ESP RZK Series
| ESP RZK Series | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | ESP |
| Period | 2005 - 2008, 2009, 2010 - present |
| Construction | |
| Body type | Solid |
| Neck joint | Neck-thru |
| Woods | |
| Body | Alder |
| Neck |
3-piece Maple (RZK-I) Mahogany (RZK-2) |
| Fretboard | Rosewood with custom cross inlays |
| Hardware | |
| Bridge | Floyd Rose Original Bridge |
| Pickup(s) | 2 EMG 81 |
| Colors available | |
| Platinum Silver, Black Satin, Olympic White, Distressed Burnt | |
ESP RZK Series is a line of guitars distributed by ESP. They are the custom guitars of Rammstein and Emigrate lead-guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe. The first model, the RZK-1, was produced with a custom platinum silver finish with a simplified Rammstein logo on the body of the guitar. Two new finishes, with variations in the pickguard color, were introduced at the Musikmesse Frankfurt show in early 2009.
Construction: Neck-thru body, Scale: 25.5", Body: Alder, Neck: 3-piece Hard Maple, Fingerboard: Rosewood, Inlay: Rammstein Fat Cross, Nut: Locking (R2), Bridge: Floyd Rose, Tuners: Gotoh Deluxe, Pickups: EMG 81 with Chrome covers, Frets: 24 XJ, Control: Master Volume, 3-way toggle pickup selector, Colours: Custom Platinum finish, Black Satin, Olympic White. The body also has a strong resemblance to several Mosrite guitar bodies, such as the Mark series.
The RZK-1 was also produced in an LTD version called RZK-600 from 2005 till the end of 2008.
2010 Re-release and the RZK-2
The RZK series was recently revived for the Asian, European, and Australian market. It has the original specifications of the 1st line of RZK guitars, but now comes in a custom "burnt" finish.
A new signature was also released with the new finish: the RZK-2 With an eclipse body shape. The RZK-2 has some of the features of the original RZK-1: The RZK-2 has 2 chrome EMG 81 pickups, while the RZK-1 has 2 red EMG pickups. The RZK-2 also has a black binding on the neck, while the RZK-1 has a white binding. The RZK-2 also has a 25.5 inch neck, like the RZK-1 has.[1] The ESP RZK-2 is currently ESP only production Eclipse model made of a wood besides mahogany, excluding the LTD and Grassroots series.
Besides its release in the beginning of 2010, the actual debut of the guitar was made on Rammstein's music video for the song Pussy. This model is the same as the current production model, but had a titanium finish.
In January 2012, ESP announced that the RZK-2 would be made available in the North America market.[2]
Other users
Gary Holt, lead guitarist of the band Exodus, could be seen using an ESP RZK-II in the video for the song "Blood In, Blood Out", a single from the album of the same name.