The Fake ESP Thread

Updated
The Fake ESP Thread

Pushead and I are here to help verify ESP and LTD guitars. If you have, or are looking to buy a guitar that you're unsure of, post pictures and questions in this thread. Please post clear pictures of the front and back of the headstock, the fretboard, and the front and back of the body. Preferably before you buy anything.

Anyone else is free to offer suggestions on authenticity. If you answer a post, please tell us why you think it's real or fake.

Josh N.

I'm looking at buying this guitar, what do you guys think? I cant spot anything too obvious but I'm no expert, this will be my first ESP, any advice would be helpful

Pushead

It's legit. Looks in great shape!

Major Insane

So I'm fairly sure this one is legit, but I'm no expert at all. If you guys could help me out that would be great.

Also, does anybody know what would be an approximate value, I'm in the Netherlands and the guitar comes with the flightcase pictured. Which is of course not an original case. The seller is asking 650 euros for it.

Thanks guys!

Pushead

 Something about this seems off to me. The body shape is fine, but the head stock seems too big. The serial number also seems odd for this model (font and style.) I don't have access to the photos of my old EXP-200 at the moment (I'm at work), but I'm fairly certain mine had LTD at the 12th fret, not the model name. And the only other style I'm aware of has the 2 dots at the 12th. The inlay looks different than the normal block inlay as well. It looks more like the Ibanez style pyramids, where it's clear lucite over a colored paper instead of a perloid block with the model name scribed into it.

The case doesn't appear to be stock, either.

If I were to take a wild guess right now, I'd say that it's probably a re-neck. 

*edit - Actually, now that I think about it some more, I remember seeing that serial number font style before. On Chinese made fakes. Still may be a re-neck of a real LTD, but it makes me more suspect of the entire thing.

Were it me, I'd pass all together. There isn't a price that would make me comfortable buying it. (I might buy the case by itself, if I could see it in person, though.)

Major Insane

 Thanks for your reply Pushead. This is exactly the kind of reason I wanted to have a second opinion on it.

Yeah the case is not stock, the current owner said that the first owner of the guitar made it himself. So yeah totally right call on that.

I did a little digging on the 12th inlay. Now I'm not saying its legit, I don't know, but when I look at the '99 catalog it does look like more then just LTD.

https://cdn.connectsites.net/user_files/esp/downloads/000/000/082/ESP-1999-Catalog.pdf?1392144593

Also when looking on this site (not sure if trustworthy) http://www.guitarscollector.com/1997---2003---ltd-exp-200.html

The inlay seems to be quite similar.

 

The thing that is missing of course is the ESP or By ESP on the TRC and the Pickups. Then again, I would probably have placed some EMGs in there as well.

And it also doen't address the headstock shape and serial you mentioned of course.

Pushead

The Guitarcollector site is usually pretty good. As I said, I don't have access to the photos of my old one, but looking at the guitars on the bottom of the page, he does show an appropriate serial number range. I guess the headstock shape between the LTD and ESP are that different.

With that new info, I feel more comfortable about it. No idea on a price in EU, though.

Pushead




Just to give an idea of what makes me uneasy about the guitar above. Maybe the Sperzel tuners are big enough to make the head stock seem smaller.

The rest of the hardware and logos all look good. I'm sure the guitar is fine.

Major Insane

Thanks for the extra pictures Pushead! I think its a combination of the Sperzels but also the LTD logo. It seems to be a bit smaller. Or perhaps you are correct in the headstock being a bit larger.

Im gonna have a look at the guitar in real life to see if the headstock seems to large there as well. Anyways, thanks for the help!

J_Mac

I’m tempted by this, seems a bit too good to be true though.  Only £1000 and Just down the road from me.  Fake?

 

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F282816416901

 

 

Pushead

It's sold already, but the guitar in the photos is legit. That's a pretty good price for the guitar, if the seller actually had it.

J_Mac

Yep, I pulled the trigger. She’s mine!

Tyler L.

This dude is selling a mh-301 on Facebook for like 80 dollars and i’m wondering if it’s a fake or not. 

Tyler L.

Let me know if there’s an image 

Tyler L.

The serial number is R 0310500

Pushead

We'd need a pic or a link or something.

defjones

My girlfriend surprised me for my birthday by buying me a LTD MH-417BFM from ebay, which is a guitar I used to own, but had to get rid of a year ago.  It looks legit to me, but I was worried when I saw the inlay said MH-417.  The one I used to own, and every picture I could find of it online, shows the inlay should read MH-417BFM.  Could this just be a mistake with the inlay?  Could the fretboard have been replaced?  I measured the scale length and it seems to be 26.5" instead of the 27" it should be.  This could just be me messing up the measurement though.  It also doesn't feel nearly as heavy as the one I used to own, but that could be me misremembering.

Pushead

It's legit. 2015 model.

defjones

Thanks.  Any idea why the inlay is wrong?

Pushead

Not wrong, it's different. They change things between model years.

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