ESP Owners Club

I have not seen an ESP thread here, so I will start one. (Mods delete this if there is an official ESP thread).

I have a 2001 ESP/LTD Made in Korea Viper 301. Two passive EMG HZ-1 humbuckers, one volume, one tone, three way switch. Set in mahogany neck on mahogany body, rosewood fretboard with ESP flag inlays.

Here are the colors it was available in way back when. Since then ESP has upped the ante with the more expensive active EMG humbuckers in the LTD midrange and dropped the 301.

Show us your ESP and LTD guitars and basses.

If your '01 is from "way back then", then my custom ordered '90 S800 is prehistoric :lol:

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh98/SouthpawGuy/ESP%20S800/esp_04.jpg

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh98/SouthpawGuy/ESP%20S800/esp_07.jpg

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh98/SouthpawGuy/ESP%20S800/esp_06.jpg

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh98/SouthpawGuy/ESP%20S800/esp_01.jpg



Finish is transparent purple sunburst with all gold hardware, staggered Schaller tuners and original Floyd Rose. Pickups are EMG 89 and I think an S and SA. Master volume and tone with a push pull on the volume knob to split the humbucker which is still active and silent when split. Mini switch combines the neck pickup with bridge or middle. The neck is done with a vintage tint.

I ordered this one through Selectron in the UK, as far as I know they're still the UK distributor, it took four months from ordering to delivery.

Here is my very early 80's ESP Strat. It even has the Fender style headstock which was discontinued around 1984 for the US market. It has a faint ESP pressed into the wood in the back of the headstock and the ESP stamp on the heel. 21 fret rosewood neck with some of the darkest rosewood I have seen, ESP stamped saddles and a Fiesta Red glossy body in mint condition for being 30 years old plus or minus. I am guessing it was put together from ESP parts in one of the first NY custom shops because the stamp in the body has NY in there. The Schaller tuners are original as well I believe. They still say "Made in W. Germany" which dates them to early 80's as well I think.

The pickups and wiring has been upgraded to American Fender pups. Both tone controls feature Push/Pull pots. The middle when engaged, will use the neck and bridge pups together for a somewhat Tele sound and the back one when engaged gives a mid-boost to the bridge pickup. It is a extremely well built guitar that plays like a dream. Best Strat I ever owned and that includes my old Clapton Signature strat! :cool:

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd219/lofapco/ESP_Maggie.jpg

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd219/lofapco/P1011699.jpg

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd219/lofapco/P1011695.jpg

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd219/lofapco/100_1800.jpg

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd219/lofapco/100_1781.jpg

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd219/lofapco/100_1777.jpg

Here is my very early 80's ESP Strat. It even has the Fender style headstock which was discontinued around 1984. It has a faint ESP pressed into the wood in the back of the headstock and the ESP stamp on the heel. 21 fret rosewood neck with some of the darkest rosewood I have seen, ESP stamped saddles and a Fiesta Red glossy body in mint condition for being 30 years old plus or minus. I am guessing it was put together from ESP parts in one of the first NY custom shops because the stamp in the body has NY in there.

The pickups and wiring has been upgraded to American Fender pups. Both tone controls feature Push/Pull pots. The middle when engaged, will use the neck and bridge pups together for a somewhat Tele sound and the back one when engaged gives a mid-boost to the bridge pickup. It is a extremely well built guitar that plays like a dream. Best Strat I ever owned and that includes my old Clapton Signature strat! :cool:

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd219/lofapco/ESP_Maggie.jpg




Nice guitar !

If you check my 1990 S800 above it also has the Fender style headstock and they were still available for a few years after I ordered that one. I'm in Europe so it might have been a different situation in the US.

+1 Mid-80s Series 400 Strat-a-like in their version of Daphne Blue.

Nice guitar !

If you check my 1990 S800 above it also has the Fender style headstock and they were still available for a few years after I ordered that one. I'm in Europe so it might have been a different situation in the US.

I bet it probably was more so in Europe at later dates than here in the US. I know they continued (and still do I think?) have that headstock available in Japan.

I have an ESP 400-series Telecaster from the 1980s, which has the proper shape head on a 22-fret neck with a veneer (rather than slab) rosewood fingerboard. The body is a deep red in colour (more Dakota than Fiesta), with a thick single-ply bevelled black pickguard. I've installed a 4-way switch and at present the guitar is wearing Tonerider Hot Classic pickups.

I also own a 400-series Strat in Lake Placid Blue. This one has the ESP headstock and is equipped with the Kinman Woodstock Regular pickup set.

Both guitars are beautifully constructed and play superbly.

Bump to see if there are more ESP owners out there.... :mrgreen:

Bump to see if there are more ESP owners out there.... :mrgreen:

I hope there are more.

To be honest, as good as ESP and their budget and moderate brand LTD guitars are, they have a heavy metal image since Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and practically the whole of the Norway Black Metal scene have taken up the brand. I think their popularity in the heavy music crowd is up there with B.C. Rich and Jackson. Most people don't know they make a great tele model for Ronnie Wood as well as some nice hollowbodies in their X-tone line. Their homepage reflects their most popular high decibel customers though.

www.espguitars.com

I have two early ESP 400 series (21 fret vs 22 and gold outlined lettering).... one fiesta red tele and a black strat. Both are fantastic. I used to work in a music store in the mid 80's that sold mostly Fender guitars and these came in and blew everyone away. I was on the hunt a few years ago and stumbled upon both within a week of each other... I had fun justifying that to the wife. The only other guitar that gives it a run for the money is my mid 80's Tokai AST56. I'll post some pics.

My #1 tele is actually an ESP400 series. Bound sunburst. I put a Fender maple neck on it some years back.

My #1 tele is actually an ESP400 series. Bound sunburst. I put a Fender maple neck on it some years back.

Do you still have the ESP 400 neck? Those are the best bolt-on necks I have ever played.

I love to show off my ESP Ron Wood! :smile:

http://www.simpsonsfinephotography.com/photos/i-JCfhwhV/0/X2/i-JCfhwhV-L.jpg

http://www.simpsonsfinephotography.com/photos/i-pz7Np8t/0/X2/i-pz7Np8t-L.jpg

http://www.simpsonsfinephotography.com/photos/i-4GLQZdh/0/X2/i-4GLQZdh-M.jpg

http://www.simpsonsfinephotography.com/photos/1147119390_fFM8q-XL.jpg

http://www.simpsonsfinephotography.com/photos/1215003802_bFrNw-XL.jpg

http://www.simpsonsfinephotography.com/photos/i-GQNPXpm/0/X2/i-GQNPXpm-M.jpg

http://www.simpsonsfinephotography.com/photos/i-hs6DJRC/0/X2/i-hs6DJRC-M.jpg

That is amazing!! ^^^^^^^^^^^

ESP you say?
My fave!! :D

2005 ESP Navigator N-LP 580LTD
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6175/6218861894_a64e72e7bc_b.jpg

2001 ESP Navigator N-LP 480LTD
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7191/6924192917_ed43bd4a55_b.jpg

1980 ESP TE-125 Navigator Telecaster (refinished)
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6075/6030858055_4926148ce2_b.jpg

ESP Custom Ordered 56 Les Paul Jr (under refinish)
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8303/7925640566_ca0a72026d_b.jpg

Those Navigators are nice. I have only read about them but not seen any in US.

While there are a lot of both US and Japanese and European companies that make tele/strat type guitars better than Fender (Anderson, ESP, Vigier, others), I don't see a lot of Gibson style guitars better than Gibson, but your Navigators look sharper than any of the six or seven Gibson I have owned over the years! That Navigator sunburst LP you have looks as nice as any ultra expensive Gibson vintage piece.

I played a used green Stephen Carpenter ESP. It was amazing. I heard the MIJ ESPs were a cut above the already very nice LTDs and I simply didn't believe it but this guitar made a believer out of me. While I love my LTD and dollar for dollar it beats anything I have found in 500 dollar range, this ESP I saw for 1300 used was simply epic.

The neck was the best strat neck outside of a Warmoth or Vigier.

I heard the MIJ ESPs were a cut above the already very nice LTDs and I simply didn't believe it but this guitar made a believer out of me.

Yes! ESP Signature guitars are very VERY nice.

ESP 400 Strat here.

Yes! ESP Signature guitars are very VERY nice.

I always thought they were one of the better factory built guitars, but this used ESP Stephen Carpenter was truly as good as any luthier built electric I have played. Vigier, less a company and more handmade, is my favorite as for how it plays, but this ESP changed my mind about having to spend $2000-$3000 for a used Vigier and seeing that $1300 for that ESP is just as good.

I didn't plug it in and Vigier's big cost is also three year dried wood which supposed to add to tone but it's hard to make that case with a solidbody. I don't know if ESP goes through that lengthy process or if it's really advantageous over kiln dried wood. I would think a Vigier with Duncan '59s would sound very close to an ESP superstrat with Duncan '59s. The necks certainly feel very similar and that's what blew me away with the ESP. The action was so smooth and consistent the wooden neck on that actually felt like a carbon fiber neck.