Guitar Journal: Vola Guitars, Verso Instruments, and ESP
Vola Guitars 7 Strings and Verso Instruments Sine
3,3 / 5,0 | 
This week, we explore the latest in guitar innovation. Discover the new Vola Guitars 7-strings, unveiled ahead of NAMM 2025. Dive into the unique design of the Verso Instruments Sine, featuring a revolutionary pickup system and Sine Pad for enhanced control. Finally, here is the latest update from ESP Guitars regarding their LA premises in the wake of the recent Southern California wildfires.
Guitar Journal
Vola Guitars 7-Strings
Vola Guitars collaborated with guitarists Pierre Danel and Quentin Godet and introduced the all-new J3 Series to their signature guitar range.
Bare Knuckle
Crafted with meticulous attention to detail, the J3 series features Bare Knuckle Bootcamp Brute Force pickups, a 27″ scale length, and premium Gotoh hardware.
Handmade in Japan, the J3 series boasts a 27″ extended scale length, a bolt-on neck with a refined contour heel, and an alder body. The fretboard and neck are crafted from roasted maple, complemented by a 3×3 Vola headstock.
Other key features include a 48mm Graphtech nut, 24 medium jumbo stainless frets, custom Luminlay Kadinja inlays with Luminlay side dots, and a 16″ radius fretboard.
MSRP – TBC
Verso Instruments Sine
Verso Instruments has unveiled Sine, a solid-ash body electric guitar designed with playfulness at its core.
Sine introduces a novel approach to sound interaction, featuring the innovative Sine Pad and a freely movable pickup system, enabling musicians to exert precise, mechanical control over volume and add a new dimension of expressiveness to their playing.
Players can ‘flex’ the top and move the pickups; this will give some interesting effects and ways of interacting with the guitar; watch the video below for a demonstration.
Sine Pad
The Sine Pad, a central guitar element, offers a deeply satisfying and intuitive way to control volume. Crafted from powder-coated steel, it imbues Sine with a distinctive aesthetic, reflecting Verso’s commitment to visionary and creative design.
LEHLE
Sine offers an optional add-on module developed in collaboration with LEHLE for those who crave deeper integration. This compact module uses a wear-free magnetic hall sensor to measure the distance to the Sine Pad, generating a control signal that can be used in various ways:
- Expression: Control two pedals or synths with expression capabilities.
- USB MIDI: Control any parameter within your DAW via USB-B.
- Control Voltage (CV): Interact with analog synthesizers that accept CV signals.
- Switch: Activate or deactivate your amplifier or pedals using an internal relay.
It is an interesting new guitar system that we will watch throughout 2025. The design offers a novel way of interacting with the guitar.
ESP Guitars Confirms Safety
ESP Guitars has issued an official statement to address concerns from fans and customers regarding the ongoing wildfires in Southern California.
Southern California Wildfires
The wildfires have affected many businesses over the last week, and many guitar-related companies have been affected. Thankfully, ESP Guitars appears to be okay, and they posted an official statement this week.
“For the past six days, we’ve been hearing from hundreds of concerned ESP players and friends around the world, wanting to be sure that all of us at ESP Guitars (and our US-distributed brands Takamine Guitars and ENGL Amplification) are okay in the midst of the devastating wildfires in Southern California,” the statement reads.
“First and foremost, your thoughts are very much appreciated. The good news is that as of the morning of Monday, January 13, while we had some sporadic closures last week due to issues like dangerously hazardous air quality and power outages, our dedicated staff has kept things running, and we remain on schedule in delivering guitars to our customers, and in getting ready for next week’s NAMM Show and our special ‘New for 2025’ announcements later this week.”
“In any case, thus far we’ve thankfully not been directly in the fire zone itself. ESP’s US headquarters is located in an area of Los Angeles that’s almost directly in between the two largest and most damaging fires — the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire. We have a number of ESP staff who do live in affected areas, and have had to deal with evacuations and dangerous conditions. Above all else, their safety comes first.”
ESP Guitars has assured fans that they are doing everything possible to ensure the safety of their employees while maintaining business operations.
Hopefully, they are all safe now, and we look forward to seeing what new guitars they have at NAMM. ESP and the LTD brands usually have show-stopping designs at their NAMM booth.
This might also interest you
