It sounds great for metal. You can't go wrong with EMG's as long as you have a reputable amp and/or effects processor as part of your overall sound.

The obvious best feature is the Ever Tune system. I was highly impressed at how in-tune and intonated this guitar was out of the box. The string action was a little high though.

The Ever Tune system is not the easiest to grasp. It was rather frustrating. It shipped perfectly in tune and intonated like I stated above. However, I wanted the string action lowered just a little bit. Once you lower the string action, you have to go through all the steps from the beginning to get it in tune and intonated. I mean, once it's in...it doesn't come back out. But, there are a lot of steps getting to that point. Once you do, one more step is thrown into the mix, which is adjusting the degree of your string bend. Not fun at all. Because once you got it to where it sounds good, the intonation is out of whack again. So, this system will take a while to master.

The build and finish of this guitar seems pretty good. High quality tuners and electronics. There was minor fret buzz but I adjusted the string height to make it go away. But, i didn't like the how high I had to keep it in order for there to be no buzz. For $1049, I feel it should play much better than it does. I have a Jackson Soloist around the same price that blows this out of the water as far as playability. And is equal to the ESP's sound/tone.

I feel this is a $600 guitar with an overpriced and complex tuning system attached to it. And come on....an expensive guitar like this doesn't come with a case?

N/A

I wasn't really wowed as I have been in the past when first receiving and playing brand new gear. Obviously, seeing this for the first time was impressive, all shiny and new. I just didn't feel like I was playing a $1000+ professional guitar.

30 year of playing guitar and bass. Solo artist with personal recording studio.

Metal