Bolt on with an embossed serial number on the end of the fretboard. What about the E-II? He had always wanted to buy my LTD explorer from the mid 90's. It's all CRAP!ĮSP has forgotten the army of hungry guitars players that passed on sustenance to save for that ESP guitar. The guitar that would take their playing to the next level and in turn, boosted the ESP brand to it's high water mark of few years back. He insisted that it was just the sealer coat that produced the paper like fiber and I must be inexperienced with sanding laminates. Fine, don't care, but it would have to be the thinnest laminate used in the industry and I argued that it burned through WAY too easily and the fibers were more like paper. and was referred to the fine print in the E-II literature that it is a laminate. Remember that stuff from the 90's? Contacted ESP Cali. I am still convinced it is Foto-Flame paper. It is a this plain maple cap with a veneer so thin that 320 grit burned through it on touch. It was really secondary to removing the crazy thick clear coat that seem to deaden the notes. A regular client brought it in for a top refinish and wanted a trans black to replace the trans amber on the flame maple cap. Their factory stuff was nearly as good as Performance guitars out of Hollywood. I've worked on many in the last 18 years and undoubtedly the quality has steadily declined in the last 6-7 years. I'm a Luthier in Portland Oregon and have a few ESP and Kramer Strat heads from the early 80's, several Standards from the 90's, and a 99' Custom shop. So please, "Could someone from ESP can clarify the ESP EII vs ESP STANDARD dylemma once and for all?" So I started searching on the web and I red several people saying that tha new EII series is actually the old LTD ELITE, and judging from the finishes on my guitar I could belive it. The guitar is awesome, very good soud and feeling but for 1800€ I was expecting better finishes. One inlay was cracked and the other was not inserted in the neck precisely I found a hole filled with wood plaster on the 15th fret. Whae the guitar arrived I noticed several imperfections. When I ordered the guitar my dealer told me that EII was the rebranded ESP STANDARD, so acutally I was going to buy a STANDARD with a different brand: EII. Just have to keep my eyes open if and when it comes to it. And if for some reason I don't fall in love with it, I can always find a gently used USA M-7 for the same price. So my worries of getting a questionable guitar have subsided. Every single E-II he has sold has been highly loved and accepted, despite everybody NOT agreeing with the rebranding. Not a single one has been returned, and not a single refund issued on any of them. The dealer I am going thru has done 3 special order small batch runs, he has 1 left out of all 3 (each batch consisting of 10 guitars each.) and all 3 batches were E-II builds. I have seen a lot of the reviews and it makes more sense that all the negative ones seem to be during the initial lineup swap and rebranding time frame. If for ANY reason I don't once it shows up, he will then refund me my money, or I can use that full purchase amount and transfer it to either another guitar or put it towards a down payment on a Custom Shop piece. If you're skeptical about the E-II line then I'd wait for a used USA-made M-7, otherwise you'll be second guessing yourself if you go with the E-II.Īfter speaking to the person I am buying it from (Nick Axe Palace.), he guarantees me that I will love it. It's built really well and for the craftsmanship, it's better than the LTD 1000 series for sure. The only thing I did was change the strings (I prefer D'Addario) and changed the tuning. I just picked up a new E-II Horizon and it was flawless right out of the case- action was low with no fret buzz, the ebony fingerboard was conditioned and shiney, no scratches, etc. I think the E-II line is pretty decent for what they charge ($1,700 or so).
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