Arteconciencias: Pepper Keenan on why Corrosion of Conformity switched from “beat-to-s**t” Gibson SGs to ESPs: “James Hetfield said, ‘Man... these guitars ain't gonna make it!”

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October 26, 2022

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Editor's Note

"Man... these guitars ain't gonna make it!"

Corrosion of Conformity's Pepper Keenan and Woody Weatherman have been using custom-made ESPs onstage for a number of years now.

Though they've since become "beat-to-shit workhorses," ESP, Keenan says, "just keeps putting them back together."

The band's journey with ESP began back in 1996, when they were rehearsing for an upcoming tour with Metallica. Keenan and Weatherman were planning on using some "ratty" Gibson SGs for the trek, before James Hetfield intervened, warning the band, "these guitars ain't gonna make it!"

Now, Keenan tells Guitar World in a new interview, Corrosion of Conformity's guitarists get a little nervous taking their prized ESPs on tour, given that – like their old SGs – the guitars have acquired some battle scars.

"They’re beautiful guitars. [They're] an extension of how we play and I’d be lost without them.”

Jackson Maxwell – Associate Editor, guitarworld.com

(Fender Japan)

Designed by renowned City Pop artist Hiroshi Nagai, the two stripped-back six-strings will be limited to only 30 units apiece

Hear The Wolf You Feed, Nita Strauss's towering, shred-heavy new single with Arch Enemy's Alissa White-Gluz

(Press)

"Nita and I finally got to collaborate – something we have both wanted to do for years!" White-Gluz said of the track, which features weighty riffs and blazing leads aplenty

VegaTrem's new VT2 Teletrem lets you easily equip a whammy bar to Fender Telecasters

(VegaTrem VT2)

The innovative bridge unit fits seamlessly into a T-style body "without the need of modifying a single millimeter" of the original design

Features

Pepper Keenan on why Corrosion of Conformity switched from "beat-to-s**t" Gibson SGs to ESPs: "James Hetfield said, 'Man... these guitars ain't gonna make it!"

(Aldara Zarraoa/Redferns)

As the punk-metal crossover troupe gears up to hit the road, Keenan takes a trip down memory lane, looking back on touring with Metallica in the '90s and sharing his proudest COC guitar moments

How Lexii Lynn Frazier became Top Gun: Maverick's new guitar hero and recorded her parts with just hours to spare

($HA/Instagram)

With no previous film experience, the session guitarist recorded the killer theme for Tom Cruise's latest blockbuster. Here's how she did it, without the ability to read music and while battling a rare bone marrow disorder