What happens when you take exacting Japanese guitar design and craft it in California, the spiritual home of the electric guitar? We meet the elite luthiers of the ESP USA workshop to find out…
Tucked away amid the anonymous industrial units surrounding the Bob Hope Airport in Hollywood, some sleek machines are taking flight. These ones have strings rather than wings, admittedly, but they look fit to break the sound barrier nonetheless. The ESP Guitar Company has always built guitars to an exacting standard, but the instruments built at its unique US workshop positively glow. Stepping inside, we admire the deep, lustrous, mirror-flat finishes over quilted maple that adorn the finished guitars on display. Looking more closely, we also note the perfectly finished frets and sculpted heels that add function to the beautiful form of these high-spec instruments.
It’s no surprise, then, that the cadre of luthiers working at the ESP USA workshop are very proud of their work. But that pride is based upon more than just the quality of the guitars that are built here. ESP has a carefully tiered range and only the very top echelon of guitars built by the company as a whole actually wears the ESP logo on the headstock, with the premium E-II range and workhorse LTD line forming the bulk of the company’s output.
For ESP to grant full title to the instruments built here, in California, was thus a big step for the Japanese company, which put the fledgling shop under heavy scrutiny during its early days to ensure that the quality lived up to the name. Furthermore, it gave an unusual role to ESP USA workshop: building highly configurable versions of standard models. While these stop short of full customs, which are the preserve of ESP’s Japanese workshop only, the guitars built here in Hollywood are available in a bewildering array of finishes, specs and tonewoods via a Configurator tool on the ESP USA website, making them a great choice for players looking to combine top quality with a touch of individuality.
Denne historien er fra July 2019-utgaven av Guitarist.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra July 2019-utgaven av Guitarist.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Sonic Shaper
Electro-Harmonix revisits the effect that launched the company with the LPB-3 Linear Power Booster and EQ
Platinum Blonde
PRS has updated its Texas-voiced David Grissom signature amp with more features, lower wattage and a more approachable price tag
TAN LINES
Many of us regard straps as a bit of an afterthought, but to find one that matches the quality of a custom or vintage guitar, Rod Boyes of Pinegrove Leather can help
ELECTRIC STRINGS
Your tone starts with your strings - strike a balance between sound, tuning and durability with six of our favourites
DIFFERENT WINDS
While there's no end to repros of all the classic pickup styles, more and more pickup makers are mixing things up to move forward - Cream T is a good example
Long termers
A few months' gigging, recording and everything that goes with it - welcome to Guitarist's longterm test report
Top Guns
Chapman's new factory move coincides with a bit of a rethink. We track down the key players all around the world
the Wishlist
Dream gear to beg, borrow and steal for...
Reach For The Star
Earlier this year Guild reorganised its 70s-era Polara range. We spent some time with this mid-range 2024 model: a modern pawn-shop prize or a copy too far?
HIGH FLYER
Adrian Thorpe of ThorpyFX remembers the flight path - and turbulence behind Chris Buck's Electric Lightning overdrive/boost, named after a fighter jet and packing a bona fide valve