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The Legacy of Lugosi
I think by now it goes without saying that guitars are awesome, and given the test of time the likes of Bela Lugosi has survived and the many means tribute has been paid to him it’s safe to say he’s awesome too. Now the rhetorical question “can there be a greater way to pay tribute to Lugosi than to emblazon his face on the body of a guitar?” We’re all guitarists here and we’re armed and dangerous with biases that could make Bill O’Reilly seem open minded, so of course the answer for us is “no”.
Halloween seems to be coming early this year since LTD Guitars has recently unveiled the Tales From The Grave guitar featuring Bela Lugosi. Lugosi, who was famous for his legendary portrayal of Dracula, several Edgar Allen Poe adaptations, and his role in the also legendary (though for dramatically different reasons) Plan 9 From Outer Space, is now the guest of honor for this limited edition of guitars (only 325 produced) that is currently available for preorder. It is scheduled for release on October 31st, 2012. Did you expect any date other than that?
The Tales From The Grave Guitar Specs
The guitar makes use of alder for the body with a maple bolt-on neck and a rosewood fretboard. The inlays on the neck are custom bat designs with Lugosi’s head with bat wings at the twelfth fret. It uses ESP brand tuners, a TOM bridge that strings up through the body, and uses an EMG 81 active humbucker next to the bridge with a volume knob.
The Artwork
The real meat and potatoes here is the artwork. This far in I don’t think that’s a secret.
While LTD took care of the hardware they commissioned Kerry Gammill to design the art for the body. Kerry Gammill is an artwork designer for Monsterverse Entertainment who publishes the Bela Lugosi’s Tales From The Grave comic books as well as a number of other horror themed comics and graphic novels.
Additionally for bonus brownie points each guitar will be signed by Bela Lugosi Jr., son of the legendary horror god as well as a hard shell coffin case with Lugosi’s face right on it giving us his usual eerie grimace.
Other Information
The list price that’s been floating around tallies up to $1,429, but the retail price I’ve seen comes up to about $999
If you want to catch on in person it will be displayed at the upcoming Comic-Con in San Diego this July.
More Lugosi and Friends
This isn’t the first time Bela Lugosi’s legacy has continued as the finish on a guitar nor is it the first time this has surfaced in conversations about guitars around these parts. In fact the most recent Halloween we had published a six-part gallery on horror guitars. A good number of which were honoring Mr. Lugosi alone. Swing by this page to get a list of all six parts and check them out as well.
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If you wish to learn the latest news on the ESP Lugosi guitar go to our blog story. We will have it on display for the first time EVER at the San Diego Comic-Con 2012 at the Monsterverse table, M-11 Small Press Section.
Here is the link to the blog story on the public premiere of the ESP LTD BELA LUGOSI DRACULA GUITAR.
Sam