NAMM 2025: ESP has rolled out its 2025 roster of electric guitars, and it’s gone big on single-pickup builds, with several big-name signature models setting the trend.
Chief among them is the LTD JM-I, a Superstrat-style model for Sylosis and former Architects riff monger Josh Middleton, which quickly follows the announcement of Mick Thomson’s first signature guitar with the Japanese company.
There are some neat specs to the model, including a Blood Moon finish over a quilted maple top, with a Gotoh Tune-O-Matic string-through bridge, an extra thin U-shaped neck, and LTD locking tuners offering premium touches.
But it’s the single Fishman Fluence Modern humbucker, found in the bridge position and therefore mirroring Thomson’s electronics setup, that seems the most telling. Indeed, of the 28 new guitars, 14 are bridge ‘bucker only builds.
In an age of djent and thall, where metal guitar players are often focusing on crushing low-ends and colder-than-dumping-your-girlfriend-over-text cleans, over shredding, ESP looks to be matching market demand, where the desire for warm neck pickup tones isn’t too great.
Highlights include black-finished, gold hardware-adorned, and EMG JH pickup-loaded MSV-1 flying V, a Phoenix-201. The latter is the firm’s Firebird-type silhouette – and one which Rammstein’s Richard ZK has made his own with a trend-bucking, twin ‘bucker signature – while an EC-201 serves for those wanting an LP-esque axe but who also hate neck pickups.
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Elsewhere, the SN-1 HT offers another Fishman Fluence build, this time with a Strat-gone-stealth-mode aesthetic, capped with a sandblasted black finish for its swamp ash body.
The 201 range, which includes the aforementioned Phoenix, uses the same recipe of mahogany bodies, maple necks, and ESP LH-150B pickups with a push-pull coil split control, for Explorer, Telecaster, and super Strat shapes. The Phoenix, though, ditches the maple neck in favor of mahogany.
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There’s also a recognition of the rising offset trend, as new recent builds for Spiritbox’s Mike Stringer and Periphery’s Misha Mansoor. These come via the XJ-1, a six-string baritone in a Silverburst finish that again employs a Fishman Fluence, and the AW-XJ7, an Evertune bridge-equipped seven-string baritone signature for Whitechapel’s Alex Wade.
Baritones are growing in popularity in the metal world, with Loathe’s low-tuned shenanigans a major catalyst. As such, six of the line-up deliver 27” scale lengths. Only two of those – the luminous yellow SC-608 and Granite Sparkle M-1007, come with twin ‘buckers, both of which are Fishman Fluence.
Last year, Marcos Mena raised eyebrows with his signature Ibanez that saw its only pickup in the neck position. ESP is keeping things more conventional with its 2025 range, hoping that, by staying on the cutting edge of player trends, it can appeal to the contemporary metal crowd.
ESP’s decision to forego neck humbuckers in many of its 2025 builds (fear not, HH fans – there are a few of those on the books, too) is an interesting one.
The rise in popularity of single pickup guitars over the past few years has been well documented – the Fender Tom DeLonge Stratocaster and the ever-present EVH Striped designs remain stand-out examples – and now it seems that trend has taken hold in the metal world.
Pair this drop with that aforementioned Mick Thomson signature and this could very much be the start of a new movement in metal guitar.
“If you remain static in the world of guitar design and manufacturing, you’re already falling behind,” said Matt Masciandaro, president and CEO of the ESP Guitar Company.
“For ESP, there are constant innovations that happen along the way, from the components we select, to the materials we source, to the methods we use to create high-quality instruments at all price points. 50 years is a great achievement for ESP, but our sights are set on what’s coming next.”
Head over to ESP to check out the full range.
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