November '09
Artist Spotlight: Richard Z
of Rammstein
September '09
Interview: Shaun Glass and Dirge Within
Artist Spotlight: Doc Coyle
of God Forbid
August '09
Artist Spotlight: Will Adler (Lamb of God)
July '09
Artist Spotlight: Page Hamilton of Helmet
Winner's Circle: Mayem Sweepstakes
AVAILABLE FALL 2009: The new James Hetfield Truckster... now in black!
ESP and Spinefarm Records bring you Children of Bodom Fall 2009 North American Tour
Download Native Instruments Guitar Rig 3 Go for free and enter for a chance to win an LTD KH-602
Coming Soon: ESP Artist Podcasts
June '09
Hot New Models Coming This Fall!
Winner's Circle: "No Fear" Music Tour Sweepstakes
Get Rockin Now with an LTD Guitar or Bass Pack!
April '09
ESP Congratulates Metallica for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction
ESP Artists Top Guitar World Reader's Poll!
New ESPs at 2009 Musikmesse Show!
March '09
Will Adler Appearance at Sam Ash Hollywood
ESP Gets in the Game with Guitar Hero: Metallica
February '09
Artist Interview: Ted Aguilar of Death Angel
ESP mourns the loss of Metal Mulisha rider Jeremy Lusk
January '09
ESP Announces New Models for 2009
New Kirk Hammett & James Hetfield Signature Series
ESP's Signature Series Gets 18 New Models at NAMM 2009
Artist Spotlight: Fred LeClercq of DragonForce
20 Years With ESP: Page Hamilton
ESP Artists Receive Grammy Nominations
ESP Artists Featured in Upcoming Comic Series
ESP on MySpace: Are you our friend?
Itʼs not often that a person spends 20 years doing any one thing. Most marriages donʼt last 20 years, and neither do most jobs. But since 1989, Page Hamilton has spent the entire time playing guitars from ESP, making him one of the first high-profile guitarists to choose ESP.
ESP President Matt Masciandaro, who helped start the USA operations of ESP in the 80s, recalls Pageʼs start with ESP. “In 1989, weʼd only opened the US branch of ESP a few years earlier,” he says. “We were still becoming established as a well-known guitar brand. Having a player on our team as innovative and respected as Page was very important to our success, and weʼre proud that two decades later, Page remains part of the ESP family.”
At ESP, we already started the celebration of Pageʼs 20 years of using our guitars by releasing the ESP Page Hamilton MG and the LTD PH 600MG. Both of these guitars are based on Hamiltonʼs original custom ESP Horizon model, and are built to perfectly replicate the instrument after 20 years of use, including “distressed” pre-wear of the finish and hardware, as well as indications of the customization of Hamiltonʼs personal instrument.
The signature model features a neck-thru-body design at 25.5” scale, with an alder body and maple neck with ebony fingerboard. A locking nut and original Floyd Rose bridge, Gotoh tuners, 24 XJ frets, and Dimarzio Air Zone pickup are also included (Grover tuners are substituted on the LTD version). Like Hamiltonʼs original custom guitar, both models are offered in a bright magenta, highly distressed finish.
Long before the formation of Helmet, Page Hamilton was born in Oregon, but later moved to New York to study jazz guitar. His study of genres like jazz allowed him to approach the world of heavy rock with unconventional approaches to riffs and solos, and he ended up being cited as one of the most influential guitar players of the early ʻ90s. Helmetʼs major label debut in 1992 spawned hits such as “Unsung” and “In the Meantime” and that, along with their next several albums, would make the Billboard Hot 100.
After over nine years that encompassed 1600 shows and five albums, Page broke up the band and went out on his own. His diverse musical background allowed him to get gigs writing music for films, including working with composer Elliot Goldenthal on the soundtrack for the movie “Heat” with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. During the hiatus of Helmet, Page also toured as David Bowieʼs guitarist, and also made appearances on songs by bands including P.O.D. and Norma Jean. He also got involved in producing other artists, such as Gavin Rossdale. In 2004, Page reformed Helmet, recording the album Size Matters, and then their most recent LP, Monochrome, in 2006. That year, Helmet headlined the Warped Tour in support of the new album.
Today, Page remains as vibrant as ever, and continues to draw upon his training in various musical genres to write music for a variety of applications. Weʼre proud that Page continues to play his favorite ESP and LTD models, both live and in the studio. As an innovator, a composer, and a really amazing guitarist, he represents the best of what ESP and LTD guitars can do.
