New to Board and ESP guitars..

Updated
New to Board and ESP guitars..
Hi, I am new to ESP guitars. Infact I am in the process of buying an older one that I ran across. I was wondering if any of you could answer a few questions I have. I am buying an M-III. I was told from the place I am buying it from that it is a USA, but I don't see USA listed on the guitar. What year might it have been made? It has Custom Guitars stamped on the back of the headstock, what does that mean? Is it a line of ESP's or might it be a one off? How much might it have gone for when it was new? Here is what I do know about it from tech info. ESP M-III it says ESP Custom Guitars Reverse headstock non matching color Pups: LH-200 Humbucker, and 2 SS-120 single coils...are these good pups? Body: 2 piece Alder, not to sure what that means exactly. Alder top and alder body? Bolt on Maple neck/ rosewood fretboard Trem: OFR Frets: 24 Color: I am not sure what the color is called, ha ha. It is like a purplish blue, and has a very light almost pink pearl to it. But, it doesn't show on these pics that I will attempt to include. I know this thing needs a good cleaning, but I don't have it home just yet to tend to it. Thanks For any additional info you can provide!
Kannon

ESP Customs are made in Japan (along with the Standard Series), not the USA (except for a limited number several years back). The Custom Series guitars are ready-made Custom Shop guitars (similar to the Original Series). They are pretty much made to order and are not part of normal inventory/stock.

Force

So this guitar was most likely made in Japan, and is not a guitar that would typically be in stock? But, it is not a full out custom built guitar. Did I get that right?

Colin Parks ESP Artist

These are jap made but fear not I have an esp usa custom and the build quality are the same, get it come join the family!

Pushead

It's a pretty nice looking guitar, but it's a "Standard Series" ESP from the mid to late 90s. They all had that "ESP Custom Guitars" circle logo on the headstock (at least the ones that were delivered to the USA). It's a Japanese build, but there's nothing wrong with that.

I suspect that thing is an amazing player, and if you can get a good deal on it, buy it!

Force

Thank You for the responses! Nothing wrong with a Japanese built guitar at all. Thou since the guy whom I am buying it from told me USA maybe I'll use that to talk him down further in pricing as I go to finish paying for it this coming month. I am picking it up for 400 USD, with it original hard shell case. There are no dents or nicks... only a few very light surface scratches on the back... that can be waxed out. It is however missing the back plate... So, I will be looking for one of those. Where can I get one and about how much do they run? Any idea what this guitar may have gone for back in the day... just kinda curious?

I hope it is OK for this thread to be in this section? As I was under the impression it was some sort of custom shop at the time I posted the thread.

OutlawTorn

Thank You for the responses! Nothing wrong with a Japanese built guitar at all. Thou since the guy whom I am buying it from told me USA maybe I'll use that to talk him down further in pricing as I go to finish paying for it this coming month. I am picking it up for 400 USD, with it original hard shell case. There are no dents or nicks... only a few very light surface scratches on the back... that can be waxed out. It is however missing the back plate... So, I will be looking for one of those. Where can I get one and about how much do they run? Any idea what this guitar may have gone for back in the day... just kinda curious?

I hope it is OK for this thread to be in this section? As I was under the impression it was some sort of custom shop at the time I posted the thread.

$400?!:eek: you stole that guitar! grats! and for future ref NGD get more attention in teh General Discussion thread

Justinschut

damn, thats a pretty good price

antipole

I would say $400 dollars are a steal to me.

Force

It is good to hear I am not getting the short end of the stick on this guitar. I have played it, thou only briefly. The neck is perfectly straight and I really love the feel of it. We'll see how she acts when I get it home and can really listen and get a feel for it. It needs cleaned up and new strings for sure. I have been playing for round 20 years now, and this will be my first experience with ESP. I have always favored Ibanez, but with me having to rebuild a good rig from scratch and this being the best guitar I have run across for what I can reasonably spend ATM. I am pretty pleased with what I have read and have learned about this guitar. ESP has some real nice ones that will be added to my list of must gets in the future, After I get the amp and effects... and all that good stuff built back up. This one should hold me til then.

What does NGD stand for? New guitar day?

1point8t

Which back plate is missing? The trem cover or the volume/cavity control cover? I've got an actual ESP trem cover you can have if thats the case....

1point8t

PM replied bro. Cover is on its way probably by the time you read this!

Force

Thanks man! This is deffo a huge relief and has made my day!

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