{"id":23740,"date":"2025-08-07T02:05:33","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T02:05:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/?p=23740"},"modified":"2025-08-07T02:05:33","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T02:05:33","slug":"hetfield-personally-hooked-me-up-with-them-back-in-the-day-im-not-cheating-on-anyone-i-want-all-the-instruments-gojiras-joe-duplantier-explains-how-he-started-pl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/2025\/08\/07\/hetfield-personally-hooked-me-up-with-them-back-in-the-day-im-not-cheating-on-anyone-i-want-all-the-instruments-gojiras-joe-duplantier-explains-how-he-started-pl\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cHetfield personally hooked me up with them back in the day. I\u2019m not cheating on anyone. I want all the instruments!\u201d Gojira\u2019s Joe Duplantier explains how he started playing ESP guitars \u2013 and why he\u2019s still playing Charvels"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p>Gojira are behemoths of the metal scene \u2013 and, during an appearance that can only be described as history-making at last year&#8217;s Olympic Games<\/a>, the band firmly cemented their influence beyond the metal realm on the global stage.<\/p>\n<p>And for the gearheads, guitarist Joe Duplantier dazzled audiences with a custom ESP<\/a> electric guitar<\/a> specially curated for the occasion: an ESP XJ-1 \u2013 boasting an all-chrome aesthetic, EverTune bridge, and a DiMarzio Fortitude bridge humbucker<\/a> \u2013 that made metal (and music) history.<\/p>\n<p>At the time, keen-eyed fans were quick to speculate over Duplantier&#8217;s decision to play an ESP on that occasion, especially considering he has long been established as a loyal Charvel artist.<\/p>\n<aside data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\" class=\"hawk-base\" \/>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s funny, people talk about instruments almost like marriage,\u201d he quips in a new <em>Guitar World<\/em> interview.<\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"clear-both pt-3 pb-4 mb-4 border-solid border-y border-neutral-300\">\n<span class=\"font-article-heading block pb-3 !text-base font-bold uppercase sm:text-sm text-[#333]\"><br \/>\nYou may like<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201c\u2018How could you? I thought everything was going well!\u2019 It\u2019s not like that, okay, can everybody relax?! I love Charvel and I\u2019m proud of the signature we made. Nothing went wrong. But I\u2019m just a dude who wants to have fun and try new things.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, Duplantier has been wielding Charvel&#8217;s Tele-style San Dimas models for over 10 years \u2013 a run which has also included several signatures over the years, including his latest, the Joe Duplantier Signature Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 2 HH Mahogany<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the end of the day, from Fender to Gibson, I just love guitars. I\u2019ve actually had a relationship with ESP for years. Hetfield personally hooked me up with them back in the day. He actually picked up the phone saying, \u2018Dude, have you tried an ESP?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"youtube-video youtube-facade\" data-nosnippet=\"\">\n<div class=\"video-aspect-box\">\n<div class=\"watch-on-iframe-5hTMYk7orHw\" data-yt-video-token=\"5hTMYk7orHw\" title=\"Gojira - Mea Culpa (Ah! \u00c7a ira!) [OFFICIAL VIDEO] - YouTube\"><span class=\"youtube-video-title\">Gojira &#8211; Mea Culpa (Ah! \u00c7a ira!) [OFFICIAL VIDEO] &#8211; YouTube<\/span><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/maxresdefault.jpg\" alt=\"Gojira - Mea Culpa (Ah! \u00c7a ira!) [OFFICIAL VIDEO] - YouTube\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16\/9\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Watch On <\/a><\/div>\n<p>Duplantier clarifies that he still uses his signature Charvel \u201cand will continue to do so\u201d.<\/p>\n<p> {<br \/>\n        window.reliablePageLoad.then(() =&gt; {<br \/>\n            var componentContainer = document.querySelector(&#8220;#slice-container-newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-zxzN6heqwYdMhBidX8WQAG&#8221;);<\/p>\n<p>            if (componentContainer) {<br \/>\n                var data = {&#8220;layout&#8221;:&#8221;inbodyContent&#8221;,&#8221;header&#8221;:&#8221;Get The Pick Newsletter&#8221;,&#8221;tagline&#8221;:&#8221;All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!&#8221;,&#8221;formFooterText&#8221;:&#8221;By submitting your information you agree to the <a href=\"https:\/\/futureplc.com\/terms-conditions\/\" target=\"_blank\">Terms &amp; Conditions<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/futureplc.com\/privacy-policy\/\" target=\"_blank\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and are aged 16 or over.&#8221;,&#8221;successMessage&#8221;:{&#8220;body&#8221;:&#8221;Thank you for signing up. 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I\u2019m not cheating on anyone, I want all the instruments! The Metallica<\/a> connection was a big part of it. Bill from Mastodon<\/a> loves ESP, and I\u2019ve played his guitar a bunch of times. I\u2019ve talking to [Head Of Artist Relations] Tony Rauser about making something different from what I\u2019ve done before.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>These changes also come from a place where he&#8217;s finally accepting his role as more of a frontman.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI used to go on stage with dark shirts, jeans, and guitars, looking like a black hole. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s a midlife crisis, but enough is enough, I want to shine on stage,\u201d he adds with a laugh. \u201cMaybe I\u2019ll design a mirror guitar, so I can blind people with the spotlight!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Last year, ESP sealed the deal by confirming Duplantier as a signature artist<\/a>, with their announcement coinciding with Gojira&#8217;s appearance at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.<\/p>\n<p><em>Guitar World<\/em>&#8216;s full interview with Joe Duplantier will be published in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gojira are behemoths of the metal scene \u2013 and, during an appearance that can only be described as history-making at last year&#8217;s Olympic Games, the band firmly cemented their influence beyond the metal realm on the global stage. And for the gearheads, guitarist Joe Duplantier dazzled audiences with a custom ESP electric guitar specially curated [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":23741,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artists"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23740"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23740\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23742,"href":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23740\/revisions\/23742"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}