ESP Guitars
The
ESP Guitar Company (Electric Sound Products), located in
North Hollywood, California, is a prominent manufacturer of
electric guitars and
basses.
In 1975, Hisatake Shibuya opened a shop in
Tokyo,
Japan called Electric Sound Products, or ESP. It provided custom replacement parts for hot-rod 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 intruments for local New York artists between 1984 and 1985. Among these artists were
Page Hamilton of
Helmet,
Vernon Reid of
Living Colour,
Bruce Kulick of
KISS, and
Ron Wood of
The Rolling Stones. At this time, ESP also introduced the 400 Series as the first production line distributed in the
US.
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
Kamikaze was made. ESP soon introduced the M1 Standard, MI Custom, Horizon Custom, and the Surveyor bass into the market.
In 1987,
Kirk Hammett of
Metallica discovered ESP and made his
ESP KH-2 which was later released as a signature model in 1989. 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 headuqarters 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.
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 1996, LTD was created to produce ESP's high-quality products in a more affordable line of production. LTD grew in popularity and became a noteworthy brand among many artists throughout the years following its creation.
In 2002, ESP was ranked among the music industry's fastest growing companies. 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 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.
ESP found fame by providing guitars for guitarists who went on to become leading exponents of
thrash metal music in the 1980s, including
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, introduced signature guitars from other artists such as Ron Wood (guitarist in The Rolling Stones).
*ESP Mirage Series
**
ESP LTD M-400**
ESP LTD M-200FM**
ESP LTD M-100FM**
ESP LTD M-50*ESP EC Series
**
ESP LTD EC-500 **
ESP LTD EC-400**
ESP LTD EC-400AT**
ESP LTD EC-200**
ESP LTD EC-100**
ESP LTD EC-50**
ESP LTD EC-404**
ESP LTD EC-254*ESP B Series
**
ESP LTD B-500**
ESP LTD B-405**
ESP LTD B-404**
ESP LTD B-208**
ESP LTD B-206**
ESP LTD B-255**
ESP LTD B-254**
ESP LTD B-155**
ESP LTD B-154**
ESP LTD B-55**
ESP LTD B-50*ESP Horizon Series
**
ESP LTD H-400**
ESP LTD H-250**
ESP LTD H-100FM**
ESP LTD H-50*ESP Viper Series
**
ESP LTD VIPER-500 **
ESP LTD VIPER-400**
ESP LTD VB-400 BARITONE**
ESP LTD VIPER-407 7-String**
ESP LTD VIPER-200FM**
ESP LTD VIPER-100FM**
ESP LTD VIPER-50**
ESP LTD VIPER-404**
ESP LTD VIPER-254**
ESP LTD VIPER-104*ESP EX Series
**
ESP LTD EX-400BD **
ESP LTD EX-400**
ESP LTD EX-260**
ESP LTD EX-50*ESP Forest
**
ESP LTD F-500**
ESP LTD F-400FM**
ESP LTD F-250**
ESP LTD F-100FM**
ESP LTD F-50**
ESP LTD F-404**
ESP LTD F-254FM**
ESP LTD F-255FM**
ESP LTD F-104*ESP Signature series
**
ESP James Hetfield**
ESP Kirk Hammett**
ESP Dave Mustaine**
ESP George Lynch**
ESP Alexi Laiho**
ESP Stephen Carpenter**
ESP Jeff Hanneman**
ESP Michael Amott**ESP Richard Z
**ESP Page Hamilton
**ESP Ron Wood
**ESP Max Cavalera
**ESP Michael Wilton
**ESP Dan Jacobs
**ESP Travis Miguel
**ESP Ahrue Luster
**ESP Jardel Paisante
*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)
A number of popular musicians play ESP guitars, mostly from the genres of
rock and
heavy metal including:
*
James Hetfield of
Metallica*
Kirk Hammett of
Metallica*
Dave Mustaine of
Megadeth*
Michael Amott of
Arch Enemy and
Spiritual Beggars*
George Lynch of
Dokken and
Lynch Mob*
Jules Hodgson of
KMFDM and
PIG*
Khalid Ilahi of
Beyond Shadows*
Buckethead*
Ron Wood of
The Rolling Stones*
Glen Drover of
Megadeth*
Max Cavalera of
Soulfly*
Stephen Carpenter of the
Deftones*
Steve DiGiorgio of
Sadus,
Death and
Testament *
Page Hamilton of
Helmet*
Jeff Hanneman of
Slayer*
Tom Araya of
Slayer*
Roope Latvala of
Children of Bodom*
Henkka Blacksmith of
Children of Bodom*
Alexi Laiho of
Children of Bodom*
Chino Moreno of the
Deftones*
Josh Partington of
Something Corporate*
Martin Powell of
Cradle of Filth*
Trent Reznor of
Nine Inch Nails*
Richard Z. Kruspe of
Rammstein*
Michael Romeo of
Symphony X*
André Olbrich of
Blind Guardian*
Marcus Siepen of
Blind Guardian*
Bjorn Gellote of
In Flames*
Jesper Strömblad of
In Flames*
Benjamin Weinman of
The Dillinger Escape Plan*
Tetsuya Ogawa of
L'Arc~en~Ciel*
Kaoru of
Dir en grey*
Die of
Dir en grey*
Toshiya of
Dir en grey*
Alexander Kuoppala formerly of
Children of Bodom*
Balsac the Jaws of Death of
GWAR*
Flattus Maximus of
GWAR*
Beefcake the Mighty of
GWAR*
Ahrue Luster of
Ill Nino*
Emppu Vuorinen of
Nightwish*
Dan Jacobs of
Atreyu*
Travis Miguel of
Atreyu*
Captain Sensible of
The Damned*
Kelly Hayes of
Cold /
Allele*
Thomas Erak of
The Fall of Troy*
Timo Tolkki of
Stratovarius*
Miyavi of
Dué Le Quartz*
Baba Ikuzo of
Dragon Ash*
Justin Sane of
Anti-Flag*
Masaru Sakurai of
The Alfee*
Kōnosuke Sakazaki of
The Alfee*
Toshihiko Takamizawa of
The Alfee*
Sugizo ex-
Luna Sea*
J ex-
Luna Sea*
INORAN ex-
Luna Sea*
Anchang(
Koji Ando) of
Sex Machineguns*
Circuit.V.Panther(
Yoshikazu Yahiro) of
Sex Machineguns*
Samurai.W.Kenjilaw(
Kenjiro Murai) of
Sex Machineguns and ex-
Cali≠Gari*
Noisy of
Dustar-3 and ex-
Sex Machineguns*
Yuki of
Dustar-3*
Mana of
Moi Dix Mois and ex-
Malice Mizer*
Akira Takasaki of
Loudness*
Aiji of
Pierrot*
Jun of
Pierrot*
Kohta of
Pierrot*
TORU xxx of
Undown and guitarist for
The Mad Capsule Markets*
Wednesday 13 of
Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13,
Murderdolls and
Wednesday 13*
Jun Senoue of
Crush 40*
kazu of
Kagerou*
Paul Landers of
Rammstein*
The Demonstealer of
Demonic Resurrection*
Scott Middleton of
Cancer Bats*
Birgit Öllbrunner of
Midnattsol*
Gus G. of
Firewind*
The ESP USA website*
The ESP Japan website*
The ESP UK website
