Educate me about ESP Original Series guitars

[Dudley]

You forget something...

Luckily this isn’t an issue on most, if not all, current models with an ESP logo on the headstock.

 

[Shawn]

You forget something...

I actually like those inlays. A lot of people seem to dislike the E-II logo and while I would much prefer an ESP logo on the headstock, I really do like the E-II logo.

 

[Emperoff]

I actually like those inlays.

 

[Samark]

I actually like those inlays. A lot of people seem to dislike the E-II logo and while I would much prefer an ESP logo on the headstock, I really do like the E-II logo.

Narad is a fan too, come to think of it.

 

[Kyle Jordan]

Narad is a fan too, come to think of it.

He does seem to mention them. A lot.

 

[Shawn]

To each his own.

 

[AndiKravljaca]

This goes back to me not knowing enough about the brand either - I always saw high end LTD guitars and saw the multilayer binding in mother of pearl, the inlays, that sort of stuff and got this really tacky vibe from the aesthetic, however well executed.

I was very pleasantly surprised that the further up the chain you got the less of that there actually was, and some of the most expensive stuff is actually pretty minimalistic and clean looking.

Also, growing up in the 90s every guitar with ESP on the headstock had EMGs which I've never become friends with. So I was quite pleasantly surprised at the amount of passive pickup choices.

I was sort of looking for advice in the thread of the sort that experience gives you -

"Really great guitars but watch out for the nut width, they're crazy narrow" or "these are some really really heavy guitars but if you like that they're for you, or "amazing fretwork but the neck joint takes a lot of getting used to".

But everyone's consensus seems to be that these are just great guitars without the 'but'.

As for Caparison, I'm super grateful for the shots in the thread - ultimately I already have a TAT Special 7 FM, so maybe it's time to dip the pen in a different ink.

Thanks for all the answers guys. Now it just becomes a practical problem of how many months it takes to save up the cash.

 

[MAJ Meadows SF]

This goes back to me not knowing enough about the brand either - I always saw high end LTD guitars and saw the multilayer binding in mother of pearl, the inlays, that sort of stuff and got this really tacky vibe from the aesthetic, however well executed.

I was very pleasantly surprised that the further up the chain you got the less of that there actually was, and some of the most expensive stuff is actually pretty minimalistic and clean looking.

Also, growing up in the 90s every guitar with ESP on the headstock had EMGs which I've never become friends with. So I was quite pleasantly surprised at the amount of passive pickup choices.

I was sort of looking for advice in the thread of the sort that experience gives you -

"Really great guitars but watch out for the nut width, they're crazy narrow" or "these are some really really heavy guitars but if you like that they're for you, or "amazing fretwork but the neck joint takes a lot of getting used to".

But everyone's consensus seems to be that these are just great guitars without the 'but'.

As for Caparison, I'm super grateful for the shots in the thread - ultimately I already have a TAT Special 7 FM, so maybe it's time to dip the pen in a different ink.

Thanks for all the answers guys. Now it just becomes a practical problem of how many months it takes to save up the cash.

FWIW I made a poll a while back between Jackson and ESP custom shops, and the overwhelming vote went to ESP. Lots of great feedback:

Jackson CS vs ESP CS

SHOW ME THE MONEY! So, since cheesecake testing has held on long enough to be somewhat lucrative, I'm ticking off a couple of bucket list items. One of those is some kind of X shape guitar with specific specs, and a wild-ass crackle finish. I've done small luthier stuff plenty, so I have been...

www.sevenstring.org

Also on the thin-U and extra thin-U necks: I'm a big fan. I play thin necks for the most part, flat back or slightly rounded, shallow shoulders preferred. All of my custom necks are very thin in radius and decently wide at the nut and 12th fret, so very flat on the back (Daemoness, KxK, Ormsby). Between picking up a Jackson Rhodes to a ESP Vulture I never paid too close attention to them but they were acceptably comfortable and a bit similar. No where near a classic Charvel San Dimas, Fender, or 50s era Les Paul, all of which are chunky to me. When I snagged the LTD SD-2, which has the extra thin-U, I fell hard in love with that shape (even though it's glossed). It's been a go-to for casual jamming and riff writing more than any other guitar I have. So if you like it thin and flat, you're going to enjoy. I've jammed on some awesome Caparison's but I never fully jived with them and the neck felt a tad "rounder C to flat D shape" (I may be way off from what it actually is but the BLUF is it felt thicker and taller at the shoulders). Nice, but not my preference.

 

[Andromalia]

As a long time ESP user and currently still owning a few, including a CS UltraTone, their higher tier guitars are extremely good in the quality department. Whether their specs will appeal to you is another story.
As a side note, I got it for way less than 6K. 6Kish is the regular price, you can often find some with a discount during sales etc, provided they're not a super-duper-popular model. (ie, the Metallica signatures and a few others). Unsuprisingly, weird specs guitars don't sell very well at 6K.

And for people bitching about the 12th fret inlay: ok, we get it. But the REAL issue is the heretic noodle script logo...