ESP Bill Kelliher Signature Guitar, the LTD Royal Shiva. This striking guitar, first teased in 2021 by the Mastodon guitarist, is a testament to innovation and design. Originally a Custom Shop one-off, and no coming to the LTD line in 2024.
LTD Royal Shiva
Fans first glimpsed the LTD Royal Shiva silverburst-style, double-cut Eclipse model when Kelliher previewed it during his STL ToneHub plugin promotion. He hinted at its development, revealing a weighty design of around 13 lbs.
Custom Shop to LTD
Originally, the guitar Kelliher showcased was a custom one-off model from ESP’s Custom Shop, crafted specifically for Kelliher. Now, the LTD Royal Shiva brings this exclusive design to a wider audience. While it’s unclear if the LTD version matches the original’s heft, its robust appearance is unmistakable.
Construction
The LTD Royal Shiva boasts impressive features, following Kelliher’s precise requirements. This guitar has a mahogany body with a maple cap. It features a 25” scale, a three-piece U-shaped mahogany neck, and a Macassar ebony fretboard with a 12” radius. The fretboard is beautifully accented with large mother-of-pearl block inlays, 22 Extra Jumbo frets, and a 43mm bone nut.
Hell Bender
It comes fitted with Kelliher’s Mojotone Hell Bender pickups. These versatile humbuckers are enhanced by a user-friendly control layout with push/pull volume and tone pots, allowing for coil-splitting of both neck and bridge pickups.
Additional details include LTD locking tuners, a TonePros Locking TOM bridge and tailpiece, and elegant white body binding. The guitar’s stunning Silver Sunburst finish, covering both body and neck, deserves special mention. The price also includes a deluxe ESP hardshell case.
Preorder
The new 2024 LTD Royal Shiva is now available for preorder at $1,999. It joins his ESP LTD Bill Kelliher BK-600 and the Sparrowhawk. Both of these are pretty stunning guitars, so this new one should fit right in.
More Information
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