What better way to start the week than a new guitar showing up on a Monday morning? 🎸
The fact that this one was built in Japan by my favourite guitar manufacturer (ESP) only makes it more exciting! 🤤
Don't be fooled by the LTD logo, this 2013 Eclipse was actually built in the same Tokyo factory (and to the same quality standards) than the ESP "Standard Series" and E-II instruments, only cheaper, even despite its rarity...
(1/4)
Now here's the interesting part of the story: LTD Elite was meant to be an "affordable high-end" product line, with slightly lower-quality hardware (bridge, tuners...) than the soon-to-be-launched E-II brand (effectively a rebranding of the ESP Standards Series line).
However, ESP quickly realized their customers weren't interested in premium LTD guitars, no matter how good they were: musicians have a brand fetish, and once they've been educated a certain way, there's no turning back...
(2/4)
In this case, the LTD brand had been deeply associated with budget and mid-range instruments manufactured in South Korea, China or Indonesia, while ESP remained the flagship brand synonymous of high-quality guitars.
For this reason, the LTD Elite line ended up being a massive commercial failure, and those models were then integrated to the E-II line-up from 2014 onwards, with no change other than the name appearing on the headstock. 🤦
(3/4)
Even today, LTD Elite guitars sell for much cheaper than their ESP and E-II counterparts despite being pretty much identical; actually, Reverb currently has an E-II guitar of the very same model (and year!) listed in the EU, with the asking price being twice the amount I paid for mine! 😮
Alright, that's enough guitar history for today, off to annoying the neighbors now 😈🤘🎸
(4/4)
A-wai 
Ryan Hyde 🇺🇦🏳️⚧️🇵🇸