Help plz identifying an unearthed NOS LTD GL 500-T

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Help plz identifying an unearthed NOS LTD GL 500-T

Hi guys, new on the block. Joining the ESP family, and hoping to tap into your awesome pit of fine knowledge.

I was really fortunate to be able to snatch just a couple of weeks ago this new old stock GL500 T (mint, never played!) from a French store that was closing down. Only old guys care for this kind of axe nowadays I guess haha. Got a good deal, much cheaper than the GL 200 out now. I was slightly worried about the neck, being a Jackson guy, used to great heel access, 24 frets and grown comfortable (Iazy? nah) on a 24 3/4" scale, as I had read reviews that said it was a bit chunky, but it feels perfect to me, and the satin finish is great. The burst is the best Tiger (to my taste) that I have seen, and I'm happy to finally get my hands on a Tiger, brings back so many memories.

I am puzzled by a couple of things though and would welcome your help. As far as I know, production years were 2001-2002. From the serial number I would take a guess it was made in 2001, week 21 on a saturday, but the serial doesn't look like others I have seen, where the first 2 digits display the year.

Also the bridge is unlike all other GLs that I have seen, which always had the "regular" kind of patented Floyd, this one (obviously Korean licensed too) looks more like an Ibanez LoPro. I have done research on the net and have not seen one single pic of the Tiger with this bridge, could this be from a very early series? or what's the deal?

As far as I know the body is supposed to be alder, I can tell by looking at the lacquer in the light that it's made from 4 or 5 pieces of wood, not so much a surprise or issue on a painted guitar in this range, but somehow it feels slightly heavy, which surprised me from being alder? There is only one slight issue which is that the tip of the banana headstock is a bit warped inwards.  Certainly has to do with the wood grain at that precise point, and years upon years of storage, and maybe the wood not being completely dry and sealed at the time of construction?  I loosened the strings for 2 weeks and the headstock has straightened out quite a bit, not completely yet.  I suppose it won't affect anything considering the locking nut, but I'm wondering if this is a typical issue with banana headstocks? anybody had a similar issue? should it require some luthier intervention in case it's fixable at all?

I suppose I will put in a brass block to replace that horrid zinc junk, and maybe noiseless springs. Haven't been able to plug in yet, as the rest of my equipment is in another country at the moment... but just ordered an Atomic Amplifire, and hoping to get screaming Lynch tones out of it (Tips on that are welcome too ).

Wondering about the Duncan Designed pups, anyone have the specs on those? can't find that info anywhere.  I might upgrade to Mr Scary pups, but maybe it won't be needed. Anyway, so much more beautiful than in the pictures... and this Lynch fan since '83 is happy...

Tons of questions, I know. Any help appreciated. Thx dudes.

Road King

Most Ltds from that time period came with that licensed floyd rose, and either duncan designed pickups or EMG HZ pickups. Everything looks legit, but not sure on the serial number. Seems like it should say W02 rather than W12.

Firewind66

Thx man. Whew, glad they're not EMGs, with all due respect to that brand. The thing that keeps me puzzled is that out of hundreds of GL500T pix on the interweb, I haven't seen a single one with that bridge, don't know if to be happy or not, I guess usage will tell me what the bridge is worth.

Pushead

Yeah, it would be a 2012 guitar.

Firewind66

Thx man. Seemed the only answer with that serial, but I guess I'm even more confused now, never heard of these being produced in 2012? Do you know of any reliable ESP source where I could check the serial number for sure and find the tech specs, like an online catalog, or collector's blog or something, like Ibanez and Jackson have?

ESP 348

I can't be of any help, but I think that guitar looks legit and also looks great.

Firewind66

Thx man. Yeah, it's a beauty.

Nathan S.

Pushead knows his shit, and I don't intend to argue with him, merely ask a question. You (OP) suspect early 2000's and Road King suspects Early 2000's. I was told that when I was trying to identify my MV200 that the first 2 digits do not designate the year for the first couple years that they started using a letter as the first digit (early 2000's), and that you can tell the early ones by the short format. Supposedly the first 2 numbers don't designate the year until they went to the long format lettered s/n. If you take a look at the pics I will attach you will see what I am saying. If you went by the first 2 numbers my MV would be a 2008, but the MV200 did not exist in 08, I was told it was only around for a couple years in the early 2000's. Hopefully someone can clear this up.

Nathan S.

Notice the MV, that the s/n would lead you to believe is an 08, is a shorter format # than the s/n of my 2009 EC1000.

Nathan S.

Going on the neck joint with only screws and no plate, and the "duncan designed" pickups, I am going to have to go with early 2000's as well.

Firewind66

Thanks for taking the time Nathan. Good piece of info there, and somehow the mystery thickens.  I have found a bunch of old ESP catalogs, some on this site, but they only have the CS ESP Tiger listed and not the LTD version, so I am still clueless as far as specs and dating.  I just can't believe that there is no clear and legit product info out there on a guitar that is so iconic and well-known, the search goes on... Contacted the ESP FB page but they sent me here... maybe the customer service will help.

But thanks again for your time man.

Frank E.

GL-500T s/n

Frank E.

Here's the s/n on my 500 (signed!)

The 500's were the earliest, MIK "cheaper" versions of the ESP Lynch models (now $4k!)

They are of superior build quality compared to the 200's.

Mine had a Floyed 1000....not cheap Korean knock off. I replaced it with Gotoh.

After the 500's came the current 200's ($500)

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