The ESP Guitar Company

At the NAMM Show in January, ESP Guitars received NAMM's Milestone Award in celebration of their 50th anniversary.

It was in 1975 that businessman Hisatake Shibuya founded the company in Tokyo, Japan as “Electric Sound Products,” or ESP for short. ESP gradually cultivated a reputation as a supplier of high-quality upgraded replacement parts for existing guitar brands, and began creating their own instruments not long after. In 1987, ESP established their first US headquarters in New York. In 1993, ESP’s US headquarters moved west, opening an office in Hollywood, CA.

50 years after their humble start, ESP was honored at a ceremony held on Saturday January 25, 2025 during the NAMM Show. It started with a breakfast event attended by ESP and a number of other respected companies in the world of musical instruments and professional audio. Then, in front of a packed room at the Anaheim Hilton, ESP was awarded NAMM's prestigious Milestone Award. You can watch the video of the event on the NAMM Web site.

NAMM President John Mlynczak presents ESP's Jeff Klopmeyer with the 50th Milestone award at the 2025 NAMM Show

ESP is celebrating its 50th anniversary year throughout 2025 in a number of ways, including limited-edition 50th anniversary merchandise, the release of the limited edition LTD EC-2025 50th Anniversary guitar, and a series of very special one-of-a-kind 50th Anniversary Horizon guitars built by the ESP Custom Shop in Japan.