Any info on this ESP Alexi 'custom'?

[Grack]

As always, my apologies if this has been brought up, I checked but didn't find anything.

Anyway, so I've recently fallen romantically in love with the Alexi/SV model guitar and found this while dicking around in the Guitar Center used gear section.



It appears to be an real-deal ESP Alexi, minus the pinstripes. The ad claims it to be a custom, but of course nothing further than that. It does spark my fancy, and I would want to buy it, but I would hate to get it and it possibly turn out to be a bolt-on 200 someone had mocked up to look like a real ESP.

I've seen it on the site months before, but IIRC, it disappeared for a while. Not entirely sure.

Any thoughts?

HERE'S THE LINK

[yellowv]

Hard to tell from that crappy pic, but it looks real. Looks like an ebony board. Even seems to have the booster switch. Why not call and ask? They have a return policy. You could always return it if it wasn't the real deal. $1000 would be a steal as an Alexi custom would be well over $3000.

[Don Vito]

Really not sure what to say.....

It looks like an Alexi 200 with an ESP logo on it.

[Fat-Elf]

There is something very fishy about that guitar. As far I know ESP has never made a Laiho-model without the pinstripes unlike the LTD which has the Alexi-200 model without the pinstripes. Very confusing as the ESPs are neck-thrus so I can't understand how someone could have just slammed an ESP neck into a LTD. Anyhow, I wouldn't take the risk. Especially if you can't have a closer look into that guitar before you buy it.

[yellowv]

It easily could just have an ESP logo stuck on the headstock, but as I said it looks like it has. an ebony board. It could possibly be a custom as ESP will do sig models in any color you want in the custom shop. It's at a GC store, just call them and ask about it.

[Pat_tct]

I owned the esp ltd alexi 200 in white.
this is the only guitar esp made, that does noth ave the pinstripes afaik.

i wouldnt take the risk.

[Grack]

The guitar also has the cutaway of an ESP. As you can see, the Alexi-200 has little to no cutaway.


Definitely going to look into this, would be an interesting find if it indeed is a custom.

[Don Vito]

Damn, nice observation.

[SenorDingDong]

It could be this:






As you can see from the following pics, depending on the angle, the pinstripes are hard to make out:







The problem is, with a shitty, low-quality pic, you can't tell whether that really is black paint or the deep gray. Best bet is to call and inquire.

That's the closest match I can come up with.

Here are the specs if you decide to call and do some sleuthing:

Neck-Thru Construction
25.5" Scale
Alder Body
Maple 3 Piece Neck
Black Pearl Binding
Ebony Fingerboard
Sawtootch Inlays
Scalloped on 21-24 Fret
42mm Locking Nut
24 XJ Frets
Black Nickel Hardware
Gotoh Tuners
Original Floyd Rose Bridge
EMG HZ-FH2 (B) p.u.
Master Volume
MM-04 Gain Boost Switch

[DrBloodyJack]

looks like a copy to me. not Laiho's style
But it can be some kind of a prototype that Alexy had before signing a contract with ESP

[yellowv]

It could be a bad pic of a Blacky as well. If you have the cash I would call and find out. If I did at the moment I would have called already.

[MrRCJ]

I would call before somebody else does if you're really interested. The pic is total crap but it looks real IMO.

[MFB]

The inlays don't look like the abalone though, they look like just standard inlay material along with the finish itself showing up as jet black instead of some variation/offshoot - unless their lighting really is THAT bad

[iRaiseTheDead]

This seems like a step down from his other models (cosmetically)

[CYBERSYN]

I would ask them a lot of questions, IIWY.

Neck thru?
Serial number?
ESP case?
etc...

[Grack]

I hardly think it's a blacky. I mean, it would have to be a REALLY bad picture for it to be so. I email GC yuesterday and they gave me the number for the Hollywood location selling it, I plan on calling today after work.

[wespaul]

Man, Guitar Center can't take a decent picture to save their life. It's always low resolution crap with usually no kind of description at all. It's like they're not even trying.

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Originally Posted by wespaul

Man, Guitar Center can't take a decent picture to save their life. It's always low resolution crap with usually no kind of description at all. It's like they're not even trying.

When I was looking for an RG7321 a month ago, I found one on Guitarcenter for $200. I couldn't tell if it was the Hipshot-style or the Gibralter bridge because of how small the picture was.

[xxvicarious]

Thats a good lookin' AL-200!

[Bastian93]

it's definitley not a Alexi 200 because of the cutaway (and the ebony fb ?)

If it's a real ESP Custom Alexi and not a fake one there are three possibilities:
- old model/prototyp
- a custom shop guitar for a Alexi fan who wanted a guitar without the pinstripes
- a refinished guitar

Either way it would be a great deal for that little money !

[Andromalia]

I don'( know specifically about that guitar, but ESP does a lot fo small 12 pces runs for Japanese shops, I have an ESP RR with Jackson shark tooth inlays for exemple. It doesn't have the CS logo but I have the manufacturing card with date of build etc.

So it's entirely possible that guitar is a "custom order" run of some sort based off a SV body. Likely not a one-of CS order but a 6/12 order from a shop is a definite possibility.

[RV350ALSCYTHE]

I've got an ESP custom shop Alexi Scythe guitar and the body is different than what is pictured. I haven't kept up to date on what ESP has done since with Alexi's guitar line, but the model I have is an RV, isn't the SV a clone they made to legally market Alexi Guitars in America? Because the Roads shape is owned by Jackson/Fender?

The headstock is identical to mine. Though I have a Custom Shop circle decal on the back and on the front below ESP it also says Custom Shop. It's an older model before the booster was added.

[Grack]

^Damn that is nice.

For the guitar in question, it IS an ESP Alexi, but not a custom. Custom in the sense someone attempted to mod it.

Turns out it's just an ESP Alexi with the solid yellow pinstrip that the previous owner tried to remove from the front of the guitar, half-assed. The only way I would consider buying this is if I could work the price down to may 700-800, but even then, you know. Definitely not worth 1K.

Here's some pix the guitar tech sent me:

You can still see pieces of the yellow stripe. It looks like someone tried to paint over it with MS Paint.


Some gnarly bangs


If I wanted an Alexi with the yellow pinstripe, I would have snagged the one they had up a few days ago that was in good condition. Now if it had the hollow, outline pinstripe...

[yellowv]

Wow. That's a shame.

[Andromalia]

Offer them 500$.