ESP M-II Neck-Thru, black (of course), made in Japan 2008. This is an extraordinarily good guitar.  Standard Series guitars were made from 2004-13; this one was made at ESP's Tokyo based Custom Shop. The precision on show in the fret and finish work, as well as the quality of timber selected, is close to unparalleled for a production model guitar. Even before you plug this in, the natural resonance of the body and the amazing responsiveness under the fingers is immediately obvious. That translates very well through an amplifier: you can play big lead lines all the way up and down the neck with ease, and every little detail comes out clearly even with a heap of gain. The neck feels amazing, and the neck-through joint means you can get all the way to the 24th fret without any awkward squishes. The EMG 81 pickups do a particular job: big low end, heaps of natural compression, long sustain, plenty of gain... you're not buying this to jangle out some Sufjan Stevens, though, right? It's a mammoth tone that will fill up a mix perfectly. This model is more or less what Kirk Hammett played all through the 80s and 90s, and his signature models are basically the same as this but with weird artwork and slightly different pickups at 2-4 times the price. His band got pretty big, right?

Model: ESP Standard Series M-II Neck-Thru
Made: Japan, Dec 2008, ESP Custom Shop (serial SS0850606)
Finish: black, gloss poly
Body: alder
Neck: maple, rosewood board, slim U-shape, jumbo frets, 25.5" scale, 12" radius, neck-thru construction
Weight: 3.670kg
Mods: none
Pickups: EMG 81 active humbucker x2
Case: ESP branded hard case

Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has some minor marks on the end. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, minor rub wear on the back only. The back has widespread scuffs around the whole body, most notably on the cavity cover and top horn, as well as some light scratches along the belly carve and some dimples and a scratch near the jack. The sides have minor scuffs around the whole body as well as a few small dimples near the jack. The front has some dimples on both horns, a scratch behind the bridge, some rub wear in the elbow area and widespread minor scuffs and surface scratches, no major marks. Overall: very good condition (7.5/10).

Playing condition notes: action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good. All electronics tested and working properly. The frets are looking good, 8/10 for fret life left. Wearing fresh 10-46 Moonshiners strings, tuned to standard.