ESP Guitars
Encyclopedia
, located in North Hollywood, California, is an American-based, Japanese-owned manufacturer of electric guitar
s and basses
.
ESP replacement parts were first introduced into the US in 1983. ESP began crafting custom instruments for local New York artists between 1984 and 1985. Among these artists were Page Hamilton
(Helmet
), Vernon Reid
(Living Colour
), Vinnie Vincent
& Bruce Kulick
(KISS
), and Ronnie Wood (The Rolling Stones
). At this time, ESP also introduced the 400 Series as the first production line distributed in the US.
During this same period of time, ESP began making the bodies and necks for Kramer Guitars
. Other manufacturers using ESP as an OEM were Robin Guitars
, Schecter Guitar Research
and DiMarzio
. Many traits of the Kramer line are still visible including neck construction and body bevels. ESP tooled up for Tom Anderson's shaved bolt on neck heel on the Schecter bodies, and has since become a feature of their house brand.
In 1986, George Lynch
discovered ESP while on tour in Tokyo. Lynch walked into an ESP shop looking for a replacement neck and learned that ESP also built custom guitars. As a result, his famous ESP Kamikaze
was made. ESP soon introduced the M1 Standard, MI Custom, Horizon Custom, and the Surveyor bass into the market.
At this time, ESP released George Lynch's Kamikaze as its first signature model. ESP based its headquarters in a loft in downtown New York City on 19th Street. In 1989, the headquarters were moved to 48th Street near the famous music stores.
Between 1990 and 1992, ESP expanded its Signature Series as well as its standard product line. The US replacement parts business was discontinued in order to switch focus solely on the guitar and bass line as well as the custom shop. There are about 41 signature series guitars.
In 1993, ESP moved its headquarters again but this time it was relocated to Los Angeles. There, ESP opened an office on Sunset Blvd.
in Hollywood. In 1995, LTD was created to produce ESP's high-quality products in a more affordable line of production. Soon after the introduction of the Korean and Indonesian-made LTD lines, ESP discontinued selling the majority of its Japanese-made flagship instruments in the United States due to the prices involved in exporting to the Americas. The lone exception was ESP's artist signature lines, which remained ESP (rather than LTD) models. In the early 2000s, ESP resumed shipping the standard Japanese-manufactured lines to the United States (where they are very popular among metal and hard rock players), albeit at greatly increased prices compared to the early 90s.
Similarly to Ibanez
, ESP's chief competitor in Japan, ESP was initially known for making high quality and customized replicas of famous American guitars, including hot rodded Fender Strat
s and Tele
s, as well as Gibson Explorer
s. The latter model (known as the EXP/MX) shot to fame when avid ESP user James Hetfield
's band Metallica
became extremely popular in the late 80s/early 90s. Models similar to Hetfield's black ESP even today sell for hundreds of dollars beyond the original retail price. However, just like Ibanez, when the Gibson
company realized the extent to which ESP was denting into the sales of its own guitars, it filed a suit to prevent the sales of these guitars in the Americas and ESP redesigned its lines to be less similar to the American models.
In 2002, ESP was ranked among the music industry's fastest growing companies. This is largely due to the Fender buyout of Jackson Guitars
, with whom ESP had struggled to compete throughout the 1980s and 1990s. After the buyout, many Jackson endorsers switched over to ESP (this has ignited a feud between players, with Jackson players pointing out that ESP became known for copying popular instruments - including Jackson's Soloist and Gibson's Explorer models famously used by James Hetfield
- while ESP players cite the Fender buyout as casting a shadow on Jackson's metal image and hail ESP as the new king). Some of these artists who left Jackson for ESP included Dave Mustaine
(Megadeth
, now of Dean Guitars
, who at one point had expressed interest in buying out Jackson himself), Adam Darski
(Behemoth
), Alexi Laiho
and Roope Latvala
(Children of Bodom
), Galder
and Silenoz
(Dimmu Borgir
).
ESP introduced its Xtone line, beginning with the semi-hollow Paramount Series. In 2005, ESP celebrated its 30th Anniversary and released James Hetfield's "Truckster"
into its Signature Series. In 2006, ESP showcased 22 of its newest Signature Series and Standard Series models at Winter NAMM 2006. The Standard Series models included such famous models as the ESP LTD EC-500 and the ESP LTD B-500. Among the signature artists showcasing their newest ESP models and signing autographs at the ESP booth were Dave Mustaine, George Lynch, Stephen Carpenter
, Michael Wilton
and Page Hamilton.
In 1996, ESP started a new brand, LTD. The LTD guitars are similar to the higher-end ESP guitars, but are more affordable and cater mainly for markets outside of Japan. The 1000 series LTDs are made on an assembly line in Korea whereas the 401 series and below are made in Indonesia. The LTD series are made out of cheaper materials and generally use cheaper hardware than the more upscale ESP models. The Custom Shop and Original Series ESPs are handcrafted in Japan while the Standard Series ESPs are made in the ESP factory in Japan.
Additionally, ESP has two separate Japan-only lines of guitars: the Grassroots (lower end), and Edwards (Mid-range). The Grassroots guitars are manufactured in Korea and are equivalent or better than Sub-400 series LTDs and can be considered a budget line. The Edwards guitars on the other hand are manufactured in Japan, and boast similar hardware and appointments as their higher-end ESP counterparts, but are not handcrafted. In terms of quality in contrast to the USA lines (i.e. ESP Standard & LTD), Edwards guitars generally lie in between the more upmarket LTDs and ESP Standards.
ESP's guitars overall cater for a wide range of players. There are a variety of models including superstrat-styled guitars, Les Paul-styled guitars, Flying V-styled, Star-styled, and others. As ESP technically has two lines, one for USA and Japan, there are slight differences: the ESP USA Line lacks guitars such as the Strat-like Snapper, Forest GT, and as well as some of the Japanese rock artist models. Their custom line however, has been known to produce some of the most unusual designs such as a Gundam Beam-rifle replica guitar, as well as the "ESP Machinegun" used, by the Japanese band Alfee.
ESP does not only manufacture guitars, but they also manufacture parts such as ESP Labs Pickups, the ESP Flicker tremolo, sustainers, equalizers, et cetera however, these are mainly for OEM use and not available to the consumer.
music in the 1980s, along with Jackson Guitars
and Dean Guitars
, including Metallica
, Slayer
and Megadeth
. As a result of these endorsements, ESP has become one of the most popular suppliers of guitars for heavy metal music. ESP instruments are endorsed by musicians numbering in the hundreds. A complete list of them can be found on the Artists section of ESP Guitars' website.
The ESP Original series moreover has three other lines of Guitars, Edwards, Grassroots and Navigator and are mostly based on these models as well as some ESP Standard series Models. ESP Edwards Series
produces mid-to-high range guitars, at a quality near the ESP Standard series, whilst ESP Grass Roots Series
cater towards a more value-oriented segment of the market and are more akin to the 200s series of LTDs, however this varies. The ESP Navigator Series on the other hand is a line which produces replicas of Gibson
and Fender guitars and basses.
ESP USA produces the ESP Standard line, as well as the lower end LTD, and Xtone series, and the latter two lines of guitars are roughly based on these models. ESP USA's standard series generally caters more towards to metal players, with characteristics such as active pickups common.
ESP custom series
ESP also cater for custom guitar and bass orders, made to the specifications of the customer, and the quality of such custom guitars exceed that of the Original series. Such guitars may be ordered from ESP USA, but they are manufactured in Japan. Generally speaking custom order guitars cost as much, or even more than Navigators depending on the choices of the consumer and are considered to cater for the top-end segment. There is flexibility with the orders, as the guitars produced do not have to be based on existing lines of guitars and basses.
ESP Artist series
The ESP Artist, or Signature series guitars are basically mass produced versions endorsing artist's personal guitars and basses. The quality of the ESP Artist/Signature models lie between Navigator/Custom Shop, and the ESP Original series.
Also, there exists the Edwards, Grassroots and LTD artist models, and such artist models lie in the higher-end segments of the respective lines of guitars and basses.
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
s and basses
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
.
History
In 1975, Hisatake Shibuya opened a shop called Electric Sound Products (ESP) in Tokyo. It provided custom replacement parts for guitars. In 1976, ESP gained a reputation as a provider of high-quality replacement parts. At this time, ESP also began crafting guitars under the ESP and Navigator brand in the Japanese market.ESP replacement parts were first introduced into the US in 1983. ESP began crafting custom instruments for local New York artists between 1984 and 1985. Among these artists were Page Hamilton
Page Hamilton
Page Hamilton is a guitarist, singer and record producer, mostly noted for his work with alternative metal band Helmet...
(Helmet
Helmet (band)
Helmet is an alternative metal band from New York City formed in 1989. Founded by vocalist and lead guitarist Page Hamilton, Helmet has had numerous lineup changes, and Hamilton has been the only constant member....
), Vernon Reid
Vernon Reid
Vernon Reid is an English-born American guitarist, songwriter, composer, and bandleader. Best known as the founder and primary songwriter of the heavy metal band Living Colour, Reid was named #66 on Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.Critic Steve Huey writes, "[Reid's]...
(Living Colour
Living Colour
Living Colour is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1984. Stylistically, the band's music is a creative fusion influenced by free jazz, funk, neo-psychedelia, hard rock, and heavy metal...
), Vinnie Vincent
Vinnie Vincent
Vincent John Cusano, better known as Vinnie Vincent, is an American guitarist from Bridgeport, Connecticut and songwriter known for his brief membership in the band Kiss.-Replacing Ace Frehley in Kiss:...
& Bruce Kulick
Bruce Kulick
Bruce Howard Kulick is an American guitarist, musician and a member of the band Grand Funk Railroad. Previously, Kulick had been a longtime member of the band Kiss....
(KISS
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
), and Ronnie Wood (The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
). At this time, ESP also introduced the 400 Series as the first production line distributed in the US.
During this same period of time, ESP began making the bodies and necks for Kramer Guitars
Kramer Guitars
Kramer Guitars is an American manufacturer of electric guitars and basses. Kramer produced aluminum-necked electric guitars and basses in the 1970s and wooden-necked guitars catering to hard rock and heavy metal musicians in the 1980s; Kramer is currently a division of Gibson Guitar Corporation...
. Other manufacturers using ESP as an OEM were Robin Guitars
Robin Guitars
Robin Guitars is a boutique guitar manufacturer located in Houston, Texas.The company was formed in 1982 by Dave Wintz who owned the Rockin' Robin Guitar Shop at the time. Robin guitars were made in Japan by Tokai and Chushin until 1986, when their production moved to the United States...
, Schecter Guitar Research
Schecter Guitar Research
Schecter Guitar Research, commonly known as simply as Schecter, is a US guitar manufacturer. The company was founded in 1976 by David Schecter and originally produced only replacement parts for existing guitars from manufacturers such as Fender and Gibson...
and DiMarzio
DiMarzio
DiMarzio, Inc. is an United States manufacturer best known for its revolutionary direct-replacement guitar pickups. The company also produces miscellaneous guitar accessories, such as cables, straps and hardware.DiMarzio became known for its Super Distortion model, which was the first after...
. Many traits of the Kramer line are still visible including neck construction and body bevels. ESP tooled up for Tom Anderson's shaved bolt on neck heel on the Schecter bodies, and has since become a feature of their house brand.
George Lynch (musician)
George Lynch is a hard rock/heavy metal guitarist best known as a member of the band Dokken, his own bands Lynch Mob and Souls of We.-Pre Dokken:...
discovered ESP while on tour in Tokyo. Lynch walked into an ESP shop looking for a replacement neck and learned that ESP also built custom guitars. As a result, his famous ESP Kamikaze
ESP Kamikaze
ESP Kamikaze is a guitar model distributed by ESP.The Kamikaze was created when George Lynch entered an ESP shop in Tokyo while on tour looking for a replacement neck...
was made. ESP soon introduced the M1 Standard, MI Custom, Horizon Custom, and the Surveyor bass into the market.
At this time, ESP released George Lynch's Kamikaze as its first signature model. ESP based its headquarters in a loft in downtown New York City on 19th Street. In 1989, the headquarters were moved to 48th Street near the famous music stores.
Between 1990 and 1992, ESP expanded its Signature Series as well as its standard product line. The US replacement parts business was discontinued in order to switch focus solely on the guitar and bass line as well as the custom shop. There are about 41 signature series guitars.
In 1993, ESP moved its headquarters again but this time it was relocated to Los Angeles. There, ESP opened an office on Sunset Blvd.
Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is a street in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, that stretches from Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Palisades...
in Hollywood. In 1995, LTD was created to produce ESP's high-quality products in a more affordable line of production. Soon after the introduction of the Korean and Indonesian-made LTD lines, ESP discontinued selling the majority of its Japanese-made flagship instruments in the United States due to the prices involved in exporting to the Americas. The lone exception was ESP's artist signature lines, which remained ESP (rather than LTD) models. In the early 2000s, ESP resumed shipping the standard Japanese-manufactured lines to the United States (where they are very popular among metal and hard rock players), albeit at greatly increased prices compared to the early 90s.
Similarly to Ibanez
Ibanez
is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, as well as the first brand of guitars to mass produce...
, ESP's chief competitor in Japan, ESP was initially known for making high quality and customized replicas of famous American guitars, including hot rodded Fender Strat
Fender Stratocaster
The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as "Strat", is a model of electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares in 1954, and manufactured continuously by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation to the present. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top...
s and Tele
Fender Telecaster
The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is typically a dual-pickup, solid-body electric guitar made by Fender.Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music...
s, as well as Gibson Explorer
Gibson Explorer
The Gibson Explorer is a type of electric guitar that made its debut in 1958. The Explorer offered a radical, "futuristic" body design, much like its sibling, the Flying V. The Explorer was the final development of a prototype design which years later Gibson marketed under the name Futura.The...
s. The latter model (known as the EXP/MX) shot to fame when avid ESP user James Hetfield
James Hetfield
James Alan Hetfield is the rhythm guitarist, co-founder, main songwriter, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Metallica. Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering a classified advertisement by drummer Lars Ulrich in the Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler,...
's band Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
became extremely popular in the late 80s/early 90s. Models similar to Hetfield's black ESP even today sell for hundreds of dollars beyond the original retail price. However, just like Ibanez, when the Gibson
Gibson
Gibson may refer to:* Gibson Amphitheatre* Gibson Appliance* Gibson Girl* Gibson Guitar Corporation* Gibson * Gibson Generating Station-Places:In the United States:* Gibson, Arkansas* Gibson, Georgia* Gibson, Iowa* Gibson, Louisiana...
company realized the extent to which ESP was denting into the sales of its own guitars, it filed a suit to prevent the sales of these guitars in the Americas and ESP redesigned its lines to be less similar to the American models.
In 2002, ESP was ranked among the music industry's fastest growing companies. This is largely due to the Fender buyout of Jackson Guitars
Jackson Guitars
__FORCETOC__Jackson is a renowned brand of electric guitar that bears the name of its founder, Grover Jackson.-Early years:Grover Jackson obtained ownership in Charvel's Guitar Repair of Glendora, California in the 1970s with a promise to bolster Charvel's business...
, with whom ESP had struggled to compete throughout the 1980s and 1990s. After the buyout, many Jackson endorsers switched over to ESP (this has ignited a feud between players, with Jackson players pointing out that ESP became known for copying popular instruments - including Jackson's Soloist and Gibson's Explorer models famously used by James Hetfield
James Hetfield
James Alan Hetfield is the rhythm guitarist, co-founder, main songwriter, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Metallica. Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering a classified advertisement by drummer Lars Ulrich in the Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler,...
- while ESP players cite the Fender buyout as casting a shadow on Jackson's metal image and hail ESP as the new king). Some of these artists who left Jackson for ESP included Dave Mustaine
Dave Mustaine
David Scott "Dave" Mustaine is the founder, main songwriter, guitarist, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Megadeth. Prior to Megadeth, Mustaine was the first lead guitarist and a co-songwriter of the heavy metal band Metallica until he was fired from the band in 1983. In 2009, he...
(Megadeth
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
, now of Dean Guitars
Dean Guitars
Dean Guitars is an American manufacturer of guitars. It was founded in 1976 by Dean Zelinsky in Chicago, Illinois and is currently under the ownership of Armadillo Enterprises in Tampa, Florida.- History :...
, who at one point had expressed interest in buying out Jackson himself), Adam Darski
Adam Darski
Adam Michał Darski also known by his stage name Nergal and previously Holocausto, is a Polish musician and television personality, best known for being the frontman for blackened death metal band Behemoth.- Biography :...
(Behemoth
Behemoth (band)
Behemoth is a Polish blackened death metal band from Gdańsk, formed in 1991. They are considered to have played an important role in establishing the Polish extreme metal underground, alongside bands such as Vader, Decapitated, Vesania and Hate....
), Alexi Laiho
Alexi Laiho
Alexi "Wildchild" Laiho is a Finnish singer, composer, and guitarist. He is best known for being the lead guitarist as well as lead vocalist for melodic death metal band Children of Bodom, and he is also the guitarist for Sinergy and Kylähullut...
and Roope Latvala
Roope Latvala
Roope Latvala is a Finnish guitarist who currently plays with the bands Children of Bodom and Sinergy. He was one of the founding members of Stone, which was one of the first notable bands in the history of Finnish heavy metal.-Biography:...
(Children of Bodom
Children of Bodom
Children of Bodom is a Finnish heavy metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993, the group currently consists of Alexi Laiho , Roope Latvala , Janne Wirman , Henkka Seppälä , and Jaska Raatikainen...
), Galder
Galder
Galder is a Norwegian composer, guitarist, and vocalist whose birth name is Tom Rune Andersen. He is from the small town Jessheim, north of Oslo. He is a founding member of the melodic black metal band Old Man's Child as well as the lead guitarist in Dimmu Borgir. In 1993, under the stage name...
and Silenoz
Silenoz
Silenoz , is a Norwegian guitarist who is a founding member, along with Shagrath and Tjodalv, of the Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir which he is the primary songwriter...
(Dimmu Borgir
Dimmu Borgir
Dimmu Borgir is a Norwegian black metal band from Oslo, Norway, formed in 1993. Dimmu borgir means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic, Faroese and Old Norse. The name is derived from a volcanic formation in Iceland, Dimmuborgir...
).
ESP introduced its Xtone line, beginning with the semi-hollow Paramount Series. In 2005, ESP celebrated its 30th Anniversary and released James Hetfield's "Truckster"
ESP Truckster
ESP James Hetfield "Truckster" is a guitar model distributed by ESP.The "Truckster" is also produced in a 'Ltd' version.The ESP James Hetfield Truckster Electric Guitar is the fifth Hetfield Signature Series guitar to carry his name since James and ESP joined forces in 1991...
into its Signature Series. In 2006, ESP showcased 22 of its newest Signature Series and Standard Series models at Winter NAMM 2006. The Standard Series models included such famous models as the ESP LTD EC-500 and the ESP LTD B-500. Among the signature artists showcasing their newest ESP models and signing autographs at the ESP booth were Dave Mustaine, George Lynch, Stephen Carpenter
Stephen Carpenter
Stephen Carpenter is an American musician known as the co-founder and lead guitarist of the alternative metal band Deftones. His guitar technique makes use of both ringing open strings and dissonant chord voicings, as well as stock power chords in polyrhythms...
, Michael Wilton
Michael Wilton
Michael Wilton is an American guitarist for the progressive metal band Queensrÿche. Wilton attended Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle where he met future Queensrÿche drummer Scott Rockenfield and began recording in 1981...
and Page Hamilton.
Manufacturing operations
Additionally, ESP has two separate Japan-only lines of guitars: the Grassroots (lower end), and Edwards (Mid-range). The Grassroots guitars are manufactured in Korea and are equivalent or better than Sub-400 series LTDs and can be considered a budget line. The Edwards guitars on the other hand are manufactured in Japan, and boast similar hardware and appointments as their higher-end ESP counterparts, but are not handcrafted. In terms of quality in contrast to the USA lines (i.e. ESP Standard & LTD), Edwards guitars generally lie in between the more upmarket LTDs and ESP Standards.
ESP's guitars overall cater for a wide range of players. There are a variety of models including superstrat-styled guitars, Les Paul-styled guitars, Flying V-styled, Star-styled, and others. As ESP technically has two lines, one for USA and Japan, there are slight differences: the ESP USA Line lacks guitars such as the Strat-like Snapper, Forest GT, and as well as some of the Japanese rock artist models. Their custom line however, has been known to produce some of the most unusual designs such as a Gundam Beam-rifle replica guitar, as well as the "ESP Machinegun" used, by the Japanese band Alfee.
ESP does not only manufacture guitars, but they also manufacture parts such as ESP Labs Pickups, the ESP Flicker tremolo, sustainers, equalizers, et cetera however, these are mainly for OEM use and not available to the consumer.
Popularity
ESP found fame by providing guitars for guitarists who went on to become leading exponents of thrash metalThrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
music in the 1980s, along with Jackson Guitars
Jackson Guitars
__FORCETOC__Jackson is a renowned brand of electric guitar that bears the name of its founder, Grover Jackson.-Early years:Grover Jackson obtained ownership in Charvel's Guitar Repair of Glendora, California in the 1970s with a promise to bolster Charvel's business...
and Dean Guitars
Dean Guitars
Dean Guitars is an American manufacturer of guitars. It was founded in 1976 by Dean Zelinsky in Chicago, Illinois and is currently under the ownership of Armadillo Enterprises in Tampa, Florida.- History :...
, including Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
, Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
and Megadeth
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
. As a result of these endorsements, ESP has become one of the most popular suppliers of guitars for heavy metal music. ESP instruments are endorsed by musicians numbering in the hundreds. A complete list of them can be found on the Artists section of ESP Guitars' website.
Guitars and bass series
Dependent of target market (i.e. Asia, US, Europe) and brand (ESP, LTD or Xtone), various models are organized in marketing series.The ESP Original series moreover has three other lines of Guitars, Edwards, Grassroots and Navigator and are mostly based on these models as well as some ESP Standard series Models. ESP Edwards Series
ESP Edwards Series
The ESP Edwards brand instruments are produced for the Japanese market, originally consisting of Fender and Gibson replicas. They are generally considered to be of almost equal quality to the main ESP brand, the fundamental difference being the tonewoods...
produces mid-to-high range guitars, at a quality near the ESP Standard series, whilst ESP Grass Roots Series
ESP Grass Roots Series
The ESP Grass Roots brand is a brand that produces guitars solely in the Japanese market. Grass Roots guitars are aimed at the low cost market, and can be considered as superior to the LTD guitars, but not the 400 series, The Edwards Series or Navigator Series...
cater towards a more value-oriented segment of the market and are more akin to the 200s series of LTDs, however this varies. The ESP Navigator Series on the other hand is a line which produces replicas of Gibson
Gibson Guitar Corporation
The Gibson Guitar Corporation, formerly of Kalamazoo, Michigan and currently of Nashville, Tennessee, manufactures guitars and other instruments which sell under a variety of brand names...
and Fender guitars and basses.
ESP USA produces the ESP Standard line, as well as the lower end LTD, and Xtone series, and the latter two lines of guitars are roughly based on these models. ESP USA's standard series generally caters more towards to metal players, with characteristics such as active pickups common.
ESP custom series
ESP also cater for custom guitar and bass orders, made to the specifications of the customer, and the quality of such custom guitars exceed that of the Original series. Such guitars may be ordered from ESP USA, but they are manufactured in Japan. Generally speaking custom order guitars cost as much, or even more than Navigators depending on the choices of the consumer and are considered to cater for the top-end segment. There is flexibility with the orders, as the guitars produced do not have to be based on existing lines of guitars and basses.
ESP Artist series
The ESP Artist, or Signature series guitars are basically mass produced versions endorsing artist's personal guitars and basses. The quality of the ESP Artist/Signature models lie between Navigator/Custom Shop, and the ESP Original series.
Also, there exists the Edwards, Grassroots and LTD artist models, and such artist models lie in the higher-end segments of the respective lines of guitars and basses.