ESP LTD M-1 Custom 87

[Progbusters]

new guitar day. In the middle is my new 2020 ESP LTD M-1 Custom 87. It has a Seymour Duncan Distortion. I like it. I love it. Loud and slick and got its own tone. On the videos it sounds like the raunchy volume on 10, 80's tone. On my amps, yeah I could hear it a little. Played it on my Randall and then on my Positive grid Spark. I used to have a Distortion with the RG but hated it. Sounded too honky. Sold it. But now the Duncan Distortion really works well in this LTD and sounds great. Maybe because the distortion works well with this kind of guitar. Its through neck mahogany. The RG is basswood bolt on.

Here's a family pic. On the left is my very first guitar when I was 16 years old, a Kawai Aquarius. On the right is an Ibanez RG that I got in my twenties.

The M-1 Custom 87 has only one pickup just like the Kawai. It also has a boost switch, sorta like the Kawai used to have. The boost is pretty loud. Nice volume up. And the guitar is all black with a slim neck like the RG but has some stainless steel knobs and such.

[Adieu]

Looks real cool, love the specs.

Indo?

How's the quality control? Everything nice and neat for the high-ish sticker price, or some sloppy details?

[beaubrummels]

Nice! I looked at those recently but couldn't quite afford it. Congrats

[Progbusters]

so far things look in good order. Yeah some are made in Indonesia. You can see on Sweetwater where I got mine. Mine is made in South Korea.

[Masta' C]

I love simple guitars and the 1987 series is the best thing ESP/LTD has done in years.

[Progbusters]

Yeah I was digging the 87 Mirage series, the ones that are H/S. But the colors -- baby green and pink -- uh no. I was more into Testament and Loudness and Accept rather than Poison and Kixx, lol

I forgot to say that the volume knob is a push pull to split the humbucker. I just remembered to try it out last night.

[Masta' C]

The pearl pink makes NO sense. However, the seafoam green Mirage has been calling my name

[Adieu]

The pearl pink makes NO sense. However, the seafoam green Mirage has been calling my name

Hmm

I hate both colors, but would have loved the Pink if it WERE a proper Ibanez hot pink or a pink sparkle

Almost seems like a miscommunication at the manufacturer, somebody saw 80s and approved things called "green" and "pink" assuming they meant proper juicy gaudy 80s colors...and never checked that they were neither pink nor green at all per se

[allbutromeo]

Nice! Those '87 series are really nice. I love my Eclipse Custom '87. Build quality is excellent, the one on Sweetwater says made in Indonesia, but mine says made in Korea.

[Sirion]

Hmm

I hate both colors, but would have loved the Pink if it WERE a proper Ibanez hot pink or a pink sparkle

Almost seems like a miscommunication at the manufacturer, somebody saw 80s and approved things called "green" and "pink" assuming they meant proper juicy gaudy 80s colors...and never checked that they were neither pink nor green at all per se

I think a lot of the "nostalgia" brands get this wrong more often than they get it right in an attempt to make the guitars acceptable to bourgeois generation x'ers who want to relive their youth in a manner that doesn't clash too hard with their respectable mid-career professions. By subduing the colours they are supposed to make them acceptable to people who want do have a flourescent guitar like CC Deville played at that Poison show in 1988, but are afraid of their spouses and friends thinking less of them for it.

Kramer has the same problem with many of their models. The most available Stagemaster seems to be the orange one, which isn't exactly bad, but it looks too modern for the model:



Far worse is the fact that one of the two colours offered for the Baretta is frickin' gray! Is that really supposed to be the colour there is a market for?



Well, you can at least still get both in colours that are acceptable (candy blue and ruby red respectively). What really boggles me is the remarkably ugly shades that have been chosen for the 80s-style Charvels:



Why?!

[Sirion]

Sorry about the rant. That 87 looks great, and I'd be really interested in hearing what you think about it when you've had it for a while.

[Adieu]

I think a lot of the "nostalgia" brands get this wrong more often than they get it right in an attempt to make the guitars acceptable to bourgeois generation x'ers who want to relive their youth in a manner that doesn't clash too hard with their respectable mid-career professions. By subduing the colours they are supposed to make them acceptable to people who want do have a flourescent guitar like CC Deville played at that Poison show in 1988, but are afraid of their spouses and friends thinking less of them for it.

Kramer has the same problem with many of their models. The most available Stagemaster seems to be the orange one, which isn't exactly bad, but it looks too modern for the model:



Far worse is the fact that one of the two colours offered for the Baretta is frickin' gray! Is that really supposed to be the colour there is a market for?



Well, you can at least still get both in colours that are acceptable (candy blue and ruby red respectively). What really boggles me is the remarkably ugly shades that have been chosen for the 80s-style Charvels:



Why?!

I'd prefer all gaudy 80s reissue guitars to be available in this color

[Mincer]

I actually dig the grey Baretta and those Charvels. While none of these are historic colors, I don't see why we shouldn't have both time-accurate and more modern colors.

[Masta' C]

Yeah, I was thinking hot-pink would have been more the "87" era, but it's still cool that they are making these guitars

[Synapsys]

Well, you can at least still get both in colours that are acceptable (candy blue and ruby red respectively). What really boggles me is the remarkably ugly shades that have been chosen for the 80s-style Charvels:


Why?!

Actually I've been eyeing that vintqge white Charvel for a while now. Looks like a Malmsteen model actually made for men.