The ESP Guitar Company | 2013 USA Website

NEWS

Introducing LTD Elite

A whole new range of ESP guitars and basses for 2013, made in Japan by our renowned luthiers

At ESP, when our customers speak, we listen. One thing that weʼve heard time and time again over the years is that there are many people who would love to own an ESP, but simply canʼt quite justify the cost of a high-end, high-performance instrument. For most of those people, our LTD line of more affordable guitars and basses have been a great compromise between quality and value, and weʼre proud that our LTD instruments have allowed tens of thousands of players to get into ESP without breaking the bank.

However, thereʼs another group of people who found themselves wedged right in the middle. Many of these players were experienced musicians with high expectations of performance in their guitar or bass, but still werenʼt able to include an ESP in their budget. For those people, and anyone else who feels theyʼre ready for a supremely well-made instrument that sounds and plays as good as it looks, weʼre very happy to introduce the new LTD Elite range of guitars and basses.

Made in Japan by ESP Luthiers

Unlike our other LTD models that are manufactured in various areas of Asia like Indonesia and Korea, the LTD Elite line is made in Japan at the same manufacturing facility as the rest of our high-end ESP models.In fact, the same experienced and qualified luthiers who create and build our critically acclaimed ESP Standard Series are those who are making LTD Elite. You can rest assured that these luthiers are among the worldʼs finest, and will simply not build a guitar or bass without the highest attention to detail and quality.

Based On Our Finest ESP Models

The first offerings from LTD Elite will be familiar to you: they are based on some of our most popular ESP models that we create in Japan. Beginning with their official introduction at the Winter NAMM Show in January 2013, weʼre starting with nine LTD Elite models, including seven guitars and two basses.

The LTD ELITE ST-1 (Duncan) and LTD ELITE ST-1 (EMG) both employ bolt-on construction at 25.5” scale, and have alder bodies with natural binding. These guitars feature high-end appointments including quilted maple tops, Gotoh tuners, and Floyd Rose bridges. The ST-1 (Duncan) comes with Seymour Duncan JB (bridge) and Classic Stack Plus (middle and neck) pickups, a maple fingerboard, chrome hardware, and choices of Aqua Marine and See Thru Black Cherry finishes. The ST-1 (EMG) offers EMG 81 (bridge) and SA (middle and neck) active pickups, with rosewood fingerboard, black hardware and a See Thru Black finish.

The LTD ELITE ECLIPSE-I (DUNCAN) and LTD ELITE ECLIPSE-I (EMG) are classic single-cutaway shapes with set-neck construction at 24.75” scale. Both guitars have mahogany bodies with flamed maple tops, and mahogany necks with rosewood fingerboards. They also include Gotoh Magnum Lock tuners and Gotoh TOM bridges and tailpieces. The ECLIPSE-I (DUNCAN) employs Seymour Duncan JB (bridge) and ʼ59 (neck) pickups, 22XJ frets, and has nickel hardware with choices of Tobacco Sunburst and Cherry Sunburst finishes. The ECLIPSE-I (EMG) offers NEW EMG 57 (bridge) and 66 (neck) brushed steel active pickups, 24XJ frets, and black hardware in a See Thru Black finish.

The LTD ELITE HORIZON-III NT and LTD ELITE HORIZON-III FR have neck-throughbody construction at 25.5” scale, with alder bodies and flamed maple tops, and maple necks with ebony fingerboards. Both guitars feature Seymour Duncan Custom-5 (bridge) and Jazz (neck) pickups. The HORIZON-III NT comes with a Gotoh TOM bridge in Reindeer Blue finish, while the HORIZON-III FR includes a Floyd Rose bridge and See Thru Black finish.

The LTD ELITE M-II also has neck-through-body construction at 25.5” scale, an alder body, and flamed maple top with maple neck and ebony fingerboard. It includes black hardware including Gotoh tuners and Floyd Rose bridge, and features an EMG 81 active pickup set. The ELITE M-II is offered in See Thru Black and Amber Cherry Sunburst finishes.

Basses Too

ESP is more than just a guitar company. Our basses have been put into use by some of the worldʼs finest players in every genre of music. The LTD Elite series will include basses from the start. The LTD ELITE J-4 and LTD ELITE J-5 are premier quality instruments that offer bolt-on construction at 34” scale, and have chambered ash bodies with quilted maple tops, chrome hardware, and finishes in See Thru Black and Amber. The ELITE J-4 is a 4-string bass with Gotoh tuners, a Gotoh bridge with stringthrough- body option, Seymour Duncan SJB-1 Vintage pickups with ESP KH-1 2-Band EQ. The ELITE-J-5 includes a Gotoh bridge with string-through-body option, and Seymour Duncan SJ-5 67-70 pickups, also with the ESP KH-1 2-Band EQ.

When and Where To Buy?

LTD Elite models will become available early in 2013. We will announce when the guitars and basses begin to ship here at espguitars.com, and on our Facebook and Twitter pages. If youʼre not already connected with us on social media, nowʼs a good time to “like” or “follow” us! LTD Elite instruments will be available from authorized ESP dealers in the USA, and via our authorized distributors in many parts of the rest of the world. Please see our dealer/distributor locator to find your closest ESP source. We invite you to go in and try out any LTD Elite model when they become available. Weʼre confident that you will recognize the level of quality that goes into every instrument that proudly carries the LTD Elite name.

*Specifications subject to change without notice.*

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