Jump to content

ESP Guitars

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Waitandbleed1235 (talk | contribs) at 09:33, 4 August 2006 (→Models). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

File:Esp logo2.gif

The ESP Guitar Company (Electric Sound Products), located in North Hollywood, California, is a prominent manufacturer of electric guitars and basses.

Founding

The company was created by Hisatake Shibuya in 1975 as a chain of music retail stores in Japan. In 1983, ESP started making replacement parts and started making hand-made custom guitars in 1985.

Manufacturing operations

In 1986, ESP opened an office in New York City to make custom guitars for American players. In 1996, ESP started a new brand, the LTD. The LTD guitars are similar to ESP guitars and more affordable.The 300 series LTDs are made on an assembly line in Korea whereas the series below 300 are made in Indonesia. LTDs are made out of cheaper materials than ESPs and ESPs use better quality hardware. The custom ESPs are handcrafted in Japan while the standard ESPs are made in factories in Japan.

Popularity

ESP found fame by providing guitars for guitarists who went on to become leading exponents of thrash metal music in the 1980s, some bands include Slayer, Megadeth and Metallica. As a result of these endorsements, ESP has gone to become one of the most popular suppliers of guitars for use in (usually) heavy metal music. They have, however, signature guitars from other artists such as Ron Wood (guitarist in The Rolling Stones).

Models

  • ESP Mirage Series
    • ESP M-400
    • ESP M-200
    • ESP M-100
    • ESP M-50
  • ESP EC Series
    • ESP EC-500
    • ESP EC-400
    • ESP EC-400
    • ESP EC-200
    • ESP EC-100
    • ESP EC-50
  • ESP B Series
  • ESP Horizon
    • ESP H-400
    • ESP H-250
    • ESP H-100
    • ESP H-50
  • ESP Viper
    • ESP VIPER-500
    • ESP VIPER-400
    • ESP VB-400 BARITONE
    • ESP VIPER-407
    • ESP VIPER-200
    • ESP VIPER-100
    • ESP VIPER-50
  • ESP Explorer
  • ESP Forest
    • ESP F-500
    • ESP F-400
    • ESP F-250
    • ESP F-100
    • ESP F-50
  • ESP Signature series
  • ESP Hybrid Series
    • ESP HYBRID-400
  • ESP Xtone Series
  • ESP AX Series
    • ESP AX-400
    • ESP AX-250
    • ESP AX-50
  • ESP Custom shop
  • ESP Navigator
  • ESP Edwards
  • ESP Grass Roots
  • ESP Lakland
  • ESP Italia Guitars
  • ESP Junior
  • ESP Junior II
  • ESP MH (a Horizon body with a Mirage headstock)
  • ESP SV (Japan & Europe only)
  • ESP 2005 30th Anniversary Models (now discontinued because the year, 2005, has passed)

Artists

A number of popular musicians play ESP guitars, mostly from the genres of rock and heavy metal including:


Stub icon

This article about a musical instrument company is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=ESP_Guitars&oldid=67608145"