Navigator is ESP’s premier brand for traditional style guitars and was the original brand name ESP began selling guitars under in 1976. As early as 1980 the Navigator brand was marketed as being all hand made which they still emphasize through to today and are still only made in Japan. Quality is consistently high at custom shop level or above.

The NLP 280 was a model Navigator offered for only two years and doesn’t appear in any of the catalogs. Their standard NLP model at the time was the highly regarded and sought after NLP 380 at 380K Yen. The 280 was offered at 280K Yen with slightly different specifications, the most notable being a poly finish rather than nitro. However, the 280 model has consistently better looking tops than the 380 as it does not specify hard maple for the top and is still built with the same exacting craftsmanship Navigators are renowned for.

This guitar shows little signs of play and is in really beautiful all original condition. Truss rod plate still has its plastic protective film on it. You can see a small scratch in the middle of the back, but condition overall is outstanding.

The guitar has a Mahogany neck, one piece Mahogany back and solid flame maple top. Navigators are well known for having very large and comfortable neck profile, which this one shares.

Electronics are all original including its Seymour Duncan pickups, a 59N (SH-1) in the neck and JB (SH-4) in the bridge.

This guitar offers Navigator quality at significant savings to a 380 in the same condition. The guitar has been completely gone through with a full setup, freshly polished frets in excellent shape and plays fantastic with no buzzing or dead spots anywhere on the neck.

The guitar will come with its warranty card and an original ESP hard case as shown in the pictures.