NGD: 87 ESP Mirage - 48th Street

vultures

vultures

Well-known member
I picked this up from a coworker a few months ago. It needed a lot of work and I finally finished it all up.

He ordered this from 48th Street NYC and picked it up in 1987 - The year I was born. The neck profile wasn't as thin as he liked, so they took it upstairs, shaved the neck down, refinished the neck and he picked it back up a few weeks later. It came with an Original Floyd Rose, Ebony Board and what I guess is there Magenta finish. I have no idea if it's a MIJ or USA thing. He said they made the body and neck in Japan, shipped it to NYC and they assembled it. The rumor mill online is that they straight up built them upstairs in NYC. I truly don't know. It has some options that aren't on the 87 catalog and he said he custom ordered it so I'm going with "ESP 48th Street Custom Mirage".

The guy I got it from toured in a couple bands in the 80s and played it nearly non stop these past 37 years. This thing has tons of bumps and bruises. I had to put a decent amount of work into it to get it up and running nicely:

  • Fix/Re-Glue body where the trem post cracked it
  • Reroute pickup cavities, electronics cavities, trem cavities and shield paint them
  • It was previously refretted with Stainless Steel - It needed to be leveled
  • Replaced OFR with a new Gotoh GE1996T
  • Replaced nut with a new Gotoh
  • Replaced tuners with Hipshots
  • Swapped pickups to EMG 85 / S (He had a JB and Hot Rail)
  • Replaced Switch (Schaller Mega S+T) & Output Jack (Switchcraft Barrel)
  • Added Schaller Sureclaw & Double Trem Stabilizer - It won't go out of tune if I pop a string, but I can still pull up on the Floyd :)
  • He also had a thing where he drilled out the strap buttons to sink in Dunlop strap locks so they were flush. I had to lathe a custom plug for the weird size, glue it and redrill the hole for a proper strap button. Those holes were huge and now you can't see them :)
Hopefully, I can play the hell out of it and pass it along to the next guy 30 some odd years from now.

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Here's a before shot:
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Interesting. I installed one of the schallers on the only floyd I ever had, but i didn't know about the stabolizer add on. That is sexy as fuck
 
DanTravis62 said:
That's the nicest ebony fretboard i've ever seen
Click to expand...
Yup, that thing looks like it would be shaving itself in a chopper and muttering "I'm gonna have me some fun" over and over....back in '87 too! :whistle:

Congrats @vultures ! I'm looking to add an H-S super strat like this to my stable as well. Already settled that the neck pickup is gonna be a Duncan Custom Stack Plus...and then I saw that the new Andy Laroque sig also has it. :love:
(I had experience with the SSL-5 and SSL-6 before and love that tone, so if I can get it noiseless, all the better)
 
Man, i used to play guitars in this shop frequently and never bought anything. I seriously kick myself for not owning one of these instruments. Congrats!!!!
 
Smash said:
Interesting. I installed one of the schallers on the only floyd I ever had, but i didn't know about the stabolizer add on. That is sexy as fuck
Click to expand...

I've had the single ESP Arming adjuster before and loved it, but it was only 1 spring thing. I looked on Amazon and there's these dual spring stabilizers now, so I took a chance and I'm delightfully surprised. I always wanted one of those Ibanez backstops that Vai had in his JEMs.. But those fuckers are $400+..

This thing was $22 and worth every penny.
https://a.co/d/eWThVwx
 
vultures said:
I picked this up from a coworker a few months ago. It needed a lot of work and I finally finished it all up.

He ordered this from 48th Street NYC and picked it up in 1987 - The year I was born. The neck profile wasn't as thin as he liked, so they took it upstairs, shaved the neck down, refinished the neck and he picked it back up a few weeks later. It came with an Original Floyd Rose, Ebony Board and what I guess is there Magenta finish. I have no idea if it's a MIJ or USA thing. He said they made the body and neck in Japan, shipped it to NYC and they assembled it. The rumor mill online is that they straight up built them upstairs in NYC. I truly don't know. It has some options that aren't on the 87 catalog and he said he custom ordered it so I'm going with "ESP 48th Street Custom Mirage".

The guy I got it from toured in a couple bands in the 80s and played it nearly non stop these past 37 years. This thing has tons of bumps and bruises. I had to put a decent amount of work into it to get it up and running nicely:

  • Fix/Re-Glue body where the trem post cracked it
  • Reroute pickup cavities, electronics cavities, trem cavities and shield paint them
  • It was previously refretted with Stainless Steel - It needed to be leveled
  • Replaced OFR with a new Gotoh GE1996T
  • Replaced nut with a new Gotoh
  • Replaced tuners with Hipshots
  • Swapped pickups to EMG 85 / S (He had a JB and Hot Rail)
  • Replaced Switch (Schaller Mega S+T) & Output Jack (Switchcraft Barrel)
  • Added Schaller Sureclaw & Double Trem Stabilizer - It won't go out of tune if I pop a string, but I can still pull up on the Floyd :)
  • He also had a thing where he drilled out the strap buttons to sink in Dunlop strap locks so they were flush. I had to lathe a custom plug for the weird size, glue it and redrill the hole for a proper strap button. Those holes were huge and now you can't see them :)
Hopefully, I can play the hell out of it and pass it along to the next guy 30 some odd years from now.

View attachment 381839

View attachment 381842

View attachment 381845

View attachment 381848

View attachment 381851

View attachment 381854

Here's a before shot:
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Click to expand...
Yes 48th Street Custom guitars was the first ESP dealer here in the states. And yes most of the guitars were assembled up stairs in their shop.

I ordered two of my first three ESP's from them. My 2nd ESP was labeled a factory second, white Horizon (neck through) reverse headstock that was ordered by Queensryche however the binding prematurely aged yellow and they rejected it. It was actually being sent back to Japan to be redone, they asked if I wanted it and of course I bought it sight unseen. I couldn't have given a shit about the association with the band if it was even true, I never cared for them all that much anyway, I just wanted the guitar. That became my favorite guitar of all time.

My third ESP was from 48th street; was a black ESP Horizon that had a small nick on the headstock that was going to be repaired. I asked if I could get it cheaper as is and they agreed. All I know is they were great to deal with on the phone and both guitars they sold me were exactly like they stated. I took some magic marker on the black one and you couldn't tell the difference.

My 1st ESP was a white Mirage Custom, I bought in Atlanta from a place called Metro Music in Buckhead.

Sadly all are gone now but IMO, that era of ESP's are the best they've ever made. They were affordable alternatives to Jackson and some of the best shred guitars ever made. Japanese craftsmanship was second to none back then as they were really wanting to stick it to everyone. I pick up newer ESP's and I just cannot bond with them, that all kinda started IMO when they came out with the LTD series.
 
vultures said:
I picked this up from a coworker a few months ago. It needed a lot of work and I finally finished it all up.

He ordered this from 48th Street NYC and picked it up in 1987 - The year I was born. The neck profile wasn't as thin as he liked, so they took it upstairs, shaved the neck down, refinished the neck and he picked it back up a few weeks later. It came with an Original Floyd Rose, Ebony Board and what I guess is there Magenta finish. I have no idea if it's a MIJ or USA thing. He said they made the body and neck in Japan, shipped it to NYC and they assembled it. The rumor mill online is that they straight up built them upstairs in NYC. I truly don't know. It has some options that aren't on the 87 catalog and he said he custom ordered it so I'm going with "ESP 48th Street Custom Mirage".

The guy I got it from toured in a couple bands in the 80s and played it nearly non stop these past 37 years. This thing has tons of bumps and bruises. I had to put a decent amount of work into it to get it up and running nicely:

  • Fix/Re-Glue body where the trem post cracked it
  • Reroute pickup cavities, electronics cavities, trem cavities and shield paint them
  • It was previously refretted with Stainless Steel - It needed to be leveled
  • Replaced OFR with a new Gotoh GE1996T
  • Replaced nut with a new Gotoh
  • Replaced tuners with Hipshots
  • Swapped pickups to EMG 85 / S (He had a JB and Hot Rail)
  • Replaced Switch (Schaller Mega S+T) & Output Jack (Switchcraft Barrel)
  • Added Schaller Sureclaw & Double Trem Stabilizer - It won't go out of tune if I pop a string, but I can still pull up on the Floyd :)
  • He also had a thing where he drilled out the strap buttons to sink in Dunlop strap locks so they were flush. I had to lathe a custom plug for the weird size, glue it and redrill the hole for a proper strap button. Those holes were huge and now you can't see them :)
Hopefully, I can play the hell out of it and pass it along to the next guy 30 some odd years from now.

View attachment 381839

View attachment 381842

View attachment 381845

View attachment 381848

View attachment 381851

View attachment 381854

Here's a before shot:
View attachment 381860
Click to expand...
Happy NGD! Geat ref job! 🔥

I would hesitate to take it out in the snow though😂
 
Btw why is it so hard to find these with reverse headstocks? I don’t think I’ve ever seen one for sale with a reverse headstock! Just seen em in peoples collections
 
Nashville Riff Co said:
Btw why is it so hard to find these with reverse headstocks? I don’t think I’ve ever seen one for sale with a reverse headstock! Just seen em in peoples collections
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Pretty rare. My white ESP Horizon was fantastic with the reverse Jackson style headstock. I also had a reverse style headstock on my Black ESP Horizon. I think I've seen a few others from time to time but not many with the reverse stock during that era. I was an idiot selling them when I was going through the non shred guitar phase trying to keep current with PRS and Les Pauls, again what a dummy I was.

One thing about the ESP Jackson style headstock, the ESP actually looks slight different on the angle of the stock. Jacksons angle is more pronounced whereas the ESP don't have as much as an angle. IMO they look alot better. I'm sure most people don't really page attention but it's a subtle difference that look better on the ESP.

Look at the OP's picture and then look at a Jackson, there's a difference.
 
Nashville Riff Co said:
Btw why is it so hard to find these with reverse headstocks? I don’t think I’ve ever seen one for sale with a reverse headstock! Just seen em in peoples collections
Click to expand...
The LTD Custom '87 Horizon has a reversed headstock, but that price... Oof.

https://www.espguitars.com/products/32061-horizon-custom-87

I'd most likely get rid of that Hot Rail though...I prefer more bell-like, single-coil-on-steroids sounds for that. Andy LaRoque apparently agrees with me. 😉 :cool:
 
jabps said:
Pretty rare. My white ESP Horizon was a fantastic with the reverse Jackson style headstock. I also had a Black reverse style headstock on my Black ESP Horizon. I think I've seen a few others from time to time but not many with the reverse stock. I was an idiot selling them when I was going through the non shred guitar phase trying to keep current with PRS and Les Pauls, again what a dummy I was.
Click to expand...

jesus dude, you had two of em?! damn.

Speeddemon said:
The LTD Custom '87 Horizon has a reversed headstock, but that price... Oof.

https://www.espguitars.com/products/32061-horizon-custom-87

I'd most likely get rid of that Hot Rail though...I prefer more bell-like, single-coil-on-steroids sounds for that. Andy LaRoque apparently agrees with me. 😉 :cool:
Click to expand...

haha i should have specified the jackson headstock lol, my bad

i do like the look of that '87 horizon, but yea at that price point, no thank you!!!
 
Nashville Riff Co said:
jesus dude, you had two of em?! damn.



haha i should have specified the jackson headstock lol, my bad

i do like the look of that '87 horizon, but yea at that price point, no thank you!!!
Click to expand...
Yep, two of them. The white one had the Sinclair Floyd Rose and was not recessed. The black one had the Sinclair Floyd that was recessed. That was really the only difference. The white one sounded better, along with my black beat to crap Les Paul Standard it was the best sounding guitar I've ever owned. Actually all my earlier ESP's had the Sinclair Floyd along with my Mirage Custom, again wish I still had them.

I later got another black reverse headstock Horizon with the redesigned headstock they still use today which I've come to hate that design. The neck on that one felt more like a Jackson Soloist, I never played it much and don't regret selling it.
 
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