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crankyrayhanky « Blazing Bang for Buck »
Published on 08/01/12 at 11:02I believe this guitar was made outside of the USA, but I'm not sure where...24 3/4 scale, set neck mahogany, EMG-81 active set, 2 volume, tone, 3-way toggle, Black Hardware+ Earvana compensated nut & Grover tuners, Tune-o-matic w/stop tailpiece bridge, and 24 XJ frets.
UTILIZATION
This guitar resides in the family of Les Paul clones, so while access is not as free flowing as some other sleeker type shredders, the access to the top frets is better than a Gibson due to the increase a slick cutout. Super easy to get a nice sound; the stock EMGs are the high quality 81 active set, as opposed to the lower quality versions offered on other axes at this price point.
SOUNDS
I used this guitar with Marshall, Mesa Boogie, Orange, and Peavey amps. My favorite tones were hi gain sounds tuned to drop C#, but I used standard E tunings on cleaner settings with excellent results. the intonation is infinitely better than a Gibson LP, meaning this guitar was my go to axe for many live shows, especially on tunes where I played big 6 string chords. The LP I had was so out of intonation it was virtually unplayable for clean sounds; this ESP flourished. I could shred 25-50% better on this axe too; the guitar really had many of the great characteristics of a Gibson LP but had a few improvements in areas that LPs are notorious for (intonation, tuning, shredability).
This guitar could easily cover a wide range of genres, but I personally played a lot of modern hard rock and the guitar delivered in spades.
OVERALL OPINION
There are many things to love about this guitar: clarity, consistency, stability, ease of shred, diverse tones...in comparison to my Gibson Gothic LP, the Gibson sound was a bit thicker and meatier, but the difference was not huge. The positives of the ESP were discussed and are overwhelmingly impressive. This comparison is direct, couple in the fact that this guitar was 1/3 of the price and the choice is a no brainer. I should also note that I tried about 10 Gibson Gothics before I found one that I liked; every ESP ec400 I played would have been a good choice, meaning that the quality of control was much better for ESP. Sadly, I flipped this axe when I was in a money crunch, but I would buy another one in a heartbeat of I had the chance.
UTILIZATION
This guitar resides in the family of Les Paul clones, so while access is not as free flowing as some other sleeker type shredders, the access to the top frets is better than a Gibson due to the increase a slick cutout. Super easy to get a nice sound; the stock EMGs are the high quality 81 active set, as opposed to the lower quality versions offered on other axes at this price point.
SOUNDS
I used this guitar with Marshall, Mesa Boogie, Orange, and Peavey amps. My favorite tones were hi gain sounds tuned to drop C#, but I used standard E tunings on cleaner settings with excellent results. the intonation is infinitely better than a Gibson LP, meaning this guitar was my go to axe for many live shows, especially on tunes where I played big 6 string chords. The LP I had was so out of intonation it was virtually unplayable for clean sounds; this ESP flourished. I could shred 25-50% better on this axe too; the guitar really had many of the great characteristics of a Gibson LP but had a few improvements in areas that LPs are notorious for (intonation, tuning, shredability).
This guitar could easily cover a wide range of genres, but I personally played a lot of modern hard rock and the guitar delivered in spades.
OVERALL OPINION
There are many things to love about this guitar: clarity, consistency, stability, ease of shred, diverse tones...in comparison to my Gibson Gothic LP, the Gibson sound was a bit thicker and meatier, but the difference was not huge. The positives of the ESP were discussed and are overwhelmingly impressive. This comparison is direct, couple in the fact that this guitar was 1/3 of the price and the choice is a no brainer. I should also note that I tried about 10 Gibson Gothics before I found one that I liked; every ESP ec400 I played would have been a good choice, meaning that the quality of control was much better for ESP. Sadly, I flipped this axe when I was in a money crunch, but I would buy another one in a heartbeat of I had the chance.