SeriesESP M

The M-II is one of ESP's classic super strat designs. Many of ESP's signature models are based off of this guitar. For a long time they did not sell these outside of Japan. For the longest time the closest you could get to an M-II was the Kirk Hammett signature guitar. This is the passive version but it still has all the time of the active version. It has an alder body with a bolt on maple neck with reverse headstock. The back of the neck is raw which is something you dont find on many neck through guitars. This gives the feel of a bolt on guitar. The fretboard is rosewood and it has 24 extra jumbo frets. It features an Original Floyd Rose locking tremolo system. The pickups are a classic set of Seymour Duncans. The neck pickup is a 59 while the bridge pickup is a JB. The controls are a volume knob and a 3 way switch. UTILIZATION This guitar plays super fast as that is what it was made to do. This passive model has the bolt on neck. The neck bolt heel is angled so it does not get in the way as much as a Strat or Charvel style bolt design. The back of the neck is raw and super fast. The rosewood is good quality and smooth. The frets are huge so you can really dig in and get a low action. The Original Floyd Rose is the original and still the best. Once setup this thing is locked down and will never go out of tune. These guitars are made in Japan in the real ESP factory so they have essentially custom shop level fit and finish. SOUNDS The JB/59 set is one of the best passive pickup sets out on the market. They are the benchmark on how passive pickups should sound. The 59 is a great modern day PAF pickup. And the PAF qualities is what people want in the neck position of their guitars. The pickup features four conductor wiring like most every modern pickup and an alnico 5 magnet. With this vintage design you get super smooth lead tones when used in the neck position on a high gain setup. The low end on the pickup is super smooth and the high end is clear but not harsh. It has some high end spank and crispness but it does not overpower the strong mid and lows that this pickup puts out. This really gives the pickup the ideal tone for neck position lead playing. The JB in the bridge position is great as well. This pickup is more eq'd on the high end for clarity. Because of this these pickups work best in guitars with darker woods. The output is about 16k so this pickup will drive just about any amp. You see these pickups in a lot of Les Paul style guitars because they can add some crispness to the naturally dark sound of those guitars. Seymour Duncan even goes as far as to say mahogany guitars with rosewood fretboards. You can get a really crisp tone. You can do classic rock to some kinds of metal with it. If it is not heavy enough for you get the EMG model. OVERALL OPINION The SD M-II combined modern playability with classic passive tone. You dont have to have a modern super searing active tone with your shred guitar. This guitar plays as well as any other guitar and sounds great with the Seymour Duncans. If you are looking for a shred guitar that still has some classic passive tone the ESP M-II SD is a great choice.

ESP is one of the most popular guitar makers from Japan. Most ESP guitars people see are really LTD's their budget line. It is easy to confuse the two brands because they are built to exactly the same specs just in different places. ESP branded ESP guitars are built to custom shop quality in Japan. This guitar is the ESP MII with EMG's and a maple fretboard. This model has bolt on neck construction and features a maple neck with a maple fretboard. The fretboard has 24 jumbo frets. The body is alder and is in your standard super strat MII shape. It has a Floyd Rose locking tremolo at the back with a set of EMG 81 pickups in the middle. The controls are super simple with just a volume knob and a 3 way switch. UTILIZATION This guitar was designed to play fast. The bolt on construction lets you have a fast raw neck that is free of finish. The heel is angled to give you good access to the upper frets. The neck is super thin and smooth so you can really speed up and down. The fretboard is nice and flat and the jumbo frets let you get a low action and really dig in. I would have preferred an ebony fretboard on a guitar this expensive but rosewood is ok with jumbo frets. The Original Floyd Rose is the original and still the best. Once setup this thing is locked down and will never go out of tune. The simple controls mean you will never hit the wrong switch or knob because there is only one of each. Since the pickups are active you will need a battery to operate them but ESP provides a easy access battery compartment. SOUNDS EMG pickups are a perfect fit for this guitar. They provide super output and clarity thanks to their active design. The 81 in the bridge is a classic setup. It has a high end crunch and distortion that gives it clarity no matter how much gain you are using or how low you tune. The 81 in the neck is not as common. I am not a fan of the 81 in the neck especially in this guitar. With the alder body and maple neck and fretboard this guitar is pretty bright and the 81 in the neck is too bright. When I switch to a neck pickup I want it to sound like a neck pickup. An 85 in the neck would have been a better choice. I would have preferred an 85 in the neck. The 85 would have been good in the bridge also to thicken up the naturally bright tones of the guitar. Good thing EMG's come with a quick connect setup so it is very easy to swap out pickups among EMG's you can easily see what combination you like best. OVERALL OPINION There arent many high end shred guitars that come with maple fretboards nowadays. They are coming back in popularity. This guitar is a good solid design and is a stable in the ESP line up. This guitar is the definition of shred guitar. It has no frills its just black and ready to play. If you are looking for a no frills shred guitar with a maple neck this guitar is a beast.

For many years the ESP M-II design was something you could only get in Japan. Many people in America wanted one because on the base level this is what the Kirk Hammett signature guitar is. For many years the only way to get an M-II in America without importing one was to buy a Kirk Hammett Signature and overpay and get the ugly inlays. Now ESP has listened to everyone and started selling the standard M-II in America. This is a real ESP model it is not an LTD. This means that this guitar is made in Japan to ESP's highest specs. The neck through models feature dual EMG pickups. It features EMG 81's in the neck and bridge positions. It has an alder body with a neck through maple neck with reverse headstock. The back of the neck is raw which is something you dont find on many neck through guitars. This gives the feel of a bolt on guitar. The fretboard is rosewood and it has 24 extra jumbo frets. It features an Original Floyd Rose locking tremolo system. The controls are a volume knob and a 3 way switch, the basic control setup for most shred guitars. UTILIZATION This guitar is a stripped down players guitar. There are no fancy tops or pretty dieseased wood on this guitar. This guitar is made for playing. The neck through construction means there is no heel to be found and get in your way when playing on the high frets. The neck is super thin and smooth so you can really speed up and down. The fretboard is nice and flat and the jumbo frets let you get a low action and really dig in. I would have preferred an ebony fretboard on a guitar this expensive but rosewood is ok with jumbo frets. The Original Floyd Rose is the original and still the best. Once setup this thing is locked down and will never go out of tune. The routing is good and there is plenty of room to move on the tremolo. SOUNDS With the alder body and the maple neck this guitar cuts like crazy. EMG pickups already have crazy top and bite. These things combine to make this guitar scream like crazy. Two 81s is not the best pickup combination. The bridge tones on this guitar are super clear. The 81 is a pretty bright pickup from stock so in a neck through guitar with an alder body this guitar is cutting through anything. The 81 in the neck is not a good choice in my opinion. With a guitar this bright you would want to darken up the neck position tones. I would have preferred an 85 in the neck. The 85 would have been good in the bridge also to thicken up the naturally bright tones of the guitar. With the EMG quick connect system this makes it easy for you to swap pickups so you can try other EMG models and see what you like best. OVERALL OPINION This is right up there with the USA made Jacksons and the Prestige Ibanez guitars. These guitars are top shelf shred guitars. If you are looking at getting an ESP KH you should check one of these out and see if you can save some money when you get pretty much the same guitar.

The M-II is a guitar ESP has made for a while but was not available in America for a long time. This is a real ESP model it is not an LTD. This means that this guitar is made in Japan to ESP's highest specs. Kirk Hammett from Metallica played them for years and years and the only way to get one was to import one or buy Kirks signature model guitar. Now you can get one in America and they are really nice. The neck through models feature dual EMG pickups. It features EMG 81's in the neck and bridge positions. It has an alder body with a neck through maple neck with reverse headstock. The back of the neck is raw which is something you dont find on many neck through guitars. This gives the feel of a bolt on guitar. The fretboard is rosewood and it has 24 extra jumbo frets. It features an Original Floyd Rose locking tremolo system. The controls are a volume knob and a 3 way switch, all you need. UTILIZATION Superstrats are built to play fast and this one is no exception. The neck through construction means there is no heel to be found and get in your way when playing on the high frets. The neck is super thin and smooth so you can really speed up and down. The fretboard is nice and flat and the jumbo frets let you get a low action and really dig in. I would have preferred an ebony fretboard on a guitar this expensive but rosewood is ok with jumbo frets. The Original Floyd Rose is the original and still the best. Once setup this thing is locked down and will never go out of tune. SOUNDS EMG pickups really rip for metal but I am not a fan of the 81 in the neck. The bridge tones on this guitar are super clear. The 81 is a pretty bright pickup from stock so in a neck through guitar with an alder body this guitar is cutting through anything. The 81 in the neck is not a good choice in my opinion. With a guitar this bright you would want to darken up the neck position tones. I would have preferred an 85 in the neck. The 85 would have been good in the bridge also to thicken up the naturally bright tones of the guitar. OVERALL OPINION This is a great alternative to a Jackson or something. Since this is a real ESP you are pretty much getting custom shop level quality on this guitar. It is built for speed and metal. The sound the guitar puts out will cut through any mix even with the heaviest gain and the lowest tunings. If you are looking for a great solid metal guitar this is one of the best.

ESP has been one of the prominent companies to come out of Japan that delivers quality guitars. The M-II is their flagship model that became famous thanks to guitarists like Kirk Hammett. The M-II is a bolt-on alder bodied, maple neck'd guitar. There are many versions of these out there, but mine has a maple fretboard with a 3 way switch and a single volume knob. The small abalone dots with the ESP logo at the 12th fret keep everything nice and clean. UTILIZATION Everything on this guitar was built for performance. The neck is a very round, slim C shaped neck with a 12'' radius. Upper fret access is quite nice with the recessed neck joint that's similar to Fender's American neck joint. In fact, I think the ESP version one came first, but I'm not entirely sure. The original floyd rose is nicely sunken in the body to allow for a real sleek feel. The body on this is actually slightly smaller than a regular superstrat, so if you're coming from a Jackson Dinky, this should feel right at home. SOUNDS This guitar just flat out rips. It has an awesome grind that really cuts through without sounding overly harsh. It came with a JB in the bridge, and it sounded good, but I replaced it with a Distortion to tighten things up even more. I'm still going back and forth between the Custom and Distortion; both pickups sound awesome in this thing. However, the lead tones on this are somewhat thin sounding for some reason. I tried both the 59 and the Jazz, and both of them aren't delivering exactly what I'm looking for. It's definitely workable, though. OVERALL OPINION ESP makes very high quality guitars, and this is no exception. The M-II is a great guitar that goes for a nice price on the used market. Anybody looking for a Jackson Dinky alternative should definitely be checking out this guitar.