1986 ESP M-1 Banana, Hockey Stick Headstock

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EddyLenz

EddyLenz

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Hey Guys,

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Ever since I got my first Banana Headstock ESP a few years ago, I've been really into them.
They seem to be quite hard to find at a good price these days, so when I came across this one on UK eBay, I had to get it.

I was hoping that the neck was closer to my M-1 Reverse, which is quite a bit thicker than the 80s ESP banana neck on my partscaster, which is almost too thin for my taste.
Looking at the pics, I could tell that it was the same construction as the neck on the partscaster, which has a thinner rosewood board compared to the M-1 Reverse and a different construction at the heel end, which made me slightly worried.

Pulling the guitar out of the box immediately made all the worry go away.
It was nice and thick but not as wide (42.1mm) as the M-1 Reverse (43,4mm), which I think I prefer.
You can tell by the worn-off lacquer on the back of the neck that it was played a lot, which I like.


I immediately swapped out the ESP 2-point trem with a Fender trem with aftermarket saddles, just because they're more comfortable without the saddle screws poking out.

In about two weeks, I'll send this guitar to a luthier to add a non-resessed Floyd Rose and a single coil-sized neck humbucker to make it the perfect player for me.
As a big George Lynch fan, I've always loved the HS look.
If the neck had been too thin for my taste, I would've probably kept it mostly stock, but with the neck feeling so amazing, I want to make it a proper workhorse.
I'm thinking about going for a 1984 limited FR, but I've heard mixed things about the woodscrews vs. studs...


Here's how it sounds:



Does anyone know what's up with the date code on the neck?
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I dig those guitars a lot. One in black with an ebony fretboard would be up my alley.
 
Man, I wouldn’t change a thing on that guitar. That fender trem is perfect. Floyd would completely ruin it for me, but hey…..,it’s your guitar.
Very nice find.


would still look great with a floyd but i agree, this is one of the few guitars ive looked at and said "thats perfect"
 
Going with the Mötley Crüe deep cut to start off the clip , nice . Sounds killer , any idea what Duncan is in there ? I’d keep that vintage trem but that’s just me
 
Man, I wouldn’t change a thing on that guitar. That fender trem is perfect. Floyd would completely ruin it for me, but hey…..,it’s your guitar.
Very nice find.
I pretty much have to do it because it won't stay in tune with the way the headstock is pulling the strings. Even after properly lubing it up I had to remove the string tree to get it even remotely playable and now the strings still go flat all the time. Good locking tuners might fix that, but I have a Floyd on all of my super strats and need the functionality for my band.
 
I dig those guitars a lot. One in black with an ebony fretboard would be up my alley.
I'd love to find one with an ebony board someday! Not sure if there even are any 80s Strat body ESP with the banana headstock and ebony board, or if they're all on Kami style bodies.
 
How does it sound with that trem on it?
It sounds good, but it's also a bit hard to tell because there is some fret buzz. I'll have it refretted with 6100 because the current frets are too low for my taste.
 
Going with the Mötley Crüe deep cut to start off the clip , nice . Sounds killer , any idea what Duncan is in there ? I’d keep that vintage trem but that’s just me
I just put in a relatively new JB because the original pickup in there was very low output at 8.5k
 
As a big George Lynch fan, I've always loved the HS look.
Yep, agreed.

I got a Kramer SM-1, which is basically H-S-S and as I hardly ever use the middle pickup anyway, it sits more in the way of my picking than anything else. A H-S with more space between the bridge and neck pickups would most definitely fix that.

@EddyLenz any idea what neck pickup you're gonna use? I'm quite fond of the DiMarzio Chopper myself (currently in said Kramer SM-1 and I had it in the past in a Korean Hamer Californian Slammer series) and I'm still quite curious about a Duncan Lil' Screamin' Demon.
Would fit the Lynch vibe on more levels. :sneaky:

I'm still looking for an affordable Hamer Californian in Aztec Gold to scratch my H-S itch...
 
Yep, agreed.

I got a Kramer SM-1, which is basically H-S-S and as I hardly ever use the middle pickup anyway, it sits more in the way of my picking than anything else. A H-S with more space between the bridge and neck pickups would most definitely fix that.

@EddyLenz any idea what neck pickup you're gonna use? I'm quite fond of the DiMarzio Chopper myself (currently in said Kramer SM-1 and I had it in the past in a Korean Hamer Californian Slammer series) and I'm still quite curious about a Duncan Lil' Screamin' Demon.
Would fit the Lynch vibe on more levels. :sneaky:

I'm still looking for an affordable Hamer Californian in Aztec Gold to scratch my H-S itch...
Nice!
I'm probably gonna get a Duncan Hot or Cool Rail.
 
Duncan Hot Rail
Ouch... I actually yanked those out of my Kramer SM-1. It should've come with two Cool Rails, but after first measuring them at 16.6k each and taking them out, it turned out to be a pair of BRIDGE Hot Rails. Way too hot and dark.
Contacted Gibson/Kramer about it and they were stumped as well. According to the serial no. it should've been Cool Rails.
Never heard the proper neck version of the Hot Rail tho'.

Only when split was their clean tone useable.
 
Ouch... I actually yanked those out of my Kramer SM-1. It should've come with two Cool Rails, but after first measuring them at 16.6k each and taking them out, it turned out to be a pair of BRIDGE Hot Rails. Way too hot and dark.
Contacted Gibson/Kramer about it and they were stumped as well. According to the serial no. it should've been Cool Rails.
Never heard the proper neck version of the Hot Rail tho'.

Only when split was their clean tone useable.
I have one from the 80s in my ESP partscaster that I really like for thick lead tones.
 
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