The ESP Guitar Company

As many of you are well aware, ESP changed things up in 2024 so that many of our new guitars and basses were already in stock and ready to ship around the time we announced them in January. One of those new models was the LTD Deluxe M-1001, and when we met up with the team at Premier Guitar Magazine at the NAMM Show, they seemed to gravitate toward it. It wasn't a surprise to us that the magazine and writer/reviewer Joe Charupakorn appreciated the M-1001; we just couldn't have predicted how much.

Bestowing their coveted "Premier Gear" award on the guitar, the magazine gave the M-1001 some of the highest marks they've ever given any guitar they've reviewed. Receiving scores of 4.5/5 stars (tones), 5/5 stars (build design), 4.5/5 stars (playability), and 4/5 stars (value), the M-1001 was called, "A streamlined but luxurious and classy and fast shred machine at a price that’s easy to stomach."

One of our favorite parts of the review was when Charupakorn -- who is based in the New York metro area -- was so enthralled with the guitar that a rare-for-the-area good-sized earthquake hit while he was in the midst of playing the M-1001, he was unaware of the natural disaster until his son ran in to tell him it had happened.

"The M-1001 is made specifically for aggressive styles of music, and ESP makes no bones about that. If you need single-coil-type flavors or a neck-pickup sound, ESP has other models that fit the bill. Still, there is sonic versatility lurking beneath the tough exterior. And if you need a simple, lethal metal machine you’re unlikely to find a better axe in this price range."

Read the entire review on the Premier Guitar site.