ESP Owners Club-Show Us Your ESPs!

[MaxOfMetal]

What’s up with the German flag one with the Japanese flag on top of it? World War II runner up edition?

There was this really weird moment in the late 80's and early 90's when both Germany and Japan were really "cool" for some reason. The Berlin wall had fallen, Japan was becoming well known for cool, futuristic electronics, and heavy metal was becoming big in both countries as well. It's a weird mash up, but it sort of makes a little sense for the time.

 

[feraledge]

There was this really weird moment in the late 80's and early 90's when both Germany and Japan were really "cool" for some reason. The Berlin wall had fallen, Japan was becoming well known for cool, futuristic electronics, and heavy metal was becoming big in both countries as well. It's a weird mash up, but it sort of makes a little sense for the time.

Also, cocaine is one hell of a drug.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Also, cocaine is one hell of a drug.

That was really popular around then too.

 

[Dumple Stilzkin]

 

[1b4n3z]

Ah new custom day! 2003 Takada custom M-III (?) with basswood body, thick maple neck and maple fretboard. Again, I thought I know these guitars by now but still this manages to awe. There are high end guitars and then there are works of art

I now have S, K and T shop guitars from around the same period and based on these, it doesn't matter which factory we're talking about - it will be spectacular

 

[Dumple Stilzkin]

My camera sucks, but it was nice out.

 

[sneerim]

USA V-II NT, original series Arrow, original series Stream GT. The USA was the best guitar I had ever owned in 20+ years of playing when I bought it two years ago. Now it's the third best behind the other two here.

 

[NCASO96]

IMO no one comes close what ESP does.

 

[Darkscience]

I am ESP guy myself, I also play on the ENGL =D. I have a question since you mentioned that about no one coming close. When I got my hands on my Original I had an expectation in mind. It involved a decent playing guitar, maybe not perfect, (my expectations had been beaten into me over and over with previous guitars that always have something annoying like a G string that will not intonate or strings that buzz when I am not even low setup etc.), I also expected to find something with the finish however minor, I expected the pickup rings to still have gaps wither on the ends or in the middle, I expected all of this. What I knew I was getting was the sound, the impecable finished frets, (from pictures), the logo on the headstock and just the fact it is an Original. But holy crap, the guitar was flawless when I check it out. There was not a single tiny scratch, and the thing played hard with no buzz, the frets were like mirrors, the pickup rings perfectly go on the contour, the strings from the bridge to the tail piece all perfectly spaced and PERFECT straight up and down, (a lot...most guitars strings are never perfect, you can always see an angle in the pictures as they go from bridge to tail piece), the nut is hand carved beauty to behold, perfect of course, the INLAYs are perfect, (the level of perfect I mean is ZERO gap between the wood and all around the inlay, its like the inlay was born with the wood), the intonation was perfect all the strings, the new style GOTOH locking tuners are also soo sic! They all had the same amount of resistance as I turned them, they had been perfectly calibrated of course. If there was anything else I forgot about the guitar it was also perfect.

It was a crazy experience, I want to ask you though since I have no experience, are PRS just as nice? I really want one but can only really see them online, I am wondering if they are just as nice all the way around perfect in every way like the ESP from Japan?

 

[jco5055]

I am ESP guy myself, I also play on the ENGL =D. I have a question since you mentioned that about no one coming close. When I got my hands on my Original I had an expectation in mind. It involved a decent playing guitar, maybe not perfect, (my expectations had been beaten into me over and over with previous guitars that always have something annoying like a G string that will not intonate or strings that buzz when I am not even low setup etc.), I also expected to find something with the finish however minor, I expected the pickup rings to still have gaps wither on the ends or in the middle, I expected all of this. What I knew I was getting was the sound, the impecable finished frets, (from pictures), the logo on the headstock and just the fact it is an Original. But holy crap, the guitar was flawless when I check it out. There was not a single tiny scratch, and the thing played hard with no buzz, the frets were like mirrors, the pickup rings perfectly go on the contour, the strings from the bridge to the tail piece all perfectly spaced and PERFECT straight up and down, (a lot...most guitars strings are never perfect, you can always see an angle in the pictures as they go from bridge to tail piece), the nut is hand carved beauty to behold, perfect of course, the INLAYs are perfect, (the level of perfect I mean is ZERO gap between the wood and all around the inlay, its like the inlay was born with the wood), the intonation was perfect all the strings, the new style GOTOH locking tuners are also soo sic! They all had the same amount of resistance as I turned them, they had been perfectly calibrated of course. If there was anything else I forgot about the guitar it was also perfect.

It was a crazy experience, I want to ask you though since I have no experience, are PRS just as nice? I really want one but can only really see them online, I am wondering if they are just as nice all the way around perfect in every way like the ESP from Japan?

Take this with a grain of salt since everyone's different, but I've played a few Private Stocks and I felt like ESP Originals are better.

 

[NCASO96]

I am ESP guy myself, I also play on the ENGL =D. I have a question since you mentioned that about no one coming close. When I got my hands on my Original I had an expectation in mind. It involved a decent playing guitar, maybe not perfect, (my expectations had been beaten into me over and over with previous guitars that always have something annoying like a G string that will not intonate or strings that buzz when I am not even low setup etc.), I also expected to find something with the finish however minor, I expected the pickup rings to still have gaps wither on the ends or in the middle, I expected all of this. What I knew I was getting was the sound, the impecable finished frets, (from pictures), the logo on the headstock and just the fact it is an Original. But holy crap, the guitar was flawless when I check it out. There was not a single tiny scratch, and the thing played hard with no buzz, the frets were like mirrors, the pickup rings perfectly go on the contour, the strings from the bridge to the tail piece all perfectly spaced and PERFECT straight up and down, (a lot...most guitars strings are never perfect, you can always see an angle in the pictures as they go from bridge to tail piece), the nut is hand carved beauty to behold, perfect of course, the INLAYs are perfect, (the level of perfect I mean is ZERO gap between the wood and all around the inlay, its like the inlay was born with the wood), the intonation was perfect all the strings, the new style GOTOH locking tuners are also soo sic! They all had the same amount of resistance as I turned them, they had been perfectly calibrated of course. If there was anything else I forgot about the guitar it was also perfect.

It was a crazy experience, I want to ask you though since I have no experience, are PRS just as nice? I really want one but can only really see them online, I am wondering if they are just as nice all the way around perfect in every way like the ESP from Japan?

Over the past six years i've bought and sold over 20 guitars. Everything from Kramer to Jackson Pros, Ibanez Premium and Prestige, Kiesel, Charvel of all shapes and sizes, including a Charve USA which was fantastic.

My ESP E-IIs were flawless. Every guitar needs a setup imo, regardless, but my Eclipses are just fantastic guitars on every level.

The Japan shop are on another level. Watch the video on youtube about the ESP Japan factory. Then you'll see how all the above comes into play.

I have one of the new Jackson Japan Dinkys... again a flawless instrument.

I am partial to the Japan shops. They are a cut above. It's custom shop quality without have to spend $3-5k.

 

[Flappydoodle]

Over the past six years i've bought and sold over 20 guitars. Everything from Kramer to Jackson Pros, Ibanez Premium and Prestige, Kiesel, Charvel of all shapes and sizes, including a Charve USA which was fantastic.

My ESP E-IIs were flawless. Every guitar needs a setup imo, regardless, but my Eclipses are just fantastic guitars on every level.

The Japan shop are on another level. Watch the video on youtube about the ESP Japan factory. Then you'll see how all the above comes into play.

I have one of the new Jackson Japan Dinkys... again a flawless instrument.

I am partial to the Japan shops. They are a cut above. It's custom shop quality without have to spend $3-5k.

E-II’s certainly aren’t flawless. I have three and they all have some minor cosmetic issues, like fretboard dye spilled onto the binding. Still great quality, but definitely not flawless.

The videos are fun, but any shop can put together videos of people lovingly sanding becks etc. The real test is how consistent they can put out quality products, and for how long. In that regard, I do believe ESP custom shop is one of the best.

 

[narad]

E-II’s certainly aren’t flawless. I have three and they all have some minor cosmetic issues, like fretboard dye spilled onto the binding. Still great quality, but definitely not flawless.

The videos are fun, but any shop can put together videos of people lovingly sanding becks etc. The real test is how consistent they can put out quality products, and for how long. In that regard, I do believe ESP custom shop is one of the best.

I feel like somewhere along the way people's expectations got distorted. I'm reminded of a Chris Rock standup skit that I can't describe for PC reasons. Wow, you polished your frets and fret ends? YA S'POSED TA! You're able to play it without buzz? YA S'POSED TA! Your guitar is free of scratches? ITS S'POSED TA BE!



ESP CS makes great stuff. I don't find it particularly anything to write home about over other boutique builders charging that much, which isn't many.

 

[Steinmetzify]

Over the past six years i've bought and sold over 20 guitars.

Amateur.

The videos are fun, but any shop can put together videos of people lovingly sanding becks etc. The real test is how consistent they can put out quality products, and for how long. In that regard, I do believe ESP custom shop is one of the best.

This is a thing. One of the things I’ve always liked about ESPs is that even though they’re not flawless, they ARE great guitars and they all feel pretty much the same, like German cars. All Audis feel the same, Benzes and Porsches do too.

I love that I can pick up an ESP in any guitar shop in the country and the knobs all feel the same, the necks are all extremely similar and they all play pretty much the same. The consistency is what keeps me coming back and digging them.

 

[Dumple Stilzkin]

Over the past six years i've bought and sold over 20 guitars. Everything from Kramer to Jackson Pros, Ibanez Premium and Prestige, Kiesel, Charvel of all shapes and sizes, including a Charve USA which was fantastic.

My ESP E-IIs were flawless. Every guitar needs a setup imo, regardless, but my Eclipses are just fantastic guitars on every level.

The Japan shop are on another level. Watch the video on youtube about the ESP Japan factory. Then you'll see how all the above comes into play.

I have one of the new Jackson Japan Dinkys... again a flawless instrument.

I am partial to the Japan shops. They are a cut above. It's custom shop quality without have to spend $3-5k.

I have a CE24. Which is not PRS most expensive model, so it’s arguably not a fair comparison. The CE24 is awesome, tone is great. QC was amazing, but if I had to chose which guitar I like best. The answer is my Original series, it just has that feeling of something extra. PRS is fantastic, the versatility of my CE24 is better than my Horizon. Both have loads of mojo, but the ESP is the finest made guitar I’ve ever played.

 

[NCASO96]

E-II’s certainly aren’t flawless. I have three and they all have some minor cosmetic issues, like fretboard dye spilled onto the binding. Still great quality, but definitely not flawless.

The videos are fun, but any shop can put together videos of people lovingly sanding becks etc. The real test is how consistent they can put out quality products, and for how long. In that regard, I do believe ESP custom shop is one of the best.

I've had 4 E-IIs including my current "B-level" Eclipse and never had those issues. I wouldn't have kept guitars that came to me in that condition.

I didn't just recommend a video with people "lovingly sanding blocks of wood" the ESP Japan Shop tour covers the intensive training and processes that go into the Japan shop.

@ the $1.8 - $3k price range there aren't that many brands that can compete with ESP Japan. Maybe the Ibanez Prestige, but they lack variety.

 

[Flappydoodle]

I've had 4 E-IIs including my current "B-level" Eclipse and never had those issues. I wouldn't have kept guitars that came to me in that condition.

I didn't just recommend a video with people "lovingly sanding blocks of wood" the ESP Japan Shop tour covers the intensive training and processes that go into the Japan shop.

@ the $1.8 - $3k price range there aren't that many brands that can compete with ESP Japan. Maybe the Ibanez Prestige, but they lack variety.

You say "in that condition", but these are tiny (like 1 millimetre) sort of imperfections.And they sound and play awesome. In fact, one of my E-ii Horizons I sat in the shop in Tokyo and played about 10 Horizons, and this was the best - better than Original series. It still has some slight tool marks on the binding though.

I honestly just think people have wildly differing definitions of "perfect" or "flawless". I mean, in the Solar thread, people are calling them perfect, which I find VERY hard to believe.

And yes, I've seen all the custom shop tours. I've been to Tokyo and the main store a bunch of times. I have a good friend who is an ESP artist with a proper signature series guitar of his own. Point is - the videos they put out, or when they have western media over to film, are still promotional content. The real test is putting out quality product consistently. Any manufacturer can make something incredible if they spend the time and effort. But doing it for EVERY guitar is the real challenge. To that regard, I think ESP is one of the best.

 

[NCASO96]

You say "in that condition", but these are tiny (like 1 millimetre) sort of imperfections.And they sound and play awesome. In fact, one of my E-ii Horizons I sat in the shop in Tokyo and played about 10 Horizons, and this was the best - better than Original series. It still has some slight tool marks on the binding though.

I honestly just think people have wildly differing definitions of "perfect" or "flawless". I mean, in the Solar thread, people are calling them perfect, which I find VERY hard to believe.

And yes, I've seen all the custom shop tours. I've been to Tokyo and the main store a bunch of times. I have a good friend who is an ESP artist with a proper signature series guitar of his own. Point is - the videos they put out, or when they have western media over to film, are still promotional content. The real test is putting out quality product consistently. Any manufacturer can make something incredible if they spend the time and effort. But doing it for EVERY guitar is the real challenge. To that regard, I think ESP is one of the best.

Maybe the word "flawless" shouldn't be used when referring to a man-made instrument? I understand it's promotional content, however it attests to the high standards of the Japan shop, and I believe that reflects in the product.

It's great that you were at the shop in Japan, who would know better than you?

 

[marke]

My E-II had few dust particles under the neck finish. Very small, but "flawless" isn't the word that comes to mind. Also the fretboard stain is a real bummer, took several cleanings to get it not irritate and color my fingers. It was a really good guitar, but also somehow slightly disappointing because of those issues. I won't buy another E-II because of that stain, unless a used one where someone has already taken care of the issue either by stain drying out or worn off.

 

[soul_lip_mike]