This was Kirk’s main transition guitar from the mid-90s. We don’t know exactly when he decided to retire his 1979 Gibson Flying V from the road, but looking at the timeline, it seems to happen right around the end of the Black Album cycle. By 1993 or 1994, the reality of touring with a vintage instrument likely set in, and he needed something with ESP’s modern stability.
Before the actual KH-1 came out, you’ll see photos of Kirk from the Nowhere Else to Roam (1993) or Shit Hits the Sheds (1994) tours playing a black V that looks similar but isn’t quite right. Likely, these were the ESP MV-290 series or direct custom shop prototypes. At that time, ESP was dealing with lawsuit issues over headstock shapes, so these early ones often had different, Jackson-style headstocks.
The Variations
If you look at the footage from the Load and Reload era, things get confusing because Kirk wasn’t just playing one V. He was rotating through at least three distinct variations.
In interviews, Kirk usually noted that his favorite V from this era was the one equipped with a Tune-o-matic bridge and a stop bar tailpiece. This makes sense if you consider his history – his original Gibson had a fixed bridge. For the loose, bluesy grooves on Load, a floating bridge is finicky. A fixed bridge allowed him to dig in with heavy downstrokes without the pitch wobbling.
However, the “production” model that hit the stores came with an Original Floyd Rose. Likely, ESP decided that a signature model without a tremolo wouldn’t sell to the “shred” demographic who wanted to play “Enter Sandman” dive bombs, so they standardized the retail version with the tremolo.
There is also a third variant that pops up in photos – a V with a Floyd Rose but only a single EMG 81 in the bridge position. We don’t know for sure why he used this, but removing the neck pickup eliminates magnetic drag on the strings, which theoretically helps with sustain.
Specs
The KH-1 production model was built in the ESP Custom Shop in Japan and was available roughly between 1995 and 1998. It featured a mahogany body, which kept the low-end growl similar to his Gibson. However, the neck was maple with a bolt-on construction. This is a massive departure from the Gibson formula and gave the guitar more “snap”.
It is important to note that while the retail models were bolt-on, Kirk’s personal custom shop guitars were often neck-through.
Another critical detail often overlooked is the scale length. While a Gibson V is 24.75″ (Short scale), the KH-1 is 25.5″ (Fender scale). This makes the strings tighter and the guitar feel more like a Stratocaster than a Gibson.
Inlays and Electronics
The single most identifying feature of this guitar is the inlays. Instead of the usual skulls, the KH-1 has “Dancing Devil” inlays made of pearloid. These are small silhouettes of a devil with a pitchfork that change poses as you move up the neck.
For electronics, the catalog listed the guitar with dual EMG 81 pickups, though Kirk often swapped the neck pickup for an EMG 60 for cleaner tones.
The “Asian” Models
For those who couldn’t afford the ESP Japan model, there were cheaper versions available, largely under the “GrassRoots” brand for the Japanese market. You can spot these easily because they usually have dot inlays instead of the devils, and they use passive “GH-1G” pickups that look like EMGs but aren’t. They also used cheaper woods like alder or basswood instead of mahogany.
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