Dave Mustaine's signature Gibson guitars have finally arrived

Gibson Brands has announced a quartet of new Dave Mustaine signature guitars, finally revealing the first fruits of a long-whispered-about collaboration that the company only officially confirmed yesterday.

The Dave Mustaine Collection will include not only new Gibson models, but new Epiphones and Kramers as well. It also marks the end of the Megadeth leader's longtime relationship with Dean Guitars, with whom he had been signed for the last 15 years.

As is often the case with Gibson shortly after an initial announcement, details and specs of the new guitars are hard to come by, but what we do know is that the Dave Mustaine Collection will include at least three new electric guitars and, interestingly, a new acoustic as well.

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After Gibson uploaded a teaser video that showed Megadeth mascot Vic Rattlehead removing a katana with the name of Megadeth’s iconic album, Rust in Peace, to its YouTube account yesterday, speculation bloomed that the Dave Mustaine Collection would include some kind of tribute to that album – and indeed, the Dave Mustaine Flying V 30th Anniversary ‘Rust in Peace’ Edition confirms that speculation to be true.

The other two electrics included in the announcement are also, unsurprisingly, Vs, with one coming in the form of the absolutely gorgeous Dave Mustaine Flying V EXP in Metallic Silver, and the other being Mustaine's first signature Kramer, the Dave Mustaine Flying V Vanguard in Natural.

All three electrics look to be packing Seymour Duncan Mustaine signature sets, although whether these are his existing Thrash Factor humbuckers or an all-new design remains to be seen.

Gibson and Mustaine have also teamed up, unexpectedly, to design an acoustic guitar, the luxurious-looking Gibson Acoustic Dave Mustaine CF-100 Blood Burst.

Though Gibson's announcement of the Mustaine Collection came with the promise of new Epiphone models, no specifics about any Epiphone Mustaine signatures have been made public as of press time.

If we had to take an educated guess, we'd say it's fairly safe to bet that the Gibson trio – that Rust in Peace V especially – will come in at the very high end of the price spectrum, while the Kramers and Epiphones will have the mid-price and affordable ends, respectively, taken care of. 

“One of first albums I ever bought was Kiss Alive. On the back of that LP was the Gibson logo, followed by ‘Kiss uses Gibson Guitars because they want the best’. Period,” Mustaine said of the announcement in a press release. 

“Years later, I’m still that same fan, but now I’ve been playing, touring, writing and performing around the world myself, and I can say that I could not agree more with that statement. 

"As I was looking for a change in my guitars, I met with Cesar [Gueikian, Gibson's Chief Merchant Officer] and got his perspective on the vision and direction Gibson is taking. I saw passion, respect for the instruments, a focus on quality and a company that is led by guitar players. I feel I am finally at home with Gibson and I am proud of what we’re building together. 

"I can’t wait for the world to get their hands on the new Gibson, Epiphone and Kramer Dave Mustaine Collection guitars. 

We'll be sure to update you with more info about the Dave Mustaine Collection as we get it, but for now, keep your eyes on Gibson.