The ESP Guitar Company

I ordered the Charcoal burst arrow1000. Sweet water told me mid September, but now they are saying the end of November… 

I reserved the MH-1000 in April with a ship date of September.

Guitar Center now tells me it won't be shipped until January 2023.

Nobody gives an answer other than pushing the date out further.  ESP says ask the dealers and dealers say they’re waiting on ESP. 

Yeah I am curious where the heck my guitar is as well.  I ordered an ESP EII-Horizon III FR back in March....

STILL WAITING. First I was told "oh June" then it became "July" then "October" then "November."  No dice.  The port backup is over... so what gives?  These guitars don't have chips in them.  I don't get what the hold up is. 

Supposedly I'm "#1" now on the waitlist for the item.  Yeah I'll believe it when I actually see this thing.  The only reason I'm holding out for this item is because I like the ESP u-neck.  If it wasn't for that I'd have bailed months ago on this nonsense.  

Oh wow. Was hoping my SN-1000 would ship soon as Sweetwater says “several weeks” but it sounds like it’ll be 2023. Considering canceling my preorder 

Some type of update would be nice.

At this point, ESP should rename all of the Phase I videos to "Phase I 2023."

I called Sweetwater today and they said "Hopefully in a few more weeks but nothing is confirmed and no date is currently set".....I got the impression it was a nice way of saying "we have no freaking clue, but HOPEFULLY" LOL. What a bummer. I am going to start looking around at other options guitar wise...if I find something I love I'll probably cancel my pre-order. I really just ordered a guitar (the SN-1000 FireBlast) without every playing it based on features and looks. So if I can find something I can play in person and love it, I'll go with it.

Update…now Sweetwater says “months” not weeks. LTD makes great guitars but they obviously absolutely suck at actually delivering a product when promised. I wonder if they are going out of business or something…I’ll be looking to other brands as I cancel my pre-order

It would be awesome if someone from ESP would jump onto this thread and shed some light on the issue. As much as I want the guitar I ordered, and have now waited 9 months for with no firm shipping date(not even within a month), I am now actively looking for alternatives and will cancel my order as soon as I find something suitable.

Still waiting on my order...

I ended up canceling my pre order for charcoal burst arrow deluxe 1000 from Sweetwater. It had been six months and no idea when they will show. So I went to my local music store and they had 1 brand new LTD Alexi Hexed sealed in the case and box! So I scooped it up quick and haven’t been happier this guitar rips. I’m kinda bummed about my preorder but worst case I could always pick it up when they finally show probably next year sometime.

Just an update: Sweetwater called me the other day and let me know that ESP has pushed back their expected date to end of Dec. So it's likely looking like I won't have my pre-order until next year..

BUT, I did see a youtube video the other day from Belford Music Shop in Australia, where they unboxed their shipments of the new 22' models. So, if AUS dealers are getting their 22' models now, we should likely see US dealers getting their orders in within the next month. So that's good news!

update: I ended up canceling my order on the M-1000 in snow white. but I ended picking up a 2005 ESP M-II so we're good lol

I called Sweetwater and canceled my order today. Afterwards, I was told February 2023 was the earliest I’d get my 2022 preorder if I waited. Sadly, while I have a very positive view of LTD/ESP guitars, I now have a very negative opinion on the actual company. I understand supply chain issues BUT be upfront and keep customers posted…don’t string us along. I’ll never preorder from them ever again for any reason