ESP LTD '87 Series (What's Not To Like?)

[LLL]

Did a forum search and only found one thread on any of the ESP LTD '87 Series guitars.

Bruce Kulick thinks that sucks:




I mean, look at all this 80's juciness:

https://www.espguitars.com/products/...series-guitars

 

[Benjy_26]

IDK, man...It's hard for me to swallow a $1k guitar that isn't made in Japan, Mexico, or the US.

 

[Ashurbanipal]

Love it (except for the '1987' plaque on the 12th fret, ha!). The 80s are definitely in again. Candy apple for me, I think.

As for pricing, this is the new reality, Korean guitars aren't the cheapies with variable build quality we were used to in the 90s/00s. As another example, some of the Ibanez Premiums (which are Indo) are almost 2k.

I think the price is ok for a guitar that is neck through, has a real Duncan, boost switch, ebony fingerboard, and goes through middle-men before you get it in your hands.

 

[Mr. 80's]

They are very nice for sure. I'd go for the blue single hum myself. The colors are all great ,It's nice they didn't go with neon colors like a lot of other companies are doing/did. Neon guitars were just never that popular in the 80's at all, outside of C.C. DeVille and Steve Vai anyways.

 

[solspirit]

IDK, man...It's hard for me to swallow a $1k guitar that isn't made in Japan, Mexico, or the US.

Get used to it.

 

[Aceman]

It's easier to swallow than a USA/JApan guitar that is $2000.

IDK - I'm still in love with a $250 Chinese guitar, so don't ask me. I don't know.

 

[Benjy_26]

Get used to it.

Negative. Plenty of good, used, interesting guitars that don't give the Chicomms money and scratch my itch for new crap.

 

[Benjy_26]

Lol, you probably remember when a MIM Strat was $319?

Yup. And I could get a whole candy bar for 5¢ while walking uphill to school both ways.

 

[LLL]

Negative. Plenty of good, used, interesting guitars that don't give the Chicomms money and scratch my itch for new crap.

The '87 series (and other higher quality LTDs) is made in South Korea (Incheon):

https://killerguitarrigs.com/world-m...ruments-korea/

No Chicomms for me, either.

Guitar Brands with Models Manufactured by World Musical Instruments Korea

• Agile
• BC Rich
• Brian May Guitars
• Chapman
• Dean
• Diamond/DBZ
• Eastwood
• Gretsch (Electromatics)
• Guild (Newark St. models)
• Ibanez (small number of models with W serial)
• Line6
• LTD
• Michael Kelly Guitars
• Ormsby (GTR line)
• PRS SE (now mostly moved to Cor‐Tek in Indonesia)
• Schecter
• Strandberg (until mid 2017)
• Wylde Audio (sub-brand of Schecter)

 

[solspirit]

Lol, you probably remember when a MIM Strat was $319?

Yep

 

[solspirit]

A lot of Korean guitars these days are so good that I dont really need to spend more. This is a great model; Im glad to see it. I spend a lot of time bouncing between a good neck pickup sound and a good bridge pickup sound, and not finding one great sound and sticking with it for a while. A really good one-pickup guitar promotes more playing and less noodling.

It's a shred stick. . . No noodling allowed.



Only wankery

 

[Aceman]

Negative. Plenty of good, used, interesting guitars that don't give the Chicomms money and scratch my itch for new crap.

This is not a political statement - merely a financial fact: This country now exists to give Chicoms money.

 

[Benjy_26]

You mean they had a general store on the way to school, and another one on the way back?

No. We traded pelts for coins and coins for candy from traveling merchants.

 

[Benjy_26]

This is not a political statement - merely a financial fact: This country now exists to give Chicoms money.

Yup. I feel better knowing they get as little money from me as possible.

 

[Benjy_26]

A lot of Korean guitars these days are so good that I dont really need to spend more. This is a great model; Im glad to see it. I spend a lot of time bouncing between a good neck pickup sound and a good bridge pickup sound, and not finding one great sound and sticking with it for a while. A really good one-pickup guitar promotes more playing and less noodling.

​​​​​​Personal tastes and all, but I can find plenty of MIJ and some MIA guitars out there that are in the financial ballpark of high end Korean or Indonesian models.

When those dry up, I might consider buying a 1k USD Korean or Indonesian guitar.

 

[Benjy_26]

Definitely. My issue is that I am afraid to spend much on a used guitar, unless it is from a friend or a local store. That limits my options a lot, but I dont want to get a fake or something with hidden problems.

The way I see it, wood is wood; IE, it's not something that will behave in a consistent way. I've bought guitars sight unseen and have been fine, and I've bought guitars from guys I know and have had issues with the guitars afterwards. When you're dealing with something that's alive (or used to be, in this case), nature...uh...finds a way.

 

[LLL]

So to reiterate, that LTD looks bad ass.

Yes. Yes it does.

And there's a lefty version, which is a fucking miracle.

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Looks bad ass and the awe stops there.

It's perfect maybe as a display on your mancave or jamming room. But definitely not for shred. Really, no neck pickup? Shredding with bridge pickup sounds messy especially with regard to Yngwie-style sweep picking. Only neck pickup will do.

My RG3XXV will kick that LTD's butt back to 1987 for good. And it doesn't cost you 2 large either.

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Negative. Plenty of good, used, interesting guitars that don't give the Chicomms money and scratch my itch for new crap.

Meanwhile people are snatching iPhones and Air Jordans from those Chicomms and don't care about politics. When did buying guitars get embroiled in geopolitical war? Come on...lol.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

I consider myself fairly idealistic, and pretty devout in my principles, but I know I've handed plenty of scummy ass people money for guitars. Sold brake pads to a guy with a swastika tattooed on his hand today, too. With that, it's pretty tough to get upset that my Ibanez Paul Gilbert guitar is Chinese and cost about a grand, especially because it's so freaking sweet.