


Guitar necks, fret boards and head stocks were built for companies such as Kramer, Dimarzio, Robin Guitars and Schecter, with some parts being used on ESP models as well.Īs a result, the serial number alone is an indicator of which factory produced the guitar, and not the year or model. The reason for the guitars serial number being insufficient is the multiple guitar companies for which ESP has built parts over the years. Remember, serial number alone is not an effective way to date these earlier models.Ĭurrent ESP Guitar Identification Guitars currently in production and maintained in ESPs catalog are much easier to identify, though serial number alone is still not adequate.ĮSPs technical support staff will still require pictures of the guitar, along with the serial number to accurately identify the guitar for the customer. In order to effectively date an ESP model built from 1976 to 1988, ESPs technical support staff will need the serial number of the guitar but, more important, pictures of the front and back of the headstock, neck and body.Ĭontact information for ESPs technical support is available on the companys United States website under the support heading. Vintage ESP Guitar Identification ESP maintained limited records for its earlier models such as the 400 Series and its Signature guitar production line. Hardware from the Kamikaze models would make appearances in the M-1, MI Custom and Horizon Custom models released that same year.


The company used Lynchs popularity to release the Kamikaze as its first signature model available in the United States. This trend continued in 1986 when George Lynch, while on tour in Japan, had a signature ESP guitar built for him. The guitar company hit the shores of the United States in 1983, setting up shop in New York.ĮSP introduced its first line of guitars there for the U.S., the 400 series, which had strikingly similar body styles to the Fender Stratocaster and Telecaster models. Identifying model years based on serial numbers for these ESP guitars can be difficult as the company kept few production records.Ĭompany Beginnings Electric Sound Products was opened in 1975 by Hisatake Shibuya in Japan.ĮSP was originally created to build custom replacement parts for existing guitars, and did not begin producing its own models until 1976.
