessions

WHAMMY BAR - Level 2 (via Escalator West)

Saturday March 4

11.30 - 12.15 CHRIS BIENIEK Jazz Rock Guitar Heroes Tribute with Gavin Pearce, Gerry Pantazsis, Hong Yang

12.45 - 1.45

HUSSY HICKS

2.15 - 3.00 LLOYD SPIEGEL TRIO with Tim Burnham and Lisa Baird

3.15 - 4.00 KATHLEEN HALLORAN BAND with Kim May and Darryn Farrugia

4.30 - 5.30

SIMON HOSFORD BAND PLAYS YNGWIE MALMSTEEN’S ‘TRILOGY’ with Phil Turcio, Pete Drummond, Pete Mollica, Chris Stark

MARSH MEZZANINE STAGE - Level 1 Escalator West

11.00 - 11.30

12.00 - 12.45

1.00 - 1.45

2.00 - 2.40

3.00 - 3.45

ERIC BIBB (USA) Up Close & Personal in Conversation and Song

KYRAN DANIEL

MONICA WEIGHTMAN

STEPH STRINGS

GUITAR SHOW Hosted by Nick Charles, featuring Lloyd Spiegel, Corey Legge, Kyran Daniel, Julz Parker, Monica Weightman, Charlie Bedford

WINNER’S CIRCLE WORKSHOP STAGE - Level 1, Escalator West

11.00 - 11.45 KEMPER DEMO presented by Innovative Music with Declan Boyle

12.00 - 12.45 Up Close and Personal with STEPH STRINGS - Presented by Boss

1.15 - 2.15

2.30 - 3.15

3.30 - 4.15

NICK JOHNSTON (Canada) CLINIC presented by Schecter Guitars

VOX MINI GO SERIES AMPS featuring product Specialist Tom Baeppler -Presented by Vox

LANEY CLINIC featuring Sammy Vincent

1876 BAR - Level 2, Escalator West

11.30 - 12.15

12.30 - 1.15

1.45 - 2.30

2.45- 3.30

3.30 - 5.00

BEN KELLY

COREY LEGGE Presented by Cole Clark Guitars

JOYCE PRESCHER with Duncan Yardley

JOSHUA BATTEN

LUTHIERS LOUNGE FORUM

Guitarmakers from both bespoke and production streams getting together for casual meet and greet. All welcome, whether you’re building or just interested. Come stop by. Say gday. Bring your latest build. Troubleshooting. Networking. General guitar related chit chat. Open mic. Play a few numbers. All welcome.

Melbourne Guitar Show 2023 Live Performance And Session Program

Program subject to change. See Artist profiles tab for more information about sessions

WHAMMY BAR - Level 2 (via Escalator West)

12.00 - 12.30 NICK JOHNSTON (CAN) Presented by Schecter Guitars

Sunday March 5

1.00- 1.40 KING CANYON Featuring James Ryan, Jimmy Cupples, Kit Riley, Haydn Meggitt

2.20 - 3.45 BLUES ROULETTE MELBOURNE GUITAR SHOW JAM

With Blues Roulette’s Ben Wicks and Johhny Tesoriero with guests James Ryan, Charlie Bedford, Simon Hosford, Kathleen Halloran, Julz Parker, Marcel Yammouni, Jimmy Cupples.

MARSH MEZZANINE STAGE - Level 1 Escalator West

11.00 - 11.45 KYRAN DANIEL

12.00-12.45 PHIL MANNING & NICK CHARLES

1.00-1.45 HUSSY HICKS

2.00- 2.45 OPAL OCEAN

WINNER’S CIRCLE WORKSHOP STAGE - Level 1, Escalator West

10.30-11.15

Two Notes, Morley Pedlas, VHT Amps Demo presented by Innovative Music & featuring James Ryan

11.30 -12.15 FRACTAL AUDIO WORKSHOP featuring Leon Todd “Live Tones vs Studio Tones” Leon explores the cutting edge of guitar tones on the world leading Fractal Audio Axe-Fx. Presented by Independent Music

12.30 - 1.15 “Dial It In! How To Produce A Killer YouTube Demo Track” presented by Boss featuring Leon Todd

1.30 - 2.15 LLOYD SPIEGEL on Cole Clark guitars

2.30 - 3.15 LINE 6 CATALYST AMPS DEMO with Michael Paynter presented by Line 6 & Yamaha Music

1876 BAR - Level 2 - Escalator West

11.00 - 12.00 PENCIL TATTOOING GUITARS

Coloured pencil has caused a Guitar Art Revolution. The concept of “Pencil Tattooing” was developed in 2011 by Gypsy Spelling and has since been utilised by Australia’s best known guitar manufacturers and luthiers. This workshop is an opportunity for anyone interested in Guitar Art (no experience required) being applied to previously lacquered Guitars or raw timber.

12.15 - 1.00

MARCEL YAMMOUNI DEMONSTRATES LAUDA GUITARS

Come and hear the best Lauda Guitars has to offer in the hands of Marcel Yammouni. Multi-instrumentalist and producer. Featuring the Night Owl and Bluehawk models. Check out the possibilities of a modern hollowbody.

1.15 - 2.00

2.15 - 3.00

FENDER SESSIONS - Inspiration, Workflow, and Versatility for the Guitarist, Semi-Pro Producer and Enthusiast How do you nurture and capture that elusive creative spark? A panel discussion featuring Michael Paynter and Kathleen Halloran. Presented by Fender

LUKE BAILEY Presented by Walden guitars