Description of ESP guitars

Electric Sound Products (ESP) has been around since 1975, when it was founded by Tokyo-based Japanese entrepreneur Hisatake Shibuya. Initially, ESP's activity was the manufacture and sale of accessories for guitars. At that time, a number of guitar manufactures already existed, but basically all worked in the direction of mass goods. It was very difficult to find a guitar for a certain artist that suits his taste.

Then the enterprising leader decided to start the production of individual hand-assembled guitars. He recruited several guitar makers into the business, and a new era dawned for ESP. The company now manufactures master tools in Japan and the USA. These are guitars with parts from prestigious brands that meet the highest quality criteria.... The company also established the production of guitars in Korea, Indonesia, China and Vietnam.

ESP has relied on the quality of hand-made guitars. For their manufacture, we used excellent quality wood, the best fittings, taking into account all kinds of wishes and high requirements of customers. Maintaining the set bar, the company managed to firmly consolidate its leading position in the Japanese music market. During the formation of the company, the famous Japanese guitarist Akira Takasaki, a member of the metal band Loudness, worked closely with her. The fruit of the joint efforts of the masters and the musician was the emergence of the unique Random Star guitar.

Many reputable musicians turned to Hisatake Shibuya to get a box guitar of their preference. The fame of the professionalism of the company's craftsmen grew and stepped outside the country. Many musicians have used and continue to use ESP instruments for their fruitful creativity.

ESP gradually moved from custom guitars to mass production. Guitars appeared in an affordable price segment under the ESP LTD brand. But the priority of the company here also remained the excellent quality of the instruments. ESP LTD is practically a copy of the ESP model, but made of cheaper materials and using different technologies. Today the American branch of the firm is in charge of production located in China, South Korea, Indonesia and Vietnam. The Japanese branch produces a series of ESP, ESP Custom Shop models.

ESP models are produced in factories in Japan as well as in the ESP Custom Shop... Highly skilled craftsmen are responsible for the production of musical instruments, making sure that all materials are of the best quality. Special wood is used for the models. If swamp ash is used, this is necessarily indicated in the specification of the tool. And the designation "ash" indicates that the variety used for this model is white ash.

For a number of LTD models, agathis is used, a tree endowed with high and valuable technical qualities. Agathis lends itself well to processing, the material is quite elastic, there are few knots on it. Now agathis is widespread, which makes production from it economically profitable and environmentally acceptable. In addition, this material is quite comparable to other standard wood for building guitars.

ESP guitars feature innovative neck construction... Visually and perceptibly, it resembles a through design, and the sound combination is similar to a guitar with a glued neck. And also the Japanese company is a pioneer among the major guitar manufacturers who began to use the Earvana compensating nut on some models.

Most branded tools have a seven-digit number that hides some manufacturing information:

• the first pair of digits is used to calculate year of issue a musical subject;
• the next two digits indicate week number;
• followed by a number indicating day of week (1 - Monday and in order until 7);
• the last pair of digits is designation of the product number in the batch.

The series number is usually preceded by a different letter. If it says SS, it is a Standard Series product. ESP Custom Shop is also literally designated - the place where the guitar was made: for example, T - Takada Custom Shop (Tokyo), CH - ESP Craft House and others.

If a different series is indicated on the ESP tool, it means that it was made before 2002. At that time, ESP adopted 5-digit serial numbers, but sometimes both 6 and 8 numbers are found. Nothing is encrypted in them, especially since the data archive for that period can no longer be restored. Therefore, when the guitar was produced can only be guessed at given its visual and operational state.

ESP celebrates 45 years since its founding in 2020. And still a huge number of guitarists around the world are leaning towards her products. It is a great honor for many musicians to cooperate with this company. ESP Custom Shop has a reputation for being the best custom toolmaker.

Now there are two branches of ESP - Japanese and American. The first is the main one and is presented in four product lines: Standard, Original, Signature and Custom. The American branch is developing the LTD series. In addition to electric guitars and standard models, the Japanese firm produces bass guitars. The assortment is great and will satisfy everyone.

Serial guitars are produced in a number of countries. The LTD has a top line, in particular the 1000 series, and is usually made in Korea, although exceptions do occur. LTD models are produced by the conveyor method in the factory.Star musician signature guitars are produced with the ESP or LTD logo. All such ESP tools are made in Japan.

The Eclipse series is a modern version from the ESP brand, replacing the good old Les Paul. A similar but more convenient form. The glued neck is not made of mahogany, but of maple, and the same shortened scale. One of the popular mass-produced models of excellent quality, manufactured in Japan. When you buy an E-II Eclipse series electric guitar, you get more than you spend. It is an intermediate series between the premium segment and the LTD budget line. Great look and sound.

Models in this series are made to order by hand. Craftsmen work on exclusive music products in the Custom Shop.

Top models made by craftsmen from the American branch of ESP.

The series includes signature models from various musicians. According to the manufacturing method, such models belong either to the Standard or Custom series. Once George Lynch ordered a piece ESP Kamikaze model from the company's craftsmen. The instrumental series Signature began with her.

Manufactured in the factory and assembled in the ESP Custom Shop. Designed using technologies developed over the decades of the ESP Custom Shop brand existence. The guitars of this series are made according to the unchanging quality principles of the famous brand in the world of music.

Original models are also manufactured in the ESP Custom Shop, but in limited batches. They embody the latest ideas in guitar production, while the traditional style remains unchanged, as adhered to in ESP.

There are three types of guitars:

• classic;
• acoustic;
• electro.

Each species has certain characteristics, but all have the same tuning, the principle of sound extraction and the similarity of the fingering of chords. If you have to choose a guitar for a beginner, experts advise a classic instrument with soft nylon strings.

It is such a guitar that teachers at a music school advise to acquire for students. Children can be taught to play the guitar from an early age. It is prestigious to master such a popular instrument among young people. This can make it easier to make friends and be the center of attention in the future. Similar to adult instruments, different materials are used to make children's guitars. If it is possible to allocate a larger amount for the purchase, you do not need to skimp. A quality tool is a worthy gift for a child.

The choice of a guitar for a beginner-adult does not depend at all on his gender. But with some nuances of complexion, it is worthwhile to deal with the issue in more detail. For an adult, the size 4/4 is suitable, which, of course, is suitable for any man and woman of average structure. But fragile novice guitarists should take a closer look at the teenage size - 7/8.

Basic budget instruments are not made from solid pieces of wood, but from a special veneer suitable for musical instruments. The structure of this material is uneven, there are glue inclusions, which makes the strings sound much worse. In general, these guitars are suitable for the requirements of students, they are quite suitable for improving the technique. It is hardly worth taking such a guitar to a concert performance, even mentally.

If possible, it is better to buy a solid wood tool right away. Traditionally, the guitar is chosen based on convenience, listening to the sound of the instrument, taking into account the materials used and the appearance. As stated above, it is advisable to immediately purchase a guitar of an eminent brand that guarantees high quality.

Initial training is carried out on six-stringed instruments. Basically, a twelve-string instrument is the same six-string guitar tuned in a standard guitar tuning, plus an additional six strings.These guitars are great to accompany, but not learn. A beginner will be confused by the abundance of strings and will not cope with complex tuning. By the way, despite the fact that factory guitars are already supplied with strings, experts insist on their replacement as soon as possible.