Educate me on the ESP brand

[nhspike]

Old, new... a brief history, and buyers guide.
Who can help?
I don't own one, but am intrigued by the brand.
Who is willing to throw out some opinions for the benefit of the rest of us?

[JacksonCharvelESP]

Great guitars. Mine was made in Indonesia but it is really amazing. Nice fast necks. I little different than Jackson necks but still wicked comfortable IMHO. The only thing I would watch out for is the wood they are made from. The lower end models have crappy tone woods. Mine has Agathis and it isn't the best. I still love mine.

[Spivonious]

LTD = not made in Japan
ESP = made in Japan

That's really all I know.

[j2379]

started as a parts company in japan. they supplied necks for a few companys. sometime in the early 80's they starting building full guitars. they also had a so called custom shop in lower manhatten, that later moved 85/86 to 48th street in NYC. there is some conflicting accounts of whether they actually cut necks & bodies or they are had ESP japan sending them the parts to assemble. in the early days there models were standard & deluxe for bolton custom was neckthu. plus custom used for custom ordered guitars. the jackson headstock was axed after 87 possible 88. few early models do have strat headstocks. back in the day they were a great cheap alternative. i bought an M1 custom single hum with the deep bevelled cutaway & a pheonix (firebird) for $500 each with case.

[sonicsamurai]

use wikipedia it has more info than u can imagine on most things

[Norton]

They rip-off other brands' models.

That's all you need to know

[Bengal]

Old ESP's kick ass. Love the neck profile. Kinda Kramer-ish but a little more narrow at the nut.

The new stuff is decent. LTD is decent quality for the money. The new ESP stuff seems to be as good as the older stuff.

Still looking for a late 80's ESP Horizon.

[Rich#6]

A lot of the old kramers necks were made by esp

[Snoogans]

Pre-90s ESPs are some of the best guitars you will play - top quality gear, up there with Jackson IMHO. Their "synclair" Floyd trem was a bit odd, but worked well.
Don't dismiss them on the strength of what they're turning out these days, they have gone the same way as Schecter and Dean - builders of superb custom instruments, now more famous for budget Korean "metal" guitars.

[AfterForever]

I had great expierences with both ESP and LTD guitars. However, like any other company, there are good ones and bad ones.. especially with the LTDs, play before you buy! I love my LTD V-350, but I also played some LTDs that weren't that good.

[Venomboy]

I played a bunch of the higher end LTD's last week. Nice setups overall. The only things I didn't like were the frets were too shiny...almost looked like chrome plated plastic. And some of the guitars have a bit of a overall "plastic" feel to them. I'm not sure if the clearcoat is too shiny or what. They're pretty nice guitars though.

Original shapes are not ESP's thang.

[Rich#6]

If you get an ltd try to get one that is made in korea, but like everyone says the old MIJ and us are the best.

[Psh511]

I just recently sold a 48th street custom/ESP strat that was truly top notch in every way..

[Axewielder]

I've got a 90's M-II that is great. Their stock pickups aren't very good. Their scalloped bolt-on neck heel is great. Mine has a variant of the Kahler Steeler, which I think is a killer trem.

[Bengal]

Original shapes?

Everyone is ripping off Gibson and Fender. Everybody.