Old 90's "Custom Guitars" ESPs

[dima qb]

I'll add fuel to the fire.
If we are talking about the ESP standard series, then it’s worth mentioning that the same guitars in 2001 were the standard series, and in 2002 they already became the original series. When appealing to the ESP, it is worth to clarifying which ESP you are talking about. There is the ESP USA and there is the ESP Japan, and, in my opinion, these are two different ESPs. Some work for the North American market and they have their own view on running a business, which is why in the USA there are no sub-brands such as Grass Roots or Edwards, but there are LTD and E2 (formerly ESP Standard outside Japan)
I have attached a couple of screenshots from the catalogs so as not to be unfounded.

 

[dima qb]

I have a bunch of mirages from 1980s', few customs (cs orders) and some Japanese signatures. And what can I say: Some newer LTD has better quality of fretwork\paint\inlay cutting than old axes.
Old axes is all about vibe and mojo (lawsuit headstocks, production ended models, etc) and not about quality. New Original series is a next level guitars since 2014.

It's all my opinion, I'm not trying to offend anyone, it's just food for thought

 

[Zado]

I have a bunch of mirages from 1980s', few customs (cs orders) and some Japanese signatures. And what can I say: Some newer LTD has better quality of fretwork\paint\inlay cutting than old axes.
Old axes is all about vibe and mojo (lawsuit headstocks, production ended models, etc) and not about quality. New Original series is a next level guitars since 2014.

It's all my opinion, I'm not trying to offend anyone, it's just food for thought

 

[Nightside]

The other thing you have to keep in mind when comparing a 1980s Esp to a brand new one is that one of them is from the 1980s and the original fret leveling and polishing and such is long gone. I highly doubt there are any left that haven't been played. Unless you're buying one to send back to Esp to get restored there really isn't much point trying to compare the two.

 

[dima qb]

It's true, but we are talking about guitar in general.
Crooked inlays and sharkskin (shagreen) does not disappear over the time. And I'm not talking about stained ebony fretboard and assembled from pieces guitar bodies, which is impossible to get from custom shop and Original series nowadays

 

[Nightside]

It's true, but we are talking about guitar in general.
Crooked inlays and sharkskin (shagreen) does not disappear over the time. And I'm not talking about stained ebony fretboard and assembled from pieces guitar bodies, which is impossible to get from custom shop and Original series nowadays

You also have to keep in mind that back then they didn't have the custom shop and original series like they are now. They just had everything mass produced in the same manner across all the work shops. It wasn't until the restructuring that they scaled back production of the original series to build them at the custom shop level of quality like you see today.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Lol. I feel like Possum just knows this bugs the shit out of @narad and trolls the fuck out of him.

 

[narad]

Lol. I feel like Possum just knows this bugs the shit out of @narad and trolls the fuck out of him.

I have no idea what's going on at this point. I have to go to craft house this week to pick up two guitars and I'm going to complain to the staff that I'm being bullied online.

 

[Nightside]

 

[narad]

Yea, I mean, the second possum knows more about ESPs than me I'm just going to sell 'em all and retire from the internet.

 

[Tad0684]

You also have to keep in mind that back then they didn't have the custom shop and original series like they are now. They just had everything mass produced in the same manner across all the work shops. It wasn't until the restructuring that they scaled back production of the original series to build them at the custom shop level of quality like you see today.

Is this not what this entire thread is arguing? You just came full circle

 

[Thesius]

Holy shit how did I miss this thread. Quality SSO in here

 

[Sermo Lupi]

If you guys post any more photos of vintage letterheads or catalogues to prove a point, whatever MI5 agent busted the War Thunder classified docs ring is going to come in here and smite the lot of you.

 

[Nightside]

Is this not what this entire thread is arguing? You just came

I sure did

 

[Tad0684]

I sure did

I thought you were a new commenter. I lost track somewhere on the third page

 

[Mike]

What about 90's USA ESP's? Where do those fall in the tier system and where were they made? ESP claims that their USA shop manufacturing started in 2013.

 

[Nightside]

What about 90's USA ESP's? Where do those fall in the tier system and where were they made? ESP claims that their USA shop manufacturing started in 2013.

It was just Esp USA. They never were a custom shop. The only true custom shops are Japanese.