Has ESP lost their mind...?
Has ESP lost their mind...?
Hey guys. I'm just curious if any of you are a bit bothered by ESP with their new line of guitars that are in my opinion WAAAAYYY overpriced. I have played ESP for a very long time and have just about decided to knock them completely due to this apparent price gouging. I realize that they have US models now... which are mainly the models I speak of being overpriced. I understand that there may be a slight boost in craftsmanship, but overall the specs are EXACTLY the same as the Standard Series(Japan) models that I have owned. Not to mention... I recently owned an ESP Formula, which I have sold. I recently contacted ESP about possibly getting another one of these models since I liked it and sort of regret selling it. But to my surprise I was told that it would cost me more than $10,000 to acquire this guitar. Which totally blows my balls off since I paid $1700 USD for the one I previously owned...even though that particular model isn't usually dealt in the US. I'm not trying to bash their products... Because I really love their guitars... but what gives with the inhuman price increases. If any of you can tell me more about why this may be i would be glad to hear. Especially if this means the ESP guitars I have will eventually result in an increase in value. They are good... But nowhere near as good as my new Mayones Regius 7 Custom. What is your take on this, dudes?
There are dozens of threads about this now, but essentially anything that gets branded ESP comes from the Japanese Custom Shop or the USA shop. The Standard Series became the E-II line. Unfortunately, there is no Formula model in the E-II or LTD lines, so you're relegated to watching reverb/ebay, or working through the Custom Shop to get one.