Need help with guitar identification (NY6183?)

jlj6tjlj6t
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    jlj6t
    Sorry if this isn't the right place to post this, but I figured I'd start here. Backstory...newbie who wants to learn the guitar, buddy turns him onto an ebay listing for a well-loved "80's ESP" for a couple of hundred. Listing states the previous owner has repainted this guitar a "few" times, gigged with it a lot (i.e., average condition), etc. It came with an old Dimarzio humbucker (no serial/model # on bottom, just the standard "Dimarzio pickup, made in U.S.A." stamped on it), and a single-coil pickup (no identifying marks, just what appears to be a ceramic magnet exposed on the bottom of the pickup). The tuners are Gotoh, and it's got a Schaller FR-licensed trem. Anyway, I wasn't digging the yellow paint, so I decided to strip the paint off and either repaint it or just finish the bare wood. After I got through the yellow and black and purple and maybe blue coats of paint, I noticed the only thing resembling a serial number on the whole guitar. In the pickup recess, on the bare wood, is a hand-written "serial number." It looks to me like "NY6183." The only other number I've found on the guitar is what looks to be a "411" stamped into the fretboard below the last fret. I remember thinking when I bought it almost ten years ago that I might have been duped into getting a fake ESP (the headstock logo looked painted on, the case had a bad spraypainted/stenciled ESP logo), but it didn't really matter as it sounded awesome to my unpracticed ear. But then again, if it is a fake, someone went through a lot of trouble (neck-through, ESP pearl fret inlay, etc). I emailed ESP these pics, and they replied a few days later: Very nice! This looks like it was definitely made in the 80's. No production records available for older ESP's unfortunately. Looks like and Early Maverick, or MV. Anyway, I'm hoping that some of y'all on here could help me identify this guitar! Thanks in advance! Justin
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    Metlupass2
    Metlupass2 wrote

    I've never seen an old ESP with the single coil slanted that much. Weird.

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      Pushead
      Pushead wrote

      I don't recall seeing an M-I (single pickup) in any of the early catalogs, but that doesn't mean it wasn't there. The idea does seem to hold some water, though. From the pictures of the guitars in the catalog, it doesn't appear that the Floyd was recessed (it's an earlier version of ESP's bridge than the Sinclair, but I don't remember what it was called.) So it's possible that someone added the second pickup and the Floyd route after buying the guitar (or possibly even during production).

      The relief cut you're talking about is called a "scult" in ESP lingo.

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        Metlupass2
        Metlupass2 wrote

        I'll bet it's an old MI like that and someone routed out the body for that single coil judging by how slanted it is.

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          jlj6t
          jlj6t wrote

          Awesome...looks we've settled on a winner. She's a late 80's M1 Custom that someone routed the single-coil neck pup into.

          Now I've got to figure out the best way to get her restored to a good playing condition.

          Thanks again for y'alls help!

          JJ

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            jl-austin
            jl-austin wrote

            Fill in the single coil slot first off. That should not be too hard, seeing how it needs to be painted anyways.

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