Best way to ID an value a guitar?

Might need some help with that - a few years ago I bought an LTD by ESP Explorer with "Man to Wolf" neck inlays on eBay on a whim. I've hardly ever played it (well, I played it a couple of times but thanks to a 17 year old nerve injury in my left arm, playing guitar is pretty painful these days) but it's clearly been played before as it's got some minor nicks and scratches. Pretty minor, but not mint.

It's also been hot rodded with EMG pickups instead of the original ESP pickups, but I don't think that's a bad thing.

Problem is I basically can't find any information about this model. It pretty much has to pre-date the Gibson lawsuit, but other than that, there's hardly any info out there.

What I've found out so far is that:

• It's a pre-lawsuit model. Gibson sued ESP for their Explorers and they can't sell this particular model outside Japan anymore
• Serial number according to this page suggests that it's one of the 300 that was made it Japan
• Other than the different inlays and the EMG pickups, it's pretty much the same as this particular guitar currently on fleabay.
• Turns out you can get the man to wolf inlays in China (where else?) and after more careful inspection, they might have been fitted to the neck later on as they're not 100% level with the fret board. The original dots are still present but partially covered up. They are, however, level with the fret board.

I know we have a bunch of guitar aficionados on this board so I'm wondering if anybody on here knows a bit about these guitars. I'm also tempted to take it to a local luthier if I can find one to see if the potentially fake inlays can be removed without completely buggering up the fretboard.

And of course there is the age old question of "what's it worth, mista?". Looks like the Blue Book of guitars has it listed, but I'm not sure I'm willing to pay $2.95 to figure out if I bought a paperweight or not. But given that I'm probably going to keep the other two guitars I may consider selling that if it's worth the hassle.

Anything for sale like it on Reverb?

In reply to BoxheadTim:

If you can send me some pics I can get an accurate value(and quite probably an offer) for you.

eBay and reverb are good sources if you don't want to buy the Book.

Nothing on Reverb (thanks for the link). Only one I could find was the ebay sale linked above. And because a thread is worthless without pictures, we have dem pitchers:

My camera really didn't like to photograph the minor scratches and paint damage, hence the E36 M3ty photos. The more I look at the "inlays", the more I suspect they've been added afterwards. I'm tempted to try the old dental floss trick to see if they're glued on, but I'm worried that I'll have trouble getting the glue residue off afterwards.

In reply to BoxheadTim:

Between the 19th and 20th frets it looks like the inlay goes all the way to the bottom edge of the fretboard?

It doesn't, just looks like that in the photo. It ends next to the radiused edge of the fretboard.

And they're not inlays, they're berkeleying stickers. As a bit of peeling with my thumbnail just revealed.

Haven't got a macro lens that would allow me to photograph that part, unfortunately. Need to buy more lenses for my Fujifilm .

In reply to BoxheadTim:

That was what I was expecting you'd find. Glad they're peeling off easily!

By now, I suspected something like that. Let's hope I'll manage to clean the fretboard up properly once I got them all off.

Inspiration for the next owner:

Sold Japan made one, also modifed

David S. Wallens wrote: Inspiration for the next owner:

It certainly does scream "Hetfield, 1988", doesn't it???

I know nothing of ESP values, tho.

My guesstimate is around $500-700, maybe on the higher end of that since it has its case. If it were a "real" ESP, then it would be a bit over a grand. LTD is to ESP as Squier is to Fender; they are a lower priced line of the parent company. And just like Squier, their stuff is usually really nice quality, and some of them (like this one) are pretty much equal to their more expensive counterparts.

Still, it's a desirable model, made in Japan (that's a good thing), and not completely trashed. Nice axe!

EDIT: just noticed the "inlays" are stickers. Get those off, clean the board, and that will be an even nicer guitar that will appeal to more buyers.

So, ever find a price for it?

Explorer values are a crap-shoot. It's one reason why I stopped looking into selling my '94 Custom Shop.

David S. Wallens said:

So, ever find a price for it?

Nothing 'official' as I didn't pay for access to any of the guitar value guides. That said, from the very few I've seen advertised online, Tony Sestito's guesstimate seems to be in the ballpark.

I did end up cleaning the nasty sticker "inlays" off the fretboard and gave the fretboard a good clean with Guitar Honey. Looks much better now:

Before it goes on reverb.com, anybody here interested?

Interested? Yes. Have money or space for more guitars? not so much... It is an attractive thing. I'd keep it, but I have a problem. Just remember, the guy with the most guitars wins.

Well, I am trying to cut down a little on both the guitars and cars front. With my current job I'm away from home so much that I don't really get to enjoy either...

Plus, I'd also like to own a Strat again - my first electric guitar was a Tokai Strat that was stolen from me in the mid-nineties after I had owned it for a decade, and I never replaced it. I think it's time to fix that, especially as I can pick up a genuine YJM signature one for about $1200, which isn't that much more than a cream/maple neck Tokai goes for.

Thinking about it, that might be a non-US market guitar.  I'm fairly certain the LTD brand was introduced by ESP (in 1995) a fair bit after they were forbidden from using the Gibson "hockey-stick" head stock.  Having a bolt-on neck is also somewhat unusual.

It's funny (at least to me), as much as I love playing my Explorer once in awhile, I've had a hell of a time finding a strap length for it.