ESP guitars - made in USA?!?

[carfish7]

So, I just had a conversation about a guitar that the GC guy INSISTED was a made in USA piece. Really? THIS one:

http://www.guitarcenter.com/In-Store-Used-USED-ESP-MII-CUSTOM-SUNBURST-109527639-i3409931.gc

I thought the high-end stuff was all made in Japan, but he seemed pretty sure about his claim. Anyone know the skinny on "USA" produced ESP guitars?

[Studio Custom]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESP_Guitars

The Custom Shop and Original Series ESPs are handcrafted in Japan while the Standard Series ESPs are factory made in Japan.

Additionally, ESP has two separate Japan-only lines of guitars, the Grassroots (lower end) and Edwards (Mid-range). The Grassroots kine is manufactured in Korea and are the equivalent or better than the Sub-400 series LTDs and can be considered a budget line. The Edwards guitars, on the other hand, are made in Japan and boast similar hardware 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), the Edwards line generally lies in between the more upmarket LTDs and ESP Standards.

[cynic]

Seems pretty cut and dry in this headline:

ESP TO OPEN FIRST USA FACTORY IN 2014

The article mentions there were a handful of pieces made in USA about 12 years ago, but I can't find any info on those.

[Thundersteel]

Some Schecters are being made in USA, too. They're fetching around $2k...

[devrock]

Some Schecters are being made in USA, too. They're fetching around $2k...

Some? They have an entire shop in CA and have since the 70s. They build several hundred, if not a few thousand, a year there. http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/20669-schecter-custom-shop-tour

This ESP thing is much more recent. But the reported prices are insane, IMO.

[Carl.B]

I thought that I read somewhere that for a short time ESP did have a custom shop in the U.S.A.? They still did the majority of the work in Japan but did the finish and final setup here and I thought it was just on there strat copies.

I could be wrong and god know's it wouldn't be the first time!

[Tres Aardvarks]

...but he seemed pretty sure about his claim. Anyone know the skinny on "USA" produced ESP guitars?

I've had some pretty damn amusing conversations over the years with people who worked in stores who had zero clue what they were talking about but were absolutely convinced they were right.

[murkat]

greg has, had a couple for sale at his lil shop o horrors

[mc2]

ESP did assemble some custom guitars and basses in NYC during the 80s, largely from its own imported parts. One of the stores on the old 48th Street "Music Row" built them from what I recall. All the ones I have run across seem to have been bolt-on types.

ESP moved its import HQ out to CA in the 90s. I don't know if they continued to do select custom builds out there.

I have a couple of their custom shop Thunderbird copies. One was a custom order for then endorser Charlie Sexton back in the late 80s. The order was placed in the U.S. but the bass built in Japan and shipped over, assumably because it was not a bolt-on neck build.

My two aren't like the common ESP Phoenix TBird/Firebird inspired imports...mine are close copies of Gibson Thunderbirds with Gibson style headstocks.

There is an ESP dealer website in Australia with a forum that could likely I.D. The guitar you are asking about.

http://guitarsatbmusic.com.au/forum/

[Thundersteel]

Some? They have an entire shop in CA and have since the 70s. They build several hundred, if not a few thousand, a year there.

I had no idea. I thought they were all imports.

[Jem]

ESP did assemble some custom guitars and basses in NYC during the 80s, largely from its own imported parts. One of the stores on the old 48th Street "Music Row" built them from what I recall. All the ones I have run across seem to have been bolt-on types.

That rings true with me.

I seem to remember an Electric Sound Products advert in the 80's implying they were from the US but definitely not saying they were made in the US and also I can concur the guitars in the ad were all bolt on superstrats.

[Jeff R]

Yep, ESP now has a small USA operation in California, the first pieces debuted at NAMM in January. They currently make only about three or four models production-line-style and the only options one can spec out are a handful of standard colors. Not a custom shop - all the custom shop stuff is still MIJ. My gut tells me that the USA operation is almost more of a pilot program at this point to see if they can sell MIA branded instruments to the MIA corksniffers, because their MIJ has always been and remains superb in my opinion but the MIJ label gives them an unfair stereotype.

Custom shop remains in Japan, and not cheap, actually ridiculously stupidly overpriced in my opinion - almost a blatant message to consumers to avoid the custom shop and stick with the production stuff. I got a quote to replicate my "blue camo" M-II from the MIJ custom shop for insurance purposes and it came back with a MSRP of right at $8K. That's just absurd. The "standard series" guitars are not as ridiculous (comparable to Fender Custom Shop), and the "signature series" (endorser copies) hover between fair and absurd - guess it depends on how much you want one. Standards and signatures are MIJ.

I'm confident the M-II in the GC listing above is MIJ. All ESP stuff has been "made" in Japan, in that the small USA operations (NYC in the 80s for example) did in fact take MIJ parts and apply hotrod paint jobs and do assembly and set up stateside. My "Ruby" mid-80s ESP strat started life that way. ESP also farmed out graphic paint work in that era to some US luthiers - I'm fairly confident my "blue camo" falls into that category.

But the lion's share of ESP guitars are totally MIJ and that's the side one would/should err towards if there are questions.

When ESP moved their US operation to California, I'm told they did had a very, very small custom shop that mostly served endorsers.

[hamersandstrats]

I have a 400 series Strat with a neck plate that reads "JAF Box 2125 New York, NY 10116" I also once owned a Vintage Plus Telecaster with the same neck plate.

So at the very least, they want you to think they were made in USA.