ESP USA Factory Tour with Master Builder Gil Vasquez (check out these guitars!!)

I'll say this mundo and welcome this summer my son turns 16 and he's playing guitar now he's very serious about it my wife and I decided to turn his birthday into an event so we drove from Vegas to Hollywood and we visited some music stores stomping grounds of his favorite group Guns & Roses and then visited some of my friends some of my best friends from the music industry to be accurate now some of my best friends that I've met in the music industry are not always professional musicians they may have been but they've transitioned maybe into professional luthiers or designer stompbox makers guitar tedx and artist reps and just like musicians they're super passionate about what they do my dear friend Gil Vasquez invited us to visit the ESP USA Factory Gil's a master builder and he joined ESP USA this year I met him on the phone maybe in 2002 but officially in 2003 when he was the head of production with Washburn but he's one of the nicest guys you meet and super knowledgeable now Gil spent a lifetime building guitars he's worked at Jackson Fender Custom Shop Baker served premier builders guild as well as Washburn of course by the way Washburn has a killer had a killer Custom Shop and I'd love to do another video and pick his brain about all the artists he's built for and here's some of the stories from his perspective unlike most builders guilt can make any guitar check out this annex 6 this is the first guitar I got from Washburn when I signed as an artist in 2002 first guitar that Gil made for me it's made out of a Duke super-fun guitar to watch age it's turned a little more purple as a years gone and some of the wood grain was separated in a very cool way the headstock is not inverted I love this guitar lives in the flat these pickups you can split the single closed which at the time you could not do on the factory Washburn models this fantastic guitar and the neck the neck is the best thing about it the neck feels like a baseball bat kind of for your open position chords really comfortable but as you go up the neck it shreds up so it thins out and it's awesome for soloing this guitar is definitely too test the time and I love it but I'm getting off so kill also the solo builder and he does his own designs for his company Vasquez customs but the life of a solo builder one-man operation competing against the big guitar companies is is tough and many of my solo builder friends also work another job often as a guitar tech or building for another company when it comes to set necks and neck through hoops guitars nobody's better than Gil and seeing how that's what ESP USA specializes in it's a perfect fit in this video Gil will take us on a factory tour and show us each stage of the build process ESP USA is a relatively new division of ESP all guitars are made in Hollywood North Hollywood California and they're doing some spectacular work they make a bunch of one-offs as well as they allow the buyer to go online and configure their own acts which is which is really cool by the way filming this video was really an afterthought and upon entering ESP USA i geeked out so hard to realize that maybe I should share some of this so I grabbed my iPhone hit record and didn't really take time to to film or frame properly also was in the middle of July and there was no air conditioner in the factory the fans blowing all over the place so I apologize it's noisy but I gotta tell you the information in this video is very cool so if you like what you see please share the video please subscribe ring the bell and I'll see you later is it this warming my job are you always this warm in the winter Oh No you know after five years we're still gaining ground you know this this job has done to us ESP USA nobody really knows I didn't know about it so yeah we're just turning we're trying to gain our feet you know and get that respect of the sir respect the quads respect I never got huh yeah I'm in here a lot oh this isn't considered what I spend my time I mean cuz you know the cool thing is is I'm not okay Washburn I was more of the operations manager I ro didn't get to get hands-on unless I really wanted to here I'm always hands-on Kim and I are solving some problems there's a you know they're the guys that they had here programming and in the beginning they really didn't like number one the layout of the shop our woodshop should be there this should be paint but it should flow like right out instead they cook we push off in the middle that's kind of wrong so some of the programming is off yeah there's just been some things to work out you know what you're getting it oh yeah [Applause] [Music] that template this throughout the binding channels yeah just in case we wanted to do one offs or something you know you choose the gun on the CNC but in case we want to do one offs and stuff this is this is what that router puts that rudder will go in it and they're how we spin around this is something I mean I don't know if you saw this on but I actually made this machine because they didn't have anything here well you made the machine yeah to do I actually made this whole thing with linear bearings and everything we already had the total blocks but we didn't have any way to clean these up you know these are the net crews that I'm working on okay so we didn't have any way to get this down they were doing it by hand and it was like no way man so this machine is um this is designed to it fit any any type of set neck or neck through that we have in here say clean up I mean the fine sand yeah kind of wood it comes off that [Music] that carving machine that's what it's doing see those are kind of I kind of already sanded and filed it in but that's basically what it's doing because this comes off really really rough the carving machine we saw yeah that when you guys first came and won yeah yeah the one I made it'll do that that's why them it'll lay like here and I'll just take the stylus and it will copy the other one and just wrap that that's sexy five quarter maple basically quarters you know basically put it up so a quarter saw uh-huh and basically that becomes our our neckline so three-piece oh it kind of saves would do it me meet you man it's been a blast it's really it's really kind of who you are come on dude it you know where's the CNC I've always wanted to see that's it oh well that's revolutionize them you see yeah really I kind of explained that to people on Saturday because you know what man everybody has this thing about you know CNC made guitars and handmade guitars that's BS Pat you need these things consistency they keep you know they're just there [Music] yeah it's gonna blow [Music] [Music] so you talked about the office EFC throughout that neck clanks made and all that everything is glued up this is basically off CNC right now I've already bound it himself but this is kind of how they come off like that cool this doesn't have a truss rod yet we made a tough ride straight down in until there oh yeah it'll be like this yeah see that they're all the way there the truss rods and then you fill it in or yeah we'll put the rod in and we'll put the filler strip in it these are for we use our carbon fiber reinforcement for us yeah so that's what Andy's next go back to it to a rod so I never will never lose the man Yeah right no one small to - but let's check it out how cool is that huh a couple guitars back there with it how cool is that right and I never knew what it was called I just thought it was faulty - it's called Tom Oh huh crazy yeah this is basically our Google catch and everything that's our I'll take it in the park [Music] moving up I'm going to make some neck room right there so those are those planks and that so the all these right here they were good and then being with that yeah like like this one like I said there's no be stock we didn't like the carve on it so we just didn't send it through beautiful top I mean sick but later now I use it as a car thing I use it on there but you end up being right so and in some cases like like this this thing looks perfect it was good right oh my god Hawaiian style little bondo they'll already tape dude when I go over to wrap this we talked about wrapping in veneer making a backpack when I said now I can use it over there as a template and then you know some we put together for just samples that's a sample this is actually from Japan they say the south so that black betta you saw soft grunt this is kinda what they started off I've been here at the back of this this I can never get comfortable with those guitar yet this is this one right here beautiful right oh no yeah so it don't go out right now is these are this is what we're running right now basically arts are sprouting now [Applause] very intact like regret it get ready to be there gonna be something weird reverse peg yeah all I kind of like to woody roasted maple smell that maple do you um you roast it here no no we buy three roasted yeah just something that our painter does you'd like to think this girl this actually glows in the dark dark as that I need you a light coat over yeah you know like gloss it over and it'll look cool what do they mean when you have an ecru and they say the neck is twisted well then this this would be sitting this would be like this with them Saida go like that and it's because of bad would usually wet would let down or like in our work or snacking it that's why we stack it so it stays up and down yeah this one right here so this was for an order like I told you that you know how sometimes they go different this was for an order and then all of a sudden you know it looks beautiful right no stains nothing I didn't all sudden that popped up right so now we're gonna that let him bother its docket well we talked about it but it's wood but in a sense of where it's going to and they're a little bit picky we're just gonna freakin we're just gonna make it over there you should be picking yeah yeah I'm not gonna say we don't want to make anybody mad another one of those [Music] now this one doesn't go in the dark recalls I call this a food three pebbles that's awesome that is cool yeah kind of [Music] what what do you do are you finishing her I'm just sending sanding yeah I didn't I wish I could take credit for that if I actually but that's all Ryan same guy that did the other well yeah this one has resonated at 320 because we want that to pop what's that sender finish it will be it gets kind of a 3d effect with all the way down there too it's got to be a one-off right yeah just my main man and an atom atom this is mundo mundo and Stacy I came in here and you know just [Music] well that is so cool I've never seen this part of it [Music] it happens all the time and then you found them in we'll press them in with this kind of deal our option to tap them in to make sure they don't go anywhere were seated I think that I'm geeking out this is so cool is this stuff I never said the flyin Hawaiian these are jumble is right jumbo friends oh yeah number stainless steel [Music] as far as working on next what what do you like the best to work on you know we all have our preferences yeah I would probably the draping part is my favorite and I like the lengths like fat C shape I like to thin you that we go with too but I tend to gravitate to a bit more meat I gotta say I'm saying a/c and there's too big for my hands but it's what I prefer oh yeah yeah yeah like that's what you grew up with it's what I grew up with what about the wood type well the roasted customers get out of here like the easiest to fail so as far as working on it I might choose the road to me it's a little more it takes a little more care oh oh then before it's finished like I'm gonna be dryer with it's already basically baked I thought it really yeah you know so it just takes a little bit more care throughout the than a regular maid and it felt good in Vegas which is really hard on guitars the big maple yeah it's the most damn stable yeah but once it gets finished it's not moving it's really not moving here at all but it's under the stress that we put it under like you know like in the build process we've just got to be against a little bit more careful or - what about finger board what would you like as a I love Anthony my go-to on everything I love how feels like in the actual reading and grab the frets so it does that's it I want here hey is it true evany is the only wood that sinks I don't want to say that but I mean it's pretty common I want to hear I'm gonna try that one it is ebony the only wood that sinks the sink yeah I heard already like Trivial Pursuit thing I think I think the pink but being or not evany might sink yeah yeah it's like a trivia contest but there's not a lot of course yeah this is someone [Music] this is like where the magic magic happen see I like this smell this is Ryan hey gentlemen this is Alice this is the magic that you saw next door like the fruity pebbles and all that stuff that that's all kind of Ryan's story this is coming out he likes to do they just so you notice the last tour of Saturday [Music] as we observed the painter whose natural habitat yeah saw that killer stuff that every scene that's it oh man that read there read that he just posted was nice okay it's actually a front but because it's satin we don't let people touch the center because portal on the theater stuff it just it's really hard to clean up an area so does this go into painting again or is it done you just find so long after this [Music] the head start and then we'll put a couple coats of clear on it and it'll go up into assembly after ya be buffed out can you can you / / clear it you can do do build up cuz I think I've seen that before yeah and even at Washburn we did it so cool oh yeah your dad knows all the cool people just so you know go in there take a picture is it dry this is great the enzymatic to define a final assembly so woodshop what's up hey Oh final assembly all right that's where we started yeah [Applause] it's great great Howard mr. Jackson together happy birthday thank you get one of those and have a happy birthday since it's his birthday oh you're very welcome oh yeah dude I can't wait till we go I got into Vegas and we get to hang a little bit yeah yeah Greg and I the guy that you guys just saw him and I worked at Jackson and when they they're the kind of main guy in the back which I'm surprised I didn't have anybody to go though neck root and so since we kind of started at Jackson they're kind of like coming back right got a lumpy targets man they've kept me employed throughout my life yeah all of us employment right it's amazing that you haven't turned into a big target yeah

Channel: Mundo Juillerat

Views: 29,641

Keywords: esp guitars, esp usa, factory tour, usa eclipse, made in usa, esp guitars 2019, esp custom shop usa, esp usa eclipse, esp usa v-ii, gibson guitars, esp guitars factory tour, custom guitar build, sponge brick painting, ryan dominguez painter, esp custom shop eclipse, custom guitar paint job, factory tour guitar, vasquez customs, set neck guitar build, neck through guitar build, neck through vs bolt on, esp custom shop, custom shop, ltd guitars, boutique guitars

Id: iyBKl0RWF_g

Length: 21min 55sec (1315 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 14 2019