The ESP Guitar Company

TL;DR my new LTD sucks.

Just bought a brand new guitar!!! LTD MH-1000 Evertune Deluxe model. Freaking awesome, was so excited to get this. That see through black and an Evertune!!! Planned to swap the EMG for Fishman and rock for days.

Sounds exciting doesn't it? Had to wait over a week since it was on back order with Sweetwater so I was pretty anxious. Took it out of the box, such a great feeling. Packed so nice, double boxed with the brand new case that I sadly had to pay extra for, (these should come with a case).

Was so happy and proud to add this to my ESP/LTD collection. That is until I started to inspect the guitar. This is when my heart sank beneath my stomach. Such a good thing turned completely sour in a matter of seconds.

There were so many little issues idk what to start with. I will first say that I have had B stock guitars in much better shape than this. I am also willing to bet that the 50% off Factory Seconds for sale on this website are in equal or better condition.

Now trust me, IF this guitar was 50% off I would be super happy with it. All the issues are cosmetic however, that is not the case. This guitar was over $1,000 and completely unacceptable.

I will just get to the point huh?    

     * The back plate on the guitar was completely scratched. Very bad, no plastic cover and poor condition.

     * There are minor surface scuffs/swirls on the top of the body

     * The white binding has black paint all over at the end of almost every single fret and also there are imperfections where the binding meets the neck and with the pin stripe paint at the pocket

     * There is also some glue/gunk above and below every single piece of fret wire on the guitar but I guess that can be removed with some work or a trip to a luthier

     * The Ebony board has a spot where it is discolored badly. It looks like rosewood on one little area.

A lot of these things seem and may be minor but combine all of that and the fact that this is a brand new guitar that I payed over $1,000 for. Very disappointed. I cannot ignore all of this, Yeah I could ignore surface marks and get rid of some glue but the black paint on the white binding and the other paint issues cannot be fixed or ignored.

I have a Standard Series ESP. I also have an older V-500. Both are excellent but I am wondering is the QC just seriously this poor these days with LTD? I have cheap guitars that have none of these issues. It seems like these workers are being rushed and do not care how the guitar comes out. This one should have never even left the shop let alone pass QC by EJ at ESP USA and then also pass the dealer's inspection. I could see literally within seconds all of the problems this guitar has.

I could understand if I got an MH-200 or something but this is supposed to be the top of the line LTD, 1000 Deluxe!!!

Very disappointing NGD. Still waiting on a reply from the dealer to resolve my issue. Sadly, this one will most likely be going back and leaving a bad taste in my mouth about LTD guitars and ESP in general.