Captain Shoggoth
Gotoh 1996T shill
The choice to relegate the neck pickup to the ripped jean stripes and satin finish is absolutely maddening
ESP 2024
The choice to relegate the neck pickup to the ripped jean stripes and satin finish is absolutely maddening
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Emperor Guillotine
The Almighty Ruler
I never said that. Nowhere in my comment whatsoever did I say or infer that ESP didn’t pay good money to its artists.You think Metallica would be playing ESP if ESP money were low when they can't even make Hetfield a properly shaped guitar?
Or that Children of Bodom as the biggest Jackson fanbois would have sticked with ESP if it weren't such good money?
ESP is perhaps the biggest guitar brand in the world right now, which means that they probably have the largest pockets in terms of money to burn. We all know that ESP has an absolute stranglehold on the Japanese market; but here in the West, ESP is also perhaps THE biggest brand in the European countries, and ESP is one of the big brands (alongside Gibson, Fender, Ibanez, Schecter, etc.) here in North America with a solid, more than ample foothold in the American market and American artist pool. (Keep in mind that Joe is an American artist even though he originally was from France before immigrating to NYC.) Also, in addition to owning multiple other brands that are under the ESP umbrella (such as: LTD, Takamine, Lakland, ENGL, etc.), ESP still offers OEM contract work for manufacturing instruments for multiple other brands, both Japanese and foreign (non-Japanese) companies.
Sure, Fender and Gibson have a foothold in the market as massive, easily recognizable brands; but because they are these “proudly American” companies, their resources are mostly tied up in the USA domestic market with not much of a focus globally nowadays.
Fender USA now controls Fender Japan operations; but Fender Japan still seems to function as its own entity (at least, that’s what I have observed from a distance) as the Fender Japan products target the Japanese domestic market and aren’t available in the USA without importing through a third-party proxy or a Japanese store that is a dealer for FJ instruments and happens to offer international shipping.
Meanwhile, Fender owns Jackson, Charvel, EVH, and other brands that maintain a global presence. But I think we can agree that they are not as inescapable as Fender itself is as a brand.
Anyway, Fender and Gibson are more so “legacy” or “lifestyle” brands at this point, with a focus more on establishing themselves in non-music-related ventures to inundate our lifestyles. Examples: clothing, consumer-level speaker products, outdoor supplies, etc. In fact, because Fender and Gibson inundate the average American musician’s life to such an inescapable degree, it might shock Americans who venture out to see that Fender and Gibson aren’t as big in terms of global presence metrics compared to a company like ESP.
So, yeah, in all likelihood, ESP probably rewards the artists on their roster better or looks out for their artists better. Granted, none of us here know the details of Joe’s artist contract with the company.
You mean Charvel?
Preach!
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HeHasTheJazzHands
Well-Known Member
Yeah I did. But aren't Jackson's and Charvel's CS In the same place? Or are they separate? I coulda swore that was the case, but I rather have confirmation before I'm called a drama-spreading rumor shit-stirrer again.
Emperor Guillotine
The Almighty Ruler
Wait…[…] but I rather have confirmation before I'm called a drama-spreading rumor shit-stirrer again.
Wait…
WAIT…
…@HeHasTheJazzHands, you drama-spreading rumor shit-stirrer.
There. Done.
Oh, so you meant the same as me. I read it as the opposite, sorry.
groverj3
Bioinformagician
Artists switch brands all the time. ESP and Charvel have wildly different structures, not the least of which is that Charvel is basically Fender's "hard rock, but not just EVH clones" sub-brand. Their custom shop is mostly the same people as Jackson's, and not very many people at that. It's a smaller operation than ESP, unless you compare that you have more leniency to play other FMIC brands in addition to the one you primarily endorse.
Sometimes the artists spin their movement as "I always wanted to play brand X" or "brand Y wouldn't build this for me" or "I had this issue with brand Z," and sometimes that's true, but often they just get a good deal on a cut from their signature gear. Sometimes the reason for switching brands is that the market is saturated with your current sig model and it's not selling that well, the brand doesn't want to produce as many cutting into your pay, your deal is up, and you hop companies to make a different model that will hopefully sell better again. Rinse and repeat.
I liked Joe's Charvel better than this, but neither are really my thing.
Sometimes the artists spin their movement as "I always wanted to play brand X" or "brand Y wouldn't build this for me" or "I had this issue with brand Z," and sometimes that's true, but often they just get a good deal on a cut from their signature gear. Sometimes the reason for switching brands is that the market is saturated with your current sig model and it's not selling that well, the brand doesn't want to produce as many cutting into your pay, your deal is up, and you hop companies to make a different model that will hopefully sell better again. Rinse and repeat.
I liked Joe's Charvel better than this, but neither are really my thing.
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groverj3
Bioinformagician
Most of the Alexi models are too 2000s teenage edgy for me. When they weren't so over the top though, I thought they looked pretty good.
groverj3
Bioinformagician
They're in the same place, in a corner of the Fender facility, and mostly the same people building them, too. Unless I'm mistaken.Yeah I did. But aren't Jackson's and Charvel's CS In the same place? Or are they separate? I coulda swore that was the case, but I rather have confirmation before I'm called a drama-spreading rumor shit-stirrer again.
