ESP Japan Original Series Snapper CTM Poplar Burl – Nebula Pink Purple Burst

Information

Brand New with Warranty. We are an authorized ESP Dealer.

Like what you see? All photos are of the exact guitar you will receive. Please note that the back plates on the guitar do *not* have any scratches on them... we know it might look that way in one of the photos but you are just seeing the factory plastic films under the light. The guitar is flawless.

Based on the guitars we created in the early days of ESP, the Snapper takes a traditional shape with bolt-on construction and supercharges it with the very best selections of tonewoods and components. The Snapper is handcrafted, one at a time, by the world-renowned luthiers at the ESP Custom Shop in Japan. It features components including an unbleached bone nut, Gotoh locking tuners, Dunlop Straploks, an ESP Flicker-III tremolo system, and an H/S/S pickup configuration that includes two Seymour Duncan Vintage Hot Stack plus single-coils and a Seymour Duncan ’59/Custom Hybrid humbucker.

This guitar offers a control set you won’t find on nearly any other model; in addition to the standard volume and tone knobs and 5-way pickup selector, the ESP Original Series Snapper includes a push-pull control that allows for capacitance selection, and a mini-toggle switch that offers a pickup mix variation for a wealth of tones. Includes deluxe hardshell case. 

What Do We Think?

This is an incredibly gorgeous guitar. The attention to detail is superb, but it’s the sum of the parts that is truly stunning. The Poplar Burl top, the vibrant burst top, the flawless fretwork and comfortable thin U neck profile (not too slim). But perhaps the unsung hero here is the Swamp Ash body behind that burl top. It may be difficult to catch in photos, but in person you see the wonderful grain of the swamp ash visible through the deep translucent sparkle finish. We have added a close-up photo of the tummy cut area to try to give you an idea!

Tonally, the Seymour Duncan pickup set offers an array of sweet and rocking tones. The Vintage Hot Stack Plus in neck and middle offer classic Strat tones of a slightly overwound variety, while being noiseless in all positions. The 59/Custom Hybrid humbucker in the bridge mixes coils from two of Seymour Duncan’s most notable pickups. This provides a more vibrant and balanced harmonic palette than your average bucker, as well as a strong coil split from the hotter Custom coil that pairs sweetly with the neck and middle pickups in combined positions.

Speaking of combined positions, the mix variation mini toggle allows for pickup combinations not achievable with a 5-way switch alone. Activating the toggle in position four takes you from neck/middle to neck/middle/bridge, while activating it in position two takes you from the traditional middle/bridge to the elusive neck/bridge combination. The guitar also features two tone caps, selectable via the push/push tone knob. The standard 0.047μF tone cap can be bypassed in favor of a darker 0.01μF cap by merely pushing down on the tone knob.

How Does It Play?

We give a thorough setup to every instrument that comes through our shop. From truss rod to nut slots, pickup heights to saddle heights, you can rest assured we have this one dialed in. We also do a thorough inspection and check of all electronics and hardware to make sure nothing slips by!

The Snapper CTM ships with ESP Form Fit hard case, hex wrench set and ESP polish cloth.

Specifications

CONSTRUCTION: Bolt-On

SCALE: 25.5"

BODY: Swamp Ash

TOP: Burled Poplar

NECK: Maple

FINGERBOARD: Rosewood

FINGERBOARD RADIUS: Compound 240-305mm

FINISH: Nebula Pink Purple Burst

NUT WIDTH: 42mm

NUT TYPE: Bone

NECK CONTOUR: Thin U

FRETS/TYPE: 22 XJ

HARDWARE COLOR: Chrome

STRAP BUTTON: Standard

TUNERS: Gotoh Locking

BRIDGE: ESP Flicker-III

NECK PU: Seymour Duncan Vintage Hot Stack Plus

MIDDLE PU: Seymour Duncan Vintage Hot Stack Plus

BRIDGE PU: Seymour Duncan 59/Custom Hybrid

ELECTRONICS: Passive

ELECTRONICS LAYOUT: Volume/Tone(Push/Pull)/5-Way Switch/Mini Toggle Switch

STRINGS: Elixir Nanoweb Super Light (.009/.011/.016/.024/.032/.042)

CASE: ST-1 GUITAR FORM FIT CASE

CASE INCLUDED: Y

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