Alex Skolnick leaves Heritage for ESP

Lerxst

spaghetti and blankets
It gives me great pleasure to announce my brand new signature model guitar from ESP Guitars!
When ESP offered to build my signature instrument, I admit being a tad skeptical, for two reasons: First, in recent years, I’ve become a vintage guitar enthusiast, with standards that are tough for any manufacturers to live up to, especially those whose history begins after 1970. Second, what was being promised was a tall order: a new guitar bearing the same traditional quality I’d grown accustomed to, but with a fresh feel, a modern aesthetic, options for variation and greater durability. I’m thrilled to report that the project has succeeded on all counts.

http://skolnotes.blogspot.com/

alex+esp.jpg

And posted:
(Note: It is with utmost gratitude that I say goodbye to my official relationship with Heritage Guitars of Kalamazoo, a company with whom I'm deeply proud to have been affiliated. Having a Heritage signature guitar placed me on a very small list that includes Gary Moore, Johnny Smith and Kenny Burrell. I know there are some Heritage fans that may not understand this decision. As a young guitar fan, I felt confused anytime I'd see an artist who'd jump from one guitar endorsement to another. Of course, one can never predict how things will look in the future, from different vantage point. I plan on addressing this move and my thinking behind the decision later, in greater detail)
 
Thats a lot of it Im sure.

You also never know what the relationship between the artist and the company is like either/

From what I read on TGP, only 20 were made and he has 7 of them. If they're not in stores, then what good is having a sig model?
 
From what I read on TGP, only 20 were made and he has 7 of them. If they're not in stores, then what good is having a sig model?
Exactly. I din't know that fact but it could mean that Heritage wasn't interested in having him anymore for a product that wasn't selling, or he could have felt that Heritage didn't have the means to push his model. Anything could be a factor, really.
 
From what I read on TGP, only 20 were made and he has 7 of them. If they're not in stores, then what good is having a sig model?
That's a problem with Heritage. They are so small that they can't keep up with demand of specific models. Also, their marketing leaves a lot to be desired. FWIW, when I visited the factory in August they were working on a sig model for Alex. My guess is that it will be the last one completed. If it gets completed.
 
How is this any different than ESP's Eclipse model? Looks just like it. I smell bullshit.
 
Yeah, it's definitely money and marketing exposure. As great as Heritage is, they must have a really small marketing and endorsement budget. ESP is huge in comparison, and a lot more money behind it.

Either way, I can't really blame Skolnick, although I wonder why he hooked up with Heritage in the first place. It's one thing to love the product, but another to jump into an endorsement when the company obviously did not have the capacity to make it work.
 
I would like to "hear his thinking, in greater detail" on this. It might be one of those "well crafted" pieces that makes something sound reasonable, or it might be the honest truth that offers an insight on why endorsers move their endorsements. Personally, I always assumed it was a business decision (better perks, or more money), but that's because I am only a hobbyist, when it comes to my playing.
 
If they're not in stores, then what good is having a sig model?

Free guitars. Endorsement deals aren’t as lucrative as they used to be. Bands like Testament aren’t making seven figure salaries from sold-out stadium tours and multi-platinum albums. They’re middle class musicians. Small endorsement deals give musicians one or more nice guitars a year, sometimes with a few more to give away to fans in contests. That still works out to a lot of money for a working guitarist.
 
Free guitars. Endorsement deals aren’t as lucrative as they used to be. Bands like Testament aren’t making seven figure salaries from sold-out stadium tours and multi-platinum albums. They’re middle class musicians. Small endorsement deals give musicians one or more nice guitars a year, sometimes with a few more to give away to fans in contests. That still works out to a lot of money for a working guitarist.


IIRC Alex is actually a pretty busy guy with his hands in dozens of different guitar related ventures outside of the playing for Testament.
 
Free guitars. Endorsement deals aren’t as lucrative as they used to be. Bands like Testament aren’t making seven figure salaries from sold-out stadium tours and multi-platinum albums. They’re middle class musicians. Small endorsement deals give musicians one or more nice guitars a year, sometimes with a few more to give away to fans in contests. That still works out to a lot of money for a working guitarist.
Heritage doesn't give their endorsers free guitars. They sell them to them at cost.
 
He might have gotten a deal for free guitars and if he is featured in print ads he might get a bit of financial compensation for that along with just having his face in ads - which can boost awareness of him and Testament to a broader audience.
 
Back
Top