Production of the ESP Sonic the Hedgehog Guitar

Last year saw some very high-end pieces of merchandise produced to celebrate Sonic’s 20^th Anniversary (including statues, crystal cubes…even pocket watches!), but by far one of the most desirable objects offered were reproductions of Jun Senoue’s signature Sonic the Hedgehog ESP guitar. The guitars are now in full production, and Senoue-san has been to the ESP factory to oversee production!

Here’s a translation of part of the article on the Sonic Channel site:

2011 was the 20th anniversary of the Sonic – there were many opportunities to attend events in celebration of the release of “Sonic Generations” and to perform a variety of songs from the series.

In the collaboration of SEGA and ESP guitars, commercialization of sonic guitar I have owned since 1998 began, and the number of reservations placed have been more than overwhelming!

On the day of the first shipments of the Sonic guitar, I visited the ESP factory on the outskirts of Tokyo in order to put my signature on the certificates of authenticity, and to give you a pictorial report on production.

…When I arrived, the bodies and necks of the first 15 the Sonic guitar were ready! There have been several revisions to the guitar have been made to the guitar including the taper of the body and the colour of Sonic’s eyes, to make them more faithful to the original.

Check out the photos from Juns trip below, and the full article (in Japanese) on the Sonic Channel.

Only a handful of these guitars are being put into production; the receipients will no doubt be the envy of all of their peers!