The Fake ESP Thread

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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.

Jonas V.

Hi,

 

just to be extra sure, is this a genuine ESP? The tuners have been changed to locking, the pickups have been changed and a killswitch was installed. I am pretty confident it is genuine, but better safe than sorry.

 

thank you in advance!


Pushead

Hey Jonas. Yes, the guitar looks to be legit, a 2006 EX. (I think they called them the EX-II, but I'm not positive.) The tuners weren't stock, but I really like that version of the Gotoh Magnum Lock. The Lace pickups weren't stock either, but they're easily swapped for something else.

Jonas V.

Thank you very much!

Jim D.

Hello. I am interested in buying this guitar. Can you guys please confirm whether it's genuine or fake? 

Thank you. 

I have no reason to suspect the seller other than that he has no purchase invoice or documentation.

Pushead

Hi Jim. It's a legit EC1000 from 2018.

Jim D.

Thank you very much for your help. 

glenn l.

Hi, is this one legit? Thank you, guys..

Pushead

Hi Glenn, that is a legit 2007 MX-II.

glenn l.

Thanks a lot for the help. Anyway, I think this deal turns out to be a scam. The guy keeps asking me for a deposit of a 1000 euros, in good trust! I said that I won't do that and that I will get a flight to Barcelona next week to make the switch, but he keeps saying that he has 2 other buyers and that he first wants that deposit to reserve it. I believe he really is able to hassle some buyers for their money this way...

Pushead

Yeah, that sounds pretty shady. I'd walk away, too.

Jonas V.

Hi,

 

8 days ago I wrote about an ESP standard series EX with some hardware swaps that but I seemed to be legit. Now I’ve noticed the esp logo on the headstock on other standard series ex guitars is closer to the “B” string tuning peg than mine, there aren’t many pictures to find on the internet to compare but is this reason for doubt or more “random” or “human error” or maybe year specific?

 

here are some pics, the first one is mine, the rest are from google etc.


mine:

now the ones from the web:


thank you in advance!

Pushead

It's just a water slide decal, so there is variation on where it ends up. There's nothing about your guitar that raises any red flags to me, but if you're uncomfortable or unsure, it might be best to return it if you still can. There's no point having a guitar that you'll always wonder about.

 

Jonas V.

Ok thanks!

 

I’m going to keep it, a water slide decal puts my mind at rest, that has to be done by human hands.

 

thank you!

Giorgi M.

Hello Again can anyone please date this ltd and also tell me please what pickups it have? thank you 

LTD M10 Korea

Pushead

Hi Giorgi, as I said before, it's from somewhere in the 2000-2002 range. I have no idea what the pickups are, but they're likely the stock pickups used in the the most cost-effective LTD guitars of the era.

Giorgi M.

okay thank you, and was there good Quality Control? in Korea for budget guitars? or not? if you know 

p.s. Happy New Year  

Robert H.

Hello,

Bought this guitar many years ago and was always curious if it's was real. It sounds incredible, so real or fake I'm happy with it.

 

The guy said it was a ESP SV BMF limited run guitar

 

 

Pushead



Hi Robert, your SV is legit. The BMF stands for bMusic Forum, which is a guitar store in Australia. The specs were selected by members of the forum. It's a cool guitar from 2006.

Behemoth, I'm not super familiar with the model, but there's nothing that stands out as odd to me (other than the photo quality.) Looks to be a 2009 model, maybe? Is this the Nergal guitar?

Behemoth  B.

Thank you for taking a look.  I am sorry for the poor image quality, that is what I sent and all I have to work with at the moment.  It is Nergal's first signature guitar with ESP.  This is the only one that I have seen missing the signature and the engraved cover on the headstock.  This is what all the others have on the headstock.  

 

 

Robert H.

Sorry this is 4 months later lol, but what is something like this worth? It's a bit uncomfortable to play so I'm looking to sell it and get an ESP that's a better fit for me.

 

Thanks for the validation

Jim Swarthout

Hello, I saw this listed for sale, but there were several red flags that made me question the authenticity of the guitar. Low 5 digit serial number(03XXX), but no additional pics. Neck is mid -late 80s/ early 90s Horizon, body appears to be early 80s Eclipse. Neck pickup looks to be older SH-100...lots of questions here. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks 

houseof a.

yes it's genuine for classics

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