customer reviews
10 People rated this product :
9 out of 10
2 People wrote reviews
9 out of 10
"backpedaling!"
Feature:
I have made a grave mistake. I reviewed this guitar after playing it for 60 seconds after some guys concert. He has bad strings, bad shorting out (self put-in) EMG 85 and other things. I reviewed the product earlier and said it was horrible, but, I must confess, This is a good guitar. I tried it at a local music store for a while on a nice amp and good strings. I still love my EC-1000. It plays better than anything (but this... its a little nicer) I must say. This is a good guitar. The lack of the 24 XJ fret neck kind of disheartened me at first but thats one loss in the midst of beauty. The bone nut is great quality. The inlay is beautiful and the finnish in vintage black you can't get over. (I thought it only came in red/wine red)
Quality:
It's good quality. Though it seems a little strange that they charge so much for this when you can save some cash and buy a EC-1000. (which is what I did. Good choice overall) But ESP knows how to make a mean guitar.
Value:
Value is okay. I would only pay $1,200 for it and thats pushing it. It seems a little odd to make this when you can pay 400$ less but its still good and I would be happy to upgrade.
Desirability:
A thousand images just popped into my head... This guitar included. (you can't get sexier that Vintage Black on a very Metal guitar!)
Sound:
I Like the sound. Love the sound actually. It's the amazing scream of the standard ESP EMG 81 and 60 p/ups. Love it.
Ease of Use:
It plays like butter. It's a little hard to hit the high notes because for some reason, ESP didn't think it necessary to put on a 24 fret neck but, it's still nice. The slim neck is great. Amazing for fast paying, divebombing, and big, long slides. The body is a little sharp and in some spots digs into your ribcage. Not like a knife or anything. It's a minor negative.
Support:
I couldn't tell you. Though I hear there's a lifetime warranty.
Overall:
Overall this guitar is a nine. I like it, the way it plays, the sound it puts out and the features it carries. There could be some tweaks made but, in the words of the Rolling Stone's "...You can't always get what you want" For this guitar is more like, You can't always get what's PERFECT. The is an excellent beast and I would be happy to upgrade in the future. Sorry for my previous rant...
Submitted: 6/9/2008
Style of Music: Metal,Progressive Metal,Hard Rock
10 out of 10
"ESP will put hair on your chest and make your stones drop"
Feature:
It doesn't have a whammy bar, but I never use one any way. The tuners are locking but because it's an ESP I don't expect it to go out of tune... It comes with two volumn knobs and a tone knob, which allows me to customize my sound and find the best tone for what I'm trying to say with the song I'm playing. It has a three piece neck, ebony fretboard and the body is mahogany with a maple top, perfect for sustaining notes. The mother-of-pearl inlays are also quite stylish. The neck is in a thin-U shape which is good for smaller hands like mine. The body is a singlecut shape like a Les Paul, but instead of being a thick slab of wood, it contours to your body which makes it more comfortable to play.
Quality:
It's an ESP, meticulously crafted from choice woods by the hands of little old Japanese men and then sent here! How could it not be the best, most precise guitar on the planet? The bridge was a little off and the action too high from the fretboard but that's understandable and I took care of that. There was nothing wrong with the paint job, everything was pristine and beautifully made. I know I can depend on it no matter what get's thrown at it. I had an LTD that stood up to the worst beatings and this this is a hundred times better made.
Value:
I think the price is perfect. ESP set out to make a damned good guitar with the specifics relating to Zakk Wylde's Grail Les Paul, but they wanted to make it better. That's just what ESP does. They make things better. If Les Pauls are $2,000+ and this thing is LESS, but better quality and more comfortable, then hell yes is it worth it!
Desirability:
This guitar, in vintage black, is damn fine! It looks like solid satin, and that's the only way to describe it. I first saw it advertised in the June 2005 issue of Guitar World magazine, and I saw that it won the "Platinum Award." The more I read, the more I fell in love. I knew I had to have it, for tone, for looks for everything. You're crazy if you think this thing is ugly. Every detail exudes desire.
Sound:
When I first brought it home, I noticed the sound was a little weak. Well, since the pickups run on batteries I had to change them. When I opened the backplate I realized why -- the battery was still the original one from Japan! Well, I changed it and the sound is everything I hoped it would be. Finding the right tone was easy, it responds the bass tones pop more, it works well with my wah, whammy and phase shifter pedals and sounds amazing when played clean. The first thing I did when I picked it up in the store was play it without even plugging it into an amp. You can tell you have a quality instrument if it rings out acoustically. And through the noise of people chatting and players trying out other instruments, the thing could still be heard clearly! I was...amazed.
Ease of Use:
As mentioned, it has a thin neck which is good for smaller hands. I find myself able to move about the fretboard with ease. The three knobs were kind of a pain to get used to, but once I did I was rocking! Because I have an ear for music and emotion it was easy to find the perfect tone for expressing my thoughts -- no matter what they are.
Support:
I have not dealt with the company, but I don't think I'll need to. It comes with a lifetime warranty and I have insurance that does not effect that. I'm set for life.
Overall:
Basically, in light of everything I wrote, I was looking for the perfect guitar for me. Something that fits my ideas, my physical needs and my love of vintage looking guitars. It is designed after the Les Paul but goes above and beyond the standard settings. When playing anything -- rock, metal, classical, folk, blues, or anything in between -- this thing delivers. And you know that if you pick this thing up, you have the classy look to play any of the styles of music I just listed, but also have the metal crunch you need to make noise like Death scraping his scythe around an ICU ward.
Some people may complain that active pickups catch certain noises and squeals, but I think those things add to nuances to player's styles. Happy mistakes that add to the music are what guitarists like Kirk Hammet, Randy Rhoads and others have done to make certain songs perfect.
The bottom line is this guitar looks and feels great, and will help you perfectly capture everything that you want say with sounds. If you just want to take your playing to a new high, or want to experiment with sounds, then this guitar will help you every step of the way.
Submitted: 2/15/2008
Style of Music: Metal
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