ESP unveils non-more-metal LTD signature guitar for Goatwhore’s Sammy Duet, updates Alan Ashby and Javier Reyes models

ESP has welcomed Sammy Duet of New Orleans extreme metal stalwarts Goatwhore to its artist roster, unveiling the LTD SD-2 signature guitar based on Duet’s ESP Custom Shop model.

It is hard to imagine more metal guitar – at least, not a production model – with the SD-2  sporting a ‘Random Star’ body shape and reverse six-in-line headstock for a super-aggressive silhouette. 

Furthermore, the high-performance electric guitar specialist has unveiled an updated Alan Ashby signature model, with the Of Mice And Men guitarist’s AA-1 now available in a sleek and classy Black Satin with contrasting gold hardware. 

Animals As Leaders’ Javier Reyes gets a new signature model, too, or a variation on a theme, as the LTD seven-string version of his 27” scale baritone is launched, the JR-7.

The trio is indicative of ESP’s design range and, indeed, of what the contemporary metal guitarist requires from their instrument. Each has its own merits, and yet shares some design features such as the neck-through construction and extra-jumbo frets.

Let’s look at Duet’s new shredder. Well, it’s odd-on to get a ding in the wing within your first week of owning one – that’s the deal with these shapes. But what a profile, and this is definitely the sort of six-string you’d want to own if you were employed in a band named Goatwhore. 

The SD-2 has a mahogany body with a three-piece mahogany neck, an ebony fingerboard seating 24 stainless steel frets and dressed with pearloid diamond inlay, a double-locking Floyd Rose 1000 SE vibrato, and a single Seymour Duncan Blackout active pickup. 

It is hard to see in the picture but there’s plenty of contouring to enhance upper-fret access, and from a distance those fretboard inlays give it a classic ‘80s BC Rich vibe. And the Extra Thin U profile will make that neck a shredder's delight. Very cool.

As for the AA-1, the big news is the new look, but anyone in the market for a souped-up T-style electric for handling all styles of metal, new and old, would do well to check it out. 

It, too, has a three-piece mahogany neck and macassar ebony fingerboard, and has a single EMG 81 active pickup with a brushed gold cover. As for hardware, you’ve got a fuss-free TonePros locking tune-o-matic bridge with string-through design. The frets are a connoisseur’s choice – Jescar EVOgold. Fancy. Again, we've got a reverse headstock. 

Last, but definitely not least – particularly if we’re talking low-end riffs – Javier Reyes now has his signature baritone reimagined as a seven-string guitar. Big news for the extended-range prog and math metal heads, it has swamp ash body with quilted maple top, and a 5-piece walnut/maple/padauk neck with Macassar ebony fingerboard.

The JR-7 is fitted with a set of a Fishman Javier Reyes Open Core Humbucker pickups, which offer a wide array of sounds from a five-way super switch and coil-splitting features, and there’s a top-quality Hipshot bridge. 

No details on prices just head but head over to ESP Guitars for more.