“James Hetfield picked up the phone saying, ‘Have you tried an ESP?’” ESP unveils Joe Duplantier’s eagerly awaited signature guitar in time for NAMM 2026

Joe Duplantier and his ESP LTD JD-I.

NAMM 2026: ESP has finally unveiled its long-awaited Joe Duplantier signature guitar, which arrives almost 18 months after the company announced the signing of the Gojira guitar juggernaut.

In the summer of 2024, Duplantier and his bandmates set the global stage ablaze when he became the unexpected star of the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony, during which he wielded a mysterious custom ESP.