This KH-2 “Ouija” first appeared around 1993, arriving midway through the massive touring cycle for the Black Album. It appears to be the first major “graphic” custom that Kirk played extensively live, pre-dating the “Mummy” by several years.
Kirk allegedly came up with the idea around 1990, wanting a guitar that featured elements from the Hasbro “Ouija” talking board. However, creating it required some improvisation.
The story goes that the team bought a board game, photocopied it, and used scissors to cut out the alphabet and design elements. They then allegedly faxed the layout to the ESP Custom Shop in Japan to be painted. This was all done in a phosphorescent (glow-in-the-dark) paint.
It’s interesting to note that the original Ouija (and accurate modern replicas) contains a typo from that original fax/photocopy process: “WILLIAM FUED TALKING BAARD SET” instead of “WILLIAM FULD TALKING BOARD SET”.
Furthermore, although there’s popular lore that this guitar was used on the Black Album studio recording, take this with a grain of salt. The album was recorded in 1990/1991, and this guitar wasn’t delivered until circa 1993. What makes sense logically is that while it missed the studio sessions, it became his number one instrument for the Nowhere Else to Roam tour and the subsequent Load era.
The Specs
Unlike the standard KH-2s of that era, which had skull inlays, this guitar features “Moon & Star” inlays. This is a crucial detail because it proves the guitar was a custom build from the ground up; since it is a neck-thru construction, the neck couldn’t have been swapped from an older model.
Regarding the electronics, most modern reissues ship with an EMG 81/60 combination. However, on the oldest photos of Kirk with the guitar in the mid-90s, it was likely fitted with his then-standard dual EMG-81 set. He likely switched the neck pickup to the EMG 60 later, around 1996, to get the cleaner tones required for the Load album tracks.
Where is it now?
Once the “Mummy” arrived in 1996, the Ouija saw less stage light, although Kirk kept it in his collection for years. While many of his other customs from this era were lost or destroyed, this one survived.
The guitar eventually appeared at a public auction, complete with the original case and photos of Kirk presenting it to the new owner. It sold for $225,000.
Before the sale, Kirk wrote the following on the back of the body:
This guitar has been one of my main touring and recording guitars of the ’90s. This guitar has been used extensively on the albums Load, Reload, Garage Inc., Black Album and S&M.
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