ESP 2021 New Models

[MFB]

*insert Adam Sandlers "I'm gonna cum" meme here*

That white one should be illegal

 

[macky]

I mean 20% off in this case is $3,200 off the bat.
I don't have actuals, but I'm assuming the margin for guitars is probably 40% in general. The dealers that get the exhibition models aren't necessarily waiting for them to sell as much as probably using the exhibition models as a means of showing they have a good relationship with ESP and probably attracting some more custom shop orders.
I'm totally making a guess on that, but while no one is necessarily saying the numbers they are actually paying for exhibition models, it seems like a few years ago the actual amount being paid was typically around $6-7k, so more like decently spec'ed custom order than a showcase price. The room for budging is exceptional here just cause the price tag is so high. Otherwise, it's likely they'll have these guitars just sitting around for years.
If there's a trend that I can see, it's that dealers don't seem to mind having these guitars sit on display for a couple years and then they're willing to make big deals to move them along. There was someone on here a few years ago that went to buy one exhibition guitar and I think ended up getting two because of some crazy deal.

Good points! I presume dealer cost has been ramping up past few yrs so making the same margin % has to push the prices up. ESP seems to push dealers to list all their exhibition limiteds at slightly diff prices, so who knows what margin really is for one vs the other. That's why I mentioned the variance between what shops are willing to do.

On a side note: for a PRS Private Stock, you can bid 20% off ask all day and get free shipping thrown in. Bigger liquidity pool of buyers there so you can move more volume if the profit margin is not as big. It also speaks to your point about ~40% margin likely being the norm, otherwise PRS dealers couldn't justify buying those guitars, holding for a year on average, and then only making 5-10%.

Selling high-end guitars seems to be a better deal business-wise than exotic cars - the best margin I've seen there is 25% profit for a base Lamborghini Huracan. For an Aventador SV optioned to the hilt, depending on how bad the factory screwed the shop, the margin could be 5%. That's why new models come out all the time - you have to sell your year-old underwater new cars at a loss to make it up on the next crazy car to come along with 20% margin.

 

[macky]

*insert Adam Sandlers "I'm gonna cum" meme here*

That white one should be illegal

Speaking of cumming...deposit secured!

 

[MFB]

What even is that type of top? I've never seen anything like it unless it's just some super specific piece of burl that they dyed with black/purple/blues; and same for the bridge? Never seen ESP use anything like that, but it's vaguely Gibraltar-ish.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

What even is that type of top? I've never seen anything like it unless it's just some super specific piece of burl that they dyed with black/purple/blues; and same for the bridge? Never seen ESP use anything like that, but it's vaguely Gibraltar-ish.

I think it's a resin top. hardware is made in house by esp japan for their custom builds

 

[macky]

Purple resin top with brass dust blown or mixed in. Saw the blue version in a live demo and it was awesome. This purple one pops harder in contrast to the fingerboard. Apparently "black and white" ebony is Japanese->English translation of "pale moon" ebony. Always wanted one of those fingerboards. Could be wrong, but will still be happy.

 

[mlp187]

Congrats, @macky that is super fucking cool!

 

[soul_lip_mike]

Amazing

 

[feraledge]

Sick! What are those?

New ESP CTMs.

 

[narad]

Speaking of cumming...deposit secured!

Nice - probably the only one from this whole batch that was genuinely tempting!

 

[Millul]

Missed a deal on one of those teal E-II M-II...bummed, but will keep looking!

 

[macky]

Nice - probably the only one from this whole batch that was genuinely tempting!

Since you live in Tokyo I hafta ask - have you ever been to the shop in Shibuya where they make the exhibition limiteds? Is that even a place you can get a tour of without having a dealer with you for a custom order? Also correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the "other" ESP custom shop also somewhere in Tokyo? Would be awesome to tour both and A/B the build processes!

 

[narad]

Since you live in Tokyo I hafta ask - have you ever been to the shop in Shibuya where they make the exhibition limiteds? Is that even a place you can get a tour of without having a dealer with you for a custom order? Also correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the "other" ESP custom shop also somewhere in Tokyo? Would be awesome to tour both and A/B the build processes!

I've been to the "other" custom shop and to the crafthouse -store- in Shibuya. It's probably the same building, and as far as I know, there's no secret handshake or anything, but it's not like I walked by guys sanding guitar bodies, etc. Same for the other place -- plenty of raw guitar bodies and parts, and a couple guys setting up finished guitars, but I didn't see anything that looked like what I would call building.

 

[Hollowway]

plenty of raw guitar bodies and parts, and a couple guys setting up finished guitars, but I didn't see anything that looked like what I would call building.

Sounds suspiciously like BRJs shop. My money’s on a secret Mexican workshop.

 

[macky]

I've been to the "other" custom shop and to the crafthouse -store- in Shibuya. It's probably the same building, and as far as I know, there's no secret handshake or anything, but it's not like I walked by guys sanding guitar bodies, etc. Same for the other place -- plenty of raw guitar bodies and parts, and a couple guys setting up finished guitars, but I didn't see anything that looked like what I would call building.

Any idea where the workshop is that you see in the older exhibition limited videos? There's a bunch of start->finish build videos that show a bigger shop just for the guys making one-ish guitar a year. That's what I want to see in person, especially if they have some crazy "wood library" like PRS does.

 

[Jeries]

I've been to the "other" custom shop and to the crafthouse -store- in Shibuya. It's probably the same building, and as far as I know, there's no secret handshake or anything, but it's not like I walked by guys sanding guitar bodies, etc. Same for the other place -- plenty of raw guitar bodies and parts, and a couple guys setting up finished guitars, but I didn't see anything that looked like what I would call building.

That's cool you saw the finest CS in the world with your own eyes. I imagined it to be a huge, maybe 5,000+ sq ft "factory" with like 10 master luthiers and then a bunch of shop workers and apprentices - it sounds like its more like the small little luthier shops that are run out of executive business office lots tho

Its a long thread, so maybe I missed it, but what did you mean by "other" custom shop? There is Tokyo and the new US shop right? anyway, you must have such great guitar stories and experiences - and you have an Essi 8 so, you're a lucky, lucky guitarist!

 

[Fenriswolf]

That's cool you saw the finest CS in the world with your own eyes. I imagined it to be a huge, maybe 5,000+ sq ft "factory" with like 10 master luthiers and then a bunch of shop workers and apprentices - it sounds like its more like the small little luthier shops that are run out of executive business office lots tho

I think it was Premier Guitar toured the ESP factory a couple years ago, if I remember right there's like 4-5 dudes that work in the custom shop, and probably 50-60 that make actual ESPs.

 

[narad]

That's cool you saw the finest CS in the world with your own eyes. I imagined it to be a huge, maybe 5,000+ sq ft "factory" with like 10 master luthiers and then a bunch of shop workers and apprentices - it sounds like its more like the small little luthier shops that are run out of executive business office lots tho

Its a long thread, so maybe I missed it, but what did you mean by "other" custom shop? There is Tokyo and the new US shop right? anyway, you must have such great guitar stories and experiences - and you have an Essi 8 so, you're a lucky, lucky guitarist!

(oh ya, the Essi's amazing!)

By the other shop I mean the Technical House, which is in Ochanomizu area. They'll do setups and things like that there, but it's again one of these small places that's hard to imagine anyone building at. I believe they've also changed locations and what they call which place. I have an ESP that was made at the TH, and it's just like... I can't believe it was built in any of the floors of that building. None of them seemed setup for any finish work.

And it's pretty much the same for the ESP buildings I've been to elsewhere. It's really hard for me to believe there's a significant building staff in Shibuya because at that point they could just turn it into a hotel and be 100x more profitable. I suspect there's a building further outside of Tokyo that does both standard series and custom/exhibition models, because of how I haven't seen any adequate building space in Tokyo and I've seen photos of old exhibition necks next to standard series production. When I was specc'ing out a custom order at BigBoss they definitely alluded to sending the specs off somewhere, they called a guy and asked about a special finish option I wanted, and me coming back to pick up there at the store I was at. It's a little bit clouded in mystery but I'm pretty confident I haven't been anywhere close to where most of the work's being done. It's all super fun still, always cool stuff to see.

 

[macky]

Speaking of cumming...deposit secured!

ESP Japan just posted this today:

Edit: posted this thinking it was the purple one above and a bunch of blue just came out in the lighting. Cross-referenced the model numbers and it's not the purple one. Still looking good but I like the blue better with the trem instead of hardtail.

 

[Marked Man]

Would buy if it had a floyd. Does it have SS frets?

It needs caramelized something. Or baked.