Custom Shop Ebony?

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Custom Shop Ebony?

Does anyone here know what type of Ebony and Mahogany ESP uses on the custom shops? I ask because ever since I acquired my custom shop i noticed how much better it sounds than my ltd V with the same specs. Only the V has rosewood.

also when i went to guitar center and sam ash i picked up some of hetfields ltds and notcied the ebony looks way different. It looks like dyed rosewood?. They definitely use different woods for the high ends. Any clue where the get them from?

 

 

EXPcustom

If it's a T serial number ESP sources the best wood from ALL over the world sans treaties/restrictions. 

SS serial stuff and E-II and LTD are sourced from Russia/Asia from their own supplies.

ESP 348

I love the Ebony used on the KH sig guitars. The re-issue Ouija and KH-20 the Ebony is amazing.

I can only imagine the Ebony used on the new 2017 Ouija is just as good, I will be to let you know when mine arrives next year.

MetalliDeth

Yes i looked at some high res photos of the ebony on the kh 20 and it seems like its the same ebony thats on my custom. Its beautiful ebony im addicted to looking at it. Does your kh20 or ouija reissue have T serial numbers aswell?

 

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EXPcustom

I bet its real Ebony from Madagascar. I don't see ESP cutting corners on their top tier stuff like other companies do.

You know Jackson guitars has had a problem with getting real black Ebony (without having to dye it which I don't know if they do but some companies do) because of the scarceness of it and the price increase plus the US .gov crackdown. Look at new Jackson guitars' ebony and the stuff they put out over five years ago. I know this because I actually had a Jackson employee telling me this.

Sometimes companies will resort to using black coloring on the Ebony so you wont see any brown in it, this is due to low quality Ebony being brown to dark brown instead of black.

MetalliDeth

Yes its a T serial number from 2005. That awesome to hear i was hoping someone knew maybe the species of the ebony and mahogany they use. The guitar is very lightweight but the tone is massive. Prob around 6-7 pounds 

Rado S.

Yes!!! Exactly! All about low level of ebony in Jackson is true. I have a couple of them ( 8 exactly  ) and I don't want a new one anymore. I bought a Custom Shop KV2 in 2015 and the ebony looks very poor. No kind of black one like on my ESP or older Jackson guitars. The fingerboard looks like something brown/grey. And this guitar costs about 5.000 $ !!! 

ESP 348
EXPcustom wrote:

I bet its real Ebony from Madagascar. I don't see ESP cutting corners on their top tier stuff like other companies do.

You know Jackson guitars has had a problem with getting real black Ebony (without having to dye it which I don't know if they do but some companies do) because of the scarceness of it and the price increase plus the US .gov crackdown. Look at new Jackson guitars' ebony and the stuff they put out over five years ago. I know this because I actually had a Jackson employee telling me this.

Sometimes companies will resort to using black coloring on the Ebony so you wont see any brown in it, this is due to low quality Ebony being brown to dark brown instead of black.

 

I think from memory reading the ESP advertisement for the new natural Ouija, it is in fact Madagascar Ebony used on the fretboard.

I can't wait to see it in person, I will be able to compare it to the KH-20 and white Ouija and see if the quality is the same. And I am sure it will be.

MetalliDeth

Maybe someone will know the species of mahogany and alder they used for our guitars. Im sure the kh customs are very lightweight aswell

ESP 348

Yeah, would be great to know man.

Big Daddy B
ESP 348 wrote:

I bet its real Ebony from Madagascar. I don't see ESP cutting corners on their top tier stuff like other companies do.

You know Jackson guitars has had a problem with getting real black Ebony (without having to dye it which I don't know if they do but some companies do) because of the scarceness of it and the price increase plus the US .gov crackdown. Look at new Jackson guitars' ebony and the stuff they put out over five years ago. I know this because I actually had a Jackson employee telling me this.

Sometimes companies will resort to using black coloring on the Ebony so you wont see any brown in it, this is due to low quality Ebony being brown to dark brown instead of black.

 

I think from memory reading the ESP advertisement for the new natural Ouija, it is in fact Madagascar Ebony used on the fretboard.

I can't wait to see it in person, I will be able to compare it to the KH-20 and white Ouija and see if the quality is the same. And I am sure it will be.

The ebony on my natural Ouija is very dark and and not many pores.

ESP 348

Same quality or better than the KH-20 and Ouija Big Daddy?

Big Daddy B
ESP 348 wrote:

Same quality or better than the KH-20 and Ouija Big Daddy?

No quality concerns but does seem different from the KH20 and Ouija. Not better or worse, just different. Not as glossy. May be dyed. I think I had said not as many pores but actually the pores are just way smaller.

ESP 348
Big Daddy B wrote:

Same quality or better than the KH-20 and Ouija Big Daddy?

No quality concerns but does seem different from the KH20 and Ouija. Not better or worse, just different. Not as glossy. May be dyed. I think I had said not as many pores but actually the pores are just way smaller.

 

Ok, cool man. I will see what mine is like when it arrives.

MetalliDeth

Heres a Usa ESP that i saw at guitar center, the ebony was dark but didnt have that shine. I guess the shine comes from them polishing it?

ESP 348

Maybe man, the KH-20 and Ouija Ebony boards shine like Orion's Belt.

Breadfan32

The ebony on the LTD's appear almost rosewood now.  Even my ESP Vulture ebony isn't as black and shiny as I would want however is way better than the ebony that was on the LTD I owned. 

ESP definitely uses different ebony than what they have in the past.  Like mentioned, some of it almost looks like dyed rosewood.

Breadfan32

Breadfan32

The ebony on a new custom shop esp snakebyte looks rosewood to me. 

MetalliDeth

In that picture it definitely does. On google images ive seen a black snakebyte with very dark and glossy looking ebony, and i also saw one that looked brownish, i also found a used kh 20 that shows the ebony without much of the glossy polish

This one looks new

Big Daddy B
MetalliDeth wrote:

In that picture it definitely does. On google images ive seen a black snakebyte with very dark and glossy looking ebony, and i also saw one that looked brownish, i also found a used kh 20 that shows the ebony without much of the glossy polish

 

This one looks new

This is my KH20, #26 from BMusic. It was purchased new.

MetalliDeth

Cool man, do you play it often? Or keep it untouched so it always looks brand new?

Big Daddy B
EXPcustom wrote:

Sometimes companies will resort to using black coloring on the Ebony so you wont see any brown in it, this is due to low quality Ebony being brown to dark brown instead of black.

That's not exactly true. Color isn't an indication of quality. They dye it because people choose to subscribe to the myth that darker is somehow better instead of just saying they like the way it looks better when it is almost black. Black ebony therefore probably gets graded separately and gets priced higher because of demand. It;s that kind of thinking that has us in the mess we are in with CITES. I'm not judging if you want black ebony, by all means. I might do the same. I am just saying the demand is being artificially inflated.

ESP 348

The blacker the Ebony the better if you ask me.

Rakk M.

I read one comment on YouTube,  Nowadays african mahogany on custom shop guitars.

Honduras mahogany reserve for the navigators.

My 4 order made guitars is ebony and is really black.

One is shiny almost look like its lacquered. Can't  really see the grain.serial no T. 

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