ESP LTD M-10 Electric Guitar: Part One

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Part One | Part Two | Part Three

If you really have to buy a used guitar, do take the time and trouble to check it out personally. And if you don't know all that much, be sure to bring along a friend who does. If you don't, you might end up with an ESP LTD like this one. It belongs to a close friend's son, so I really feel his pain. Dad told me to "do to it as you would your own guitar." Ok, Dad; I hear you loud and clear.

For starters, it's full of grime and crud; not to mention rust and corrosion. The grime, crud, and corrosion I can probably scrub off. However, parts that are too rusty to be saved will have to be replaced. The electronics barely work, and as they're corroded; I'll be replacing them.

The previous owner had put on some strap locks. The one at the butt end is okay, but the one attached to the upper horn completely tore away; leaving a gaping hole. I'll be plugging that and redrilling, for sure. Other than that, the high E bridge stud of the tune-o-matic clone bridge is completely frozen. 

It's stuck to the bushing, which is so loose that when I turn the stud; the bushing turns too. So I've managed to remove the whole stud/bushing combo. The next step will be to decouple the stud from the bushing, do a cleanup and lube; and find a way to make the bushing fit snugly in its hole.

Last but not least, one of the bridge humbucker ring's screws is so rusty that there's nothing left for a screwdriver to grip. If I tried drilling into the screw head, the heat would damage the ring. Likewise if I tried to saw through it to create a groove of sorts, the ring would still be damaged. So, what the heck, I'm going to cut into the ring, pry it loose; and then remove the stubborn screw with a pair of pliers. Yes, this means that I'm going to have to replace the pickup ring. Ah well, you can't win em' all.

I kinda like this guitar, you know. It's got a reverse headstock, nice black finish; and plays well. One weird thing (for me, at least) though, is that while "ESP" is proudly emblazoned on the pickup coils; they're actually made by Belcat; a Chinese company. So, what gives, ESP? Well, that's all for this post. Thanks for dropping by. Stay home, stay safe; and stay tuned for further updates on this ESP LTD M-10.

Aria Pro II XR-Series Neck and Fretboard Repair

Right off the bat, let me say that it's safe to assume that this fire engine red Aria Pro II XR-Series Electric Guitar was manufactured in 1990, based on the neck plate serial number (9032282). It features Aria Pro II pickups in an HSS configuration, Floyd Rose Special Tremolo System, reverse headstock, 22 jumbo frets, bound rosewood fretboard, 5-way switch, master volume and tone controls; plus black hardware. I'm sure it must have set many a guitarist's heart aflutter in its heyday.

One night, so the story goes, the owner, a working musician; was on a break at one of his regular gigs. Then, without warning, a pissed-drunk customer swaggered onstage and bumped into the Aria; sending it crashing to the floor. I think you can guess the rest, it having a tilt-back headstock and all that. I'll hazard a guess that had the same thing happened to a Fender Strat, it would be no worse for wear save for a few dings; or a string or two out of tune.

The damage to the neck was extensive, to say the least. The back of the neck had cracked and split at the scarf joint all the way through to the 3rd fret slot of the rosewood fretboard; unseating the fret and damaging the binding on either side. There was also a chunk of wood missing at the apex of the scarf joint. I knew that I'd have to carry out this repair in stages, starting with the back of the neck itself.

Folks, since the back of the neck had numerous cracks spreading out every which way; I realized that just a single backstrap overlay would not suffice. I'd have to remove as much damaged wood as possible and graft on several layers of wood for extra strength and resilience. I believe I grafted on five layers of wood in all.

Once that was taken care of, it was time to repair the fretboard. A mixture of rosewood dust and super glue was used to fill the 3rd fret slot and solidify the sides of the fretboard. Yes, this meant that I'd have to re-cut the fret slot (a real hassle) later; but there was no other way.

Next, I adjusted the truss rod to get the fretboard as flat as possible; and discovered that the section from frets 1-7 was back-bowed. As the truss rod was maxed out, I decided to remove the frets and sand that section of the fretboard to the correct profile. Having done that, the 3rd fret slot was re-cut, a partial refret (frets 1-7) carried out; and the new frets leveled and re-crowned.

So far so good. Now it was time to repair the binding. The affected sections were cut off, and new binding grafted on. It was really tricky trying to create a seamless transition where the edges of the old and new binding met, and I really hoped the repair would not be too noticeable.

It was now time to seal, stain and refinish the back of the neck. I opted to refinish the entire back of the neck in an attempt to achieve continuity between the repaired and untouched sections. After the wood was sealed and sanded smooth, it was stained with a mixture of StewMac's ColorTone Liquid Stain, namely Medium Brown and Vintage Amber. Following this was about 10 coats of Tru-Oil, steel-wooled to a uniform satiny finish.

The rosewood fretboard was de-gunked  and treated with lemon oil; as I usually do. The hardware and electronics were also cleaned, lubed and serviced, after which the neck was reunited with its body; and the guitar strung with Ernie Ball Super Slinkys (courtesy of the owner). Final setup wasn't particularly an enjoyable experience, what with having to deal with a Floyd Rose Special and locking nut (you know what I mean). Oh yes, before I forget; I have nothing to do with the missing truss rod cover. Seems that the owner had stashed it away somewhere and forgot to pass it to me. 'Nuff said, then. Let's look at some pictures.

YouTube Video: Demo by Armz-3D