ESP 800 Series Strat

I believe late 80's or early 90's
21 fret
solid body strat bright orange
one volume knob, 3 position toggle
two humbuckers, one ultrasonic (neck), seymour duncan(bridge)
passive electronics
body probably alder heavy
neck has esp stamped on back of headstock, looks like lawsuit era
headstock and body are dead on fender. Neck has locking nut, no finish, and beautiful mahogany fretboard w/mother of pearl dot inlays
Typical bright orange high gloss finish, w/black hardware. Original floyd rose. Original gotoh machine heads (mini?)
Neck is medium c shape, perfect - again dead on fender

It sounds beautiful clean, and will flat out break concrete with volume and distortion. I play rock and blues, love them strats!
I play it through my vintage fender twin reverb. Vox distortion and dano fab overdrive. The pickups are very quiet. Beautiful full rich sound.

The action is perfect with 10's on it. I dont use the whammy bar so the floyd still stays put and the guitar stays in tune no matter what you dish out. The pickups are neck ultrasonic (w. germany) might be the original one it sure looks like it. The bridge is seymour duncan loud and powerful. Probably put in to replace original. The hardware was a little dirty rusty from age but it cleaned up well.

I've played it live and it is devastating. People have offered to buy it from me on the spot! The hardware is built like a tank. The finish is heavy and thick with the heavy clear top coat. The orange finish is so bright it hurts your eyes! The strap buttons are rock solid. I definitely can depend on it. It is part of my collection now and I own a lot of top end strats.

Bought at a pawn shop for 160.00 dollars I would repair it myself if I had to.

I have been playing for 36 years. I own srv strat, robert cray strat, and several other top end guitars and strats. I feel lucky to have stumbled onto this one. I would miss it a lot if something happened to it, really a great axe. Bottome line is i really need some help about its history and what it is. Like how old, japan or usa, and what model it is. What was its original price and model type? I would appreciate any help!

The ESP was made ca. 1990 in Japan. The colour is Sienna Sunburst. The Bodywood is very light Swamp Ash - two pieces glued center. The one-peace-maple Neck has a Rosewood Fingerboard with 22 medium Jumbo-Frets. The Tuner are staggered Kluson Type (Schecter stamped), no string tree! The PU's are 3 Alnico's with Vintage Output. The Neckplate an the Backplate are sunk in the wood! She has a very good processing.

I played from Blues over Rock to Top 40. My Amp are Peavey Classic 50, VHT Pittbull 50/12, Yamaha DG 80and a Marshall 6100 LM. Thr Sound of the Guitar is very versatile, but always with the Vintage-Strat Appeal. Very sweet and clear. I like it clean as distorted. The sustain is for a Strat very good. And no Deadspots. The Betweensound are without Noises. The Middlepickup is reversed.

The Finish is in my opion perfekt. It can also be a custom start no better.

The Tremolo is very stable voting. The Guitar is a reliable Liver Player.

I have not needed.

I play for 28 Years. I would always buy, if were stolen or lost. She is very rar and hard to find. Buys it, if you look at very good strats.

I bought this ESP Strat at a Music Store closing in late 80's. It was new in the original ESP case. It was kept in back and not on display, 15 years later I found out why. It is Red with white guard and total strat features. They also made a Daphne Blue but hard to get. It has 5-way selector and three single coils. Neck is rosewood fingerboard and a dream to play. Headstock is lawsuit strat shape with ESP stamped into the back of headstock in large letters. The front is body color with ESP logo & 800 Series.

It flat out sounds amazing. I have used it in recording studio and the controls are far quieter than my Fender. All notes ring true and clear. I guess that is why I always pick it up from the dozen other guitars I own. I can always feel the notes sustain in my finger tips and I think this is due the excellent craftmanship. I think the neck was made for my hands. It has a nice flatter radius than my Fender Strat and soloing is far easier. After thirty years of playing, I need to feel it in my finger tips & hear the harmonic overtones in my ears, to get inspired. This guitar does it for me!

The guitar was set up perfectly and mainly because the store owner had this tucked away in back room for himself. I found out 15 years later that the 800 Series was only meant forsale to store owners who made a quota and only one per Region. They were not offered as a production model or could be resold as one. I found this out from a ex ESP Sales manager who is now a Seargent in our Police Dept. He also once worked for Kramer. He nearly fell over when he saw I had one and told me the whole story of how hard it was to get one.

This guitar was built to play and last forever. Total reliability and I have never had a problem with anything on it. From the incredible paint to the controls, it is one hell of a guitar. I hate to sound like I'm bragging, but I'm very lucky to have found one and I don't know what I would do wothout it.

I tried to get some literature on the 800 series, but to no avail. I don't blame anyone at ESP for not helping because It was not a production model. Certainly as time goes by many people leave the company and take thier knowledge with them. I'm glad my Seargent friend once worked for ESP in New York City, and gave me the information on this rare model.

I've played for 30+ years. I have owned at onetime or another everything under the sun. But this guitar will stay with me. I have compared it to all my Fender strats and it doesn't compare. It stands out above them all. I will say that it probably would compare to a Custom Shop Fender, but I could never bring myself to pay that much for one. Although I have been offered $1,800 ....I will never sell my Rare ESP Strat.