The EMG HZ is very similar to the one alexi uses.....alot of people say "I'm getting too much of a bright sound out of it!".....well that's because alexi tunes to DGCFAD.....as soon as you do that....your set....tapping on this thing is great, and pulling of scales on it makes you feel just as great as alexi.

The Tremolo on this thing is AWESOME......perfect once you put the whammy bar on it and put it to good use. The locks that keep your guitar in tune are great also. I rarely have to re-tune. The volume knob does exactly what you think it would do......raise or lower the volume. The neck just has a great feel to it, really reminds me of my ibanez RG neck.

This guitar will seriously jump start your amp. I play through a halfstack and used to get kidna crappy tone out of it with my RG. but once I hooked this thing up, it was screaming pinch harmonics and clear scales.

ESP and LTD always make quality guitars....I have never been let down...I love Jackson Guitars....and alot of higher end Ibanez guitars....but nothing beats ESP. I'de take the ESP version of this guitar over a Gibson Les Paul anyday.

I can't believe this was only around 1000 bucks!

Didn't have to deal with ESP when buying THIS guitar, but one time I ordered their "Urban Camo" RG style guitar, and they forgot to include a whammy bar.....I e-mailed them about it and they sent it out...within a week I had the whammy bar and I was all set.

This guitar is VERY sexy! it has the original jackson Rhoads style body. Sexiest guitar I own as a matter of fact. A lot of people are thrown off by the bottom wing being a little bigger compared to his older models, and so was I to be honest, but once I got it, it was just as sexy!

Active musician

Power Metal/Fast paced rock/Neo-Classical

The first moment I plugged it in I was completely taken back by the power of this instrument. I've been playing Jackson's for over 5 years and now I am switching to ESP. My next guitar will be another Alexi in white/black.

Comes with the whammy bar! One master volume is all you need! The neckthrough design gives great sustain and the neck is sooo thin!

Its light weight makes it extremely comfortable to keep thrashin for hours! The input for the 1/4 jack is in the upper fin so you can sit down with it and not worry about messing up your jack. ANYONE can sit down with this and shred. I'm playing out of a vintage Fender Blues DeVille and its sound is just amazing!

This guitar cosmetically is the best. ESP offers a limited lifetime warranty. It's perfect for road hauls. All ya need is the hardshell case.

Totally!

Right here in hollywood! :)

I almost creamed with excitement! I've been waiting for this guitar for a few years. I actually tried to import it from Japan, you see the body style of his Jackson that alexi has is owned by jackson under their patent. You can get them in japan the JACKSON alexi but to get it stateside he switched to ESP and just altered the shape alittle! :)

Intermediate

Black/death metal

youd be suprised by the HZ H4 i actually am really starting to like it. the tone on this thing is GREAT. you can get heavy power chords and rippin, clear solos out of the same pickup. if you really want to change it its not too difficult but ive become quite happy with it

that tremelo and wammy bar are great. one volume knob is all you need. i know alot of people might be iffy or pissed about this new shape, and i was too, i was even thinking of cutting it and repainting it, but i garentee once you have this thing it wont even matter anymore.

normally with a new guitar you have to mess with amp settings, then with the guitar to get a good sound. all i did was plug this thing in and turn up the volume and i jammed all night. that neckthru design is awsome, and the high fret cutaway is geneous, you can reach them with ease

i was leaning toward the ESP version for better quality, but this is deffinetly worth the cash. one of the best factory built guitars ive ever played, all you need is that hardshell case.

the price might blow you away at first but if everyone on earth had played this, they could probobly sell it for more.

i orderd it and called to check up on it and get info and they were more than happy to tell me all i wanted to know.

i cant belive this guitar is in my house. i took pictures of it like it was a porn star.

Actuve musician

Metal, Black metal,Speed metal,

The tone is amazing i can't believe i actually own this nice of a guitar.

The floyd rose is so nice and smooth. the fret board is thin and easy to play.

I baely have to put any effort into harmonics and sweeps. Though i have no idea how to tune the floyd rose yet.

This guitar is put together perfect and couldn't be built a better way.

It could actually sell for like 2,000. when i first saw the price my jaw hit the floor.

At first it was hard to get in stock then when it did mine had a blem so they had to send it back to esp and get a new one which took 2 weeks. But it was all worth the wait.

This thing is so sexy i almost messed my pants when i first opened it. So many people want it from me already.

Active Musician

Speed, Thrash and Heavy Metal

The sound is great....it has a great metal sound for any type. I also played it with some cihldren of bodom songs and it sounds exactly like lahio's. This guitar is a must!

This guitar has great features, the neck is easy to play, the tuning is easy and you can really reach up the fret boared

It's easy to get any metal tone of of this guitar weather you play thrash or melodic death metal it has it all. This guitar is the best i've ever played with i just cant set it down

Ok zZ sounds really knows how to deliver a guitar, every peice was there, no scratches it was perfect. No lose parts, no broken stings its perfect, i think it will last about 5 years if you take good care of it. Plus the moment i played this guitar i was playing licks that i never thought i could play

This guitar is great once i played it i was surprised that it wasn't like 5,000 bucks in the first place, it's a great guitar, ESP made this guitar exactly like Alexi's, they did a really good guitar.

No problems at all, i ordered the guitar and it was a my doorstep the next day, no shipping problems at all. Evan the strings are great and easy and already tuned

Dude this guitar is sexi, i can't take my eyes off of it the texture the color you'll have people like "dude you guitar is the sh**" i've already had like 4 people try to lick it.Somhow it makes me feel good to play this guitar i dunno why but it does. I love the guitar though. You'll be playing things you never though you could play

Active Musican

Every type of old metal, every type of newer metal

I feel the sound is adequate. I don't think that the it's the guitar itself but it may be the ENG Hz pickup. I've had guitars with 81s and 85's and I have have always loved them. I'm still not sure about the HZ. I've considered going with an 81 or 85 but I don't know if there is room for the battery. I may stick with a pssive model, maybe a Duncan Distortion or Dimarzio Tone Zone. I need to play the Hz with the band and see how it sounds.

I feel the feature are good for what it is. I personally like to solo on a rhythm pick up but I new what it was when I bought it. One pick up, one volume knob, it's pretty straight forward. I haven't bought a guitar with a Floyd in at least 10 years, the quality seems to have diminished a little. The tunners are very tight and hard to turn but the guitar stays in tune pretty well.

It has a distinct sound that isn't bad. I'm used to Hot Rodded Strats and Les Pauls with more versatility. However, I don't know if I miss having all the sounds when I play the Alexi. It's like if there not there, I'm going with what I have and I don't have to worry about changing things, just play (and add some more volume for solos).

The quality seems good. All of my other guitars are American made (high end.....and HIGH price). I guess that I have been a musical snob about over seas guitars (sorry)but I took a chance on this one. The quality isn't as good as my american strats and Les Pauls but I think that it can get the job done. I'm eventually going to use this guitar with my band (I bought it mostly because I think that it will look cool on stage).

I think that the price is fair for what you are getting.

No problemos thus far!

The look of this axe is why I was initially attracted to it and bought it. My other guitars are standard time honored shapes (Strats, Les Pauls). I wanted something different that would look good on stage and catch peoples eye. Being a good sounding/playing guitar would be a bonus.

Active musician for 20 plus years.

All styles but I love classic Metal/Classic Rock.

Well.. its almost a replica from alexi's guitar, so it sounds just like him, it sounds amazing... ive been thinkin bout changin the HZ-H4 to an '81 altho i dont know how itd sound..

its best feature is the original floyd rose.. it just doesnt get out of tune no matter what u do to it..

despite being a V guitar, it is totally comfortable when u sit down and play it.. and the neck just feels amazing.. the only disadvantage is the cutaway at the 20th fret is not enough to reach the 24th fret.. the majority of the people find it comfortable enough, im used to play the RG series from Ibanez, that have literally effortless reaching of the 24th fret.. also the floyd rose (as in all guitars with floyd rose) is kind of a pain when u want to change the tuning.. but these are things that u eventually get used to and arent really a problem anymore, so 9/10 id say..

this baby can stand a crazy beating and nothin wud happen to it haha.. no, its seriously well made and its freakin solid wood.. everything is well assembled and it barely gets out of tune with time..

its CHEAPEST guitar ull find for such quality!! thats one of its best features..

havent had to use yet.. but as all ESP products, it comes with a factory guarantee for 1 year..

its one of the SEXIEST guitars ive seen in my life!! it is just INSANE.. and when u try it.. well.. ull just end up buying it.. yes, it is THAT amazing

Hobbyist

Any kind of metal... specially melo/death metal..

This thing is an amazing guitar, if you want to play metal.

It didn't have enough tonal controls...

With only one volume control, if you can't use it, you might just wanna rethink your hobby.

Its an ESP... great quality.

I would lower the price a little... seems kinda high.

Haven't had to call them.

This thing looks nice as hell, and plays VERY nice.

Active Musician

Metal, Death metal, Black metal, CHILDREN OF BODOM!

This sounds is just amazing nice response. Could be better only if he used better pick ups.

Nice everything. Light beautiful, got stickers. Amazing. just need a free strap or case for 1,049.99

Just pick up and play nothing harder.

I have played a RR1 and this seems just as nice its lighter then the RR1 and for 1000 cheaper i think this is a better bargin. ALEXI knows how to please.

for only 1G this has the quality and style of a RR1 in my opinion. but I still love my RR3 and RR5.

When I got my guitar it had a HUGE chip out of the bottom right fin. I told them and they replaced it for me with ease. It got to me over seas in about a week.

God its so sleek and pretty. You see it in the picture and its cool then you hold it in your hands and you just melt. i love it to deth.

Thrash Metalist

Thrash, Classical, speed metal

Man if your looking for crunching riffs and razor sharp solos...this is the guitar. it can get you so close to the bodom sounds it crazy. only difference is alexi has a hi gain boost built in his

id say the pins stripes would make it look better. other then that. its a pretty much a great lead guitar. no neck pick up but when yur alexi and play lead you dont need one. besides neck pickups sound ugly anyways..j/k

Plug and play. that simple.

about the only thing wrong is the fins... i own a RR1 and i am used to the smaller fins. so when i play it , it scrapes the back of my calves.(when i sit down of course) The quality is amazing. youll notice you jsut sound liek a better player becuse of the quality.

For 1,000 they could have thrown in Alexi's built in hi gain boost and made it better. But for 1 grand to sound like a whole better player its not bad.

I got mine in and the fin was chipped. and so i contacted zzsounds and they said send it back.. I did and they replaced it free of charge. even paid for my shipping. when i got my new one it had chips in teh fin but they were REALLY small and besides about 90% of ppl with v guitars like this bust up the end fo the fins. it dosnt affect my playing and you cant even see it.. So i jsut kept it.

I cant stand the solid stripe things so i did pin stripe on it...i jsut taped up the guitar gently and put real pin stirpe tape on. airbrushd the center black(i own teh black,yellow) and it looks so much more amazing. i think they could have sold more if they had done that to begin with. pin stripes jsut pwn.

Musician

Metal(old), Neo-classical

I ran the Laiho through a tube screamer then into a Peavey combo amp. It only has one pick up and no tone control, so the guitar is pretty useless. It has a nice sustain and handles distortion great.

Like I said, there is only one pick up and no tone control. Those are very useful if you ask me. I would recomend this guitar to anyone who is very simple. It's a wicked shape and plays well straight out of the box. It has a Floyd Rose bridge with a locking system so I find that really cool.

Haha, well saying that it has no options for pick ups, I guess you just fiddle around with your pre amp to get a sound. Very easy, you'd have to have been stuck on an island that knows nothing of guitars to not know how to use it :P.

Well it's very well built. No problems yet. Looks great.

Well I would recomend a Jackson for those of you who aren't rich a Jackson would probably be better than the Laiho anyways.

Never needed to use, but I imagine they're all awesome since they work with ESP, the best guitar company ever.

Well saying that it's by Alexi Laiho, with the Rhoads style body, I just had to have it. Haha.

Audio Engineer/Active Musician

Death metal, rock

THE SOUNDS IS AMAZING, the EMG HZ is pretty thin sounding but swap that out for an 81 and its AMAZING!

This guitar as for features I really dont use the enck pickup much so i dont regret it not having one.

This guitar is Great. bang for your buck. Its the same thing as the ESP model except the tuners and the LTD has a painted Neck, But with an hour of play you forget about the painted neck and its AWESOME! very easy to play.

This product was made phenominaly well. The one i recevied can take a beating.

I feel that It was worth paying for the guitar.

this guitar is sexy in person. the person that sold it to me had to restrain me from humping the damn guitar.