FROM THE TOP ESP GUITARS I TODD BINDER
INTERVIEWED BY MICHAEL GALLANT
HOW DO YOU START YOUR DAY? Since I took over as president, I’ve found that my time has become highly limited, so I try to keep things very simple. I come into the office earlier than I used to, which gives me some extra time to prioritize and think about what’s most important for the team and overall company before the busi- ness day starts. As soon as I arrive in the office, my door is always open so everyone knows that they can come to me with questions, ideas and issues. THAT SOUNDS LIKE A VERY COLLABORATIVE MANAGEMENT STYLE. CAN YOU ELABORATE? It’s one of those things where I’m surrounded by people I’ve worked with for a very long time, and that shapes how I man - age the team. I think my colleagues would say that I’m direct, approachable and collaborative. If I have questions, I’ll ask clearly, and I’m not afraid to say if I don’t know something. I’ve never been one to use business lingo. I prefer to com- municate in a straightforward way instead. I do more listen - ing than talking. I think the people at our company would say that I’m honest and open to hearing what everyone has to say. HOW HAS YOUR LONGEVITY IN THE MI INDUSTRY AND YOUR HISTORY WITH ESP GUITARS IMPACTED YOUR WORK? Our relationships with our dealers are very strong be - cause of that longevity, and they’ve grown over the years. I’ve seen the landscape of the industry change, especially with internet sales impacting businesses so much, but there are still dealers who I’ve known and worked with since the early 1990s. We have great relationships with our dealers and try to support them however we can. Customer service is top of my list as far as maintaining dealer relationships, so we always try to keep interactions with our dealers — as well as our distributors and factories — tight and collaborative. WHAT’S NEWEST AND MOST EXCITING FOR YOU AT ESP RIGHT NOW? Where we’re headed as a company right now is par - ticularly exciting. We just celebrated our 50th anniversary. I’ve been with the company for more than 30 years, and now that I’m switching roles to take on the position of presi - dent, I’m learning other parts of the business. Thankfully, we have a veteran team here and in Japan. I count on all those guys, they do an outstanding job, and I learn a lot from them as well. On the product side, there
are lots of exciting new instruments in the works and new releases coming soon. It’s really cool taking an idea some- body had and turning it into an actual guitar that our cus- tomers can buy, hold and play. THAT’S GREAT. HOW LONG DOES IT TYPICALLY TAKE A GUITAR TO DEVELOP FROM A RAW IDEA INTO A FINISHED PRODUCT? It depends on the product line. We’ve had some proj- ects that are more specialized take years, but usually the cycle for a regular product line is between three and nine months. We’re always looking for ideas that we can turn around quickly, though we understand that some projects do require more development and can be more intricate to put together. It’s pretty cool that I get to work with our facto - ries, artists and team members here on all of it. We’ve got the process down well at this point, so we can turn things around faster than we’ve ever been able to before. TO YOU, WHAT MAKES ESP GUITARS DIFFERENT FROM OTHER HIGH-END BRANDS? Our commitment to craftsmanship and performance at every level. Whether it’s an entry-level instrument or top-line custom shop guitar, we want everything to be formed well and crafted with intention. From the beginning, ESP was built on the idea that serious players deserve serious instru- ments. While ESP is best known for metal and hard rock, most musicians understand that our guitars are built for high performance in other areas, too. They have a great sound and are highly reliable across genres. That’s been the basis of our reputation for over 50 years. When you pick up an ESP guitar, you can know it was built with intention, whether it costs a few hundred or several thousand dollars. WHERE DO YOU HOPE TO SEE ESP FIVE YEARS DOWN THE LINE? It’s never been our goal to take over the world of guitar sales, but we do have a real opportunity in front of us to expand our business. We have a great team here at our U.S. factory that we’ve been steadily building and optimiz - ing for the past 13 years, and there’s still lots of room to grow. I always want our guitars to be the best choice for serious players, and I see us continuing to push innova- tions that will keep people thinking of ESP that way five or even 50 years down the road. I want us to inspire musi - cians at every level, not just elite players. In the coming years, I also want to deepen our partnership with our par - ent company and custom shop in Japan, and have even
28 I MUSIC INC. I SEPTEMBER 2026
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