ESP Experience iPhone App Now Available!

Hey iPhone users... the moment you’ve awaited is here. Commissioned by ESP Guitars and built by Brainmask, the “ESP Experience” iPhone app is available now.

The ESP Experience app is literally a complete experience with ESP/LTD guitars and basses, including everything but playing the instruments! It includes:

• A professional chromatic tuner for guitar and bass.
• Exclusive ESP content that will be updated often. These exclusive features include ESP artist interviews, ESP event coverage, free music downloads from ESP artists, tech tips from ESP’s head of guitar and bass design, a complete dealer locator, and more.
• An ESP Artist section with videos, lessons, and more.
• A full catalog of ESP and LTD guitars and basses.

All of our artists who have ESP/LTD Signature Series models are represented in the ESP Experience iPhone app.

A complete catalog of ESP and LTD guitars and basses is included.

An accurate chromatic tuner is worth the price of admission on its own!

Right from the start, you get plenty of added value from the ESP Experience app. You get a free Metallica song download code (sent to you from ESP after you get the app), and an exclusive guitar lesson from ESP artist Gus G. (Ozzy/Firewind) that’s only offered via this app!

The ESP Experience iPhone app is available right now from the iPhone App Store. It’s compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, and requires iPhone OS 3.0 or above. Get it now from the App Store or just visit http://itunes.com/apps/espexperience.

ESP Visits Comic-Con 2010

Sorry for the tardiness of this report; we're a little busy at the moment doing near-constant coverage of OZZFest 2010. But before we got ready to tour around the country, we stopped by San Diego for the 2010 Comic-Con.

You may be asking yourself, "Self, what was ESP doing at Comic-Con, other than just skipping work for a day?" Well, we can't lie: spending a beautiful Friday in San Diego isn't a bad way to kick off the weekend. But we had a good reason to be there. A few of them, actually.

When Comic-Con was started back in the early '70s, it was pretty simple: a convention for people who made and enjoyed comic books and cartoons. Easy enough. But over the years, Comic-Con has become a monster; the past few years have seen the attendance balloon to the maximum allowed at the San Diego Convention Center (around 125,000 people). You also have huge exhibits from TV and movie studios, with appearances by a plethora of Hollywood celebs.

But again, what what we doing there? Well, for one thing, our friends at Activision (for whom we've provided ESP models for the Guitar Hero franchise development) were there with a load of hot new games. Our education partner Musicians Institute was also present. However, our biggest reason for attending Comic-Con was to see our friend Llexi Leon, founder of the Eternal Descent comic series, who was doing his first big signing appearance at the industry's biggest convention.

We'll let the photos speak for themselves. Until next year, we'd like to thank Llexi as well as ESP friends Nuclear Blast Records and JSR Merchandising for getting us into the show!

ESP's Mark Mah with one of the folks from Musicians Institute. Hey, someone has to teach people how to score music for movies and video games, right?

And while they write all that killer music, they should do it on an ESP or LTD.

The creator of the Eternal Descent comic series (which features ESP artists) Llexi Leon with our Mark Mah.

Llexi spent the day signing autographs. Note the custom graphic LTD Eternal Descent guitar with him. Sweet!

And more signing.

And more signing. Between playing guitar, drawing epic comic books, and signing his name 100,000 times, Llexi's going to need replacement hands soon enough.

Limited Edition Slayer Box Set... on vinyl!

You're shortly going to realize something about us: we're old! Well, not too old to rock, of course, but old enough to remember the sweet sound of dropping the needle on a fresh vinyl LP record. While all of us at ESP understand that digital music (in both CD and audio file forms) are convenient, there's really no sound as great for listening to music as vinyl.

Apparently, we're not alone in this opinion. Slayer is releasing ten American Records albums in a limited edition high-end box set called "The Vinyl Conflict", and as the name implies, the entire set is being offered on vinyl! What Slayer albums can you enjoy on your turntable starting October 12? How about these...

• Reign in Blood (1986)
• South of Heaven (1988)
• Seasons In The Abyss (1990)
• Live Decade of Aggression (1991)
• Divine Intervention (1994)
• Undisputed Attitude (1996)
• Diabolus in Musica (1998)
• God Hates Us All (2001)
• Christ Illusion (2006)
• World Painted Blood (2009)

By the way, these aren't just crappy records that the label threw together. All of the albums were re-mastered from original analog recordings and then pressed on the finest 180-gram audiophile vinyl. You also get all the original artwork in its full glory, with the albums packaged in a collector's quality hardcover slipcase. Almost none of these albums have been available on vinyl in years, so this is a real treat for true metal lovers and Slayer fans.

As you probably already know, Slayer is pretty busy at the moment; they're co-headlining the "American Carnage" tour along with Megadeth through early September. As if that weren't enough, Slayer's three live DVDs ("Live Intrusion", "War At The Warfield", and "Still Reigning") are coming out this week.

As usual, we'll end this post by screaming SLAYER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a nice day.

ESP Guitars: The Official Guitar Sponsor of OZZFest 2010

Surprised? We doubt it. After all, OZZFest is the biggest metal spectacle of the summer, and youʼve already seen Ozzyʼs new guitarist Gus G. slinging his ESP on stages and in the latest Ozzy videos. Weʼre very proud to have this partnership with the Prince of Darkness!

You also probably know everything about OZZfest, but in case youʼve been living on the outer rings of Saturn for the last 15 years or so (or just need a refresher course), hereʼs some background on what OZZFest is and how it came about.

The History of OZZFest
Back in 1996, an alternative music festival called Lollapalooza was a big deal. However, the organizers of that show made a huge mistake when they didnʼt allow Ozzy to join the tour. Proving once again that itʼs never a good idea to turn down a metal legend, Ozzy and his lovely wife Sharon decided to host a festival of their own, focusing on the hardest and heaviest bands around.

The first OZZFest was not a tour... just a two-day festival show held in Phoenix, AZ and Devore, CA in fall 1996. But the reaction from the metal community immediately proved Ozzy and Sharon right: people wanted to see their heroes of heavy music ripping it up live in person. OZZFest became an annual event, and in years since often ranked among each yearʼs top tours. Theyʼve even held a “Battle for OZZFest” show where bands competed for a spot on the bill.

Back to the Now
This yearʼs OZZFest will prove to be among the best ever. It would be worth the price of admission if only to see the two main headliners: Ozzy Osbourne and Motley Crüe. But sharing the main stage of OZZFest are also bands including Halford, Nonpoint, and DevilDriver (featuring ESP players Jeff Kendrick, Jonathan Miller, and Mike Spreitzer).

The Monster Energy Second Stage has a collection of cool bands as well. In fact, Zakk Wylde along with Black Label Society will be rocking there, along with bands like Drowning Pool, Kingdom of Sorrow (with ESP player Kirk Windstein), Goatwhore (including ESP players James Harvey and Sammy Duet), Skeletonwitch, Saviors, Kataklysm, California Wildebeest, and Exodus (with ESP player Lee Altus). Note that not all bands will perform at all dates, so check the official schedule and get your tickets at ozzfest.com/tourdates!

Where and When
Speaking of schedules, hereʼs the latest news on OZZFest dates:

08.14.2010: Devore, CA (San Manuel Amphitheater)
08.17.2010: Tinley Park, IL (First Midwest Bank Amphitheater)
08.19.2010: Burgettstown, PA (First Niagara Pavilion)
08.21.2010: Hartford, CT (Comcast Theater)
08.22.2010: Camden, NJ (Susquehanna Bank Center)
08.24.2010: Mansfield, MA (Comcast Center)
09.18.2010: London, UK (02 Arena)
09.28.2010: Tel Aviv, Israel (HaYarkon Park)

For the most up-to-date news on everything OZZFest, just go to ozzfest.com. And keep an eye out for your friendly ESP people at the shows! Weʼll be there!