All user reviews for the LTD Viper-400 [2004-2008]

I am going to tell about my LTD Viper-400. I acquired this guitar from a catalog company called Musicians Friend. 560 dollars was paid for this particular guitar. The main reason that I decided to buy this guitar is the fact that it has EMG 81 Active pickups. The sound from these pickups is awesome.

I love how this guitar sounds as I have stated earlier. This guitar has a low action and is farely easy to play. It has the new "Earvana Compensation Nut" which provides perfect tuning all the way down the neck which is hard to get in other guitars. It also has Grover tuning keys which all the guitar to stay in even while in a gig bag or hardshell. If u are an active musician u just might need this feature.

The only real thing I don't really like about this guitar is it is neck heavy like Les Pauls,but hey a leather strap will stop the sliding so there is a quck solution. Now I am realativly "picky" guitar player so the only other complaint that I have about my Viper-400 is when it is unplugged it had fret buzz. As soon as you plug it up however it disappers

The LTD Viper-400 comes with active EMG humbuckers to give u a nice crunch sound they sound awesome while on clean tone as well. A set neck is available on this model far better than a bolt on neck. It has a mahogany body and neck. While the fretboard is rosewood. This guitar also has simple controls a volume knob, a tone knob, and a three way pickup selector.

My final thought about this guitar is it is awesome. Not too expensive and it plays great.If u are looking for a moderatly priced guitar that plays excellent then the Viper-400 is the guitar for u.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

The guitar is made in Korea and not to United States (a 700 euro increase in emg, MECAS Rotomatic grover mini ($ 75 even when the game), graphite nut offset, set neck, binding around the handle, all mahogany, should not be thought in Santa Claus either!)
otherwise it has a nice rosewood fingerboard, inlays plastok but nice (especially compared abalone Series Deluxe is sheaves!), 24 frets a little big, tune 24.75 gibson type, a rather good position toggle, one volume, one tone and a simple tunomatic. Note reinforcement behind the neck for added security.
you can do with reflections on the table that the body is made of three pieces of mahogany (I think ... eh).
the base it is mounted in 81/81 but since this year's 81/85! yay!
was inside the cavities are shielded with aluminum tape, a small clip to the battery not move, a chti Serflex for all that have to be clean! great!
I put richly deserved Sept. 1 at this price it's really good at all!

(For 10 flight case should be supplied, strap locks, and why not mother of pearl inlays for!)

UTILIZATION

The handle is rather late, rather narrow, a mix between tradition and modern gibson. I immediately loved it. Access to the sharp is very good, 24 cases are easily playable (even if the top of the handle ... it's tight)

the guitar is super comfortable as much as sitting upright, the body is super light weight (3kg). on the other hand, a small imbalance (and yes, copra is really light!) That if we loose the guitar side looking head. I put the tie strap behind the heel, it's going better now that behind the horn, and you'll quickly get the hang of caller forearm tightly against the body. A bad point which disappears completely in 1 week.
Acordage for the good and great nut MECAS allow an agreement really easy.

the controls are damn good, although I prefer the toggle up lespaul kind, you got more class tapper with a fist above without gaffe to change gears um micro switch.

9 because of the imbalance.

SOUNDS

This scraper is great for hard, rock and metal. saturates everything quickly and well, full of the 81 mediums resortent directly into the ear, the ecstasy. the tone is not bad, and not easily mitigate acute ultra loud when we play has whawha (yeah, emg 81dans a cry baby in a pod mod jcm800a bottom with drive boost, it sounds not very metheny or benson)

issue a clear, plenty to do, but it is not the strong point of guitar.c 'estpour why I put a 89 (a splittable 85) instead of round 81. I turned the tone to make use of the site to volume 89 and its split. I kept the master volume (some would put a micro volume) pasque anyway for me the bridge in 81 is always a bottom or anything)

So I rule the 89 (or 85 SA, volume) according to the PARALLEL I need in the 81. Mstera thoroughly, and I play with the toggle for the pieces.

and it is the dream.
8 with 2 81 9 with 81 and 85 (as at present) and 10 with a 89coté handle.

OVERALL OPINION

Jel'ai for 15 days, I find great, although low sounds clear with two 81 (finally clean sounds ...), and what individuals despite this flaw balancing.

otherwise, the sound, comfort, everything is good ...

in the competition, I see that the schecters diamonds (especially the series blackjack), and some yamaha are able to compete (and TFW new washburn ...)
I would do well obviously that choice, I love the scratches.

Guitar made in Korea, 24 frets, 2 EMG humbuckers (81 & 85) with 1 vol 1 tone and 1 + 3 seleecteur posistion, mahogany body (looking closely at what are 3 pieces of mahogany glued), mahogany neck and rosewood fingerboard (ebony would have been in the top ....)

UTILIZATION

I also own an ESP horizon and the handle of the viper profile approach, but is larger but still quite comfortable (but less than the ESP that goes without saying), access to acute is easy thanks to the shape of body and set neck, and the sound is simply HUGE (the only downside: will boost the treble a bit ... and so is that of mahogany!). By playing up against it stings severe head and it is not balanced ... have to adapt, or as I move the belt clip on the upper horn instead of its original emlacement (which is in the back of the guitar)
So points off for this lack of balance!

SOUNDS

I use this to scratch the metal and is doing very well, the sound of the chest, and it is precise, it is nice to play asssez after correction of the location of the belt and I in not demand more (for now)

OVERALL OPINION

I have the scratches from the 25/09/06, she has a great value for money, and I do it again this choice with his eyes closed ......

Made in South Korea (not the northern one is far from the third world and the rest of this review is going to be confirmed)

24 frets, tune-o-matic ... etc. 2 emg 81 and 85 ... Anyway, the total, all mahogany, rosewood, that's good! go to the site esp for more details

UTILIZATION

Handle well round, slightly Gibsonian (so said an old bluesman who has two home gibson)

access to acute? is an SG (sg viper ok but anyway)! then it is excellent. not as good as the Ibanez RG that I have but frankly, I'm but pose no problem.

ergonomics is nickel. expect a good belt, and try to take the version with the Straplock the end of the dorsal horn (me if I moved the guitar looks of the head). brief. happiness.

it sounds beautiful, and the Randall lamps is happiness, very hot, very round, but aggressive and sharp if you set the correct equipment! Finally, a great sound! for the thrash / death sound in C # is not dégeu, very heavy (I wanted)

edit: LOL whoever wrote the previous opinion has also changed his guitar in the same way by moving the Straplock the end of the dorsal horn, as Tony Iommi elsewhere. if we do not like it was really a skyscraper leaning of the head. while the ca rolls: D

SOUNDS

It is well suited to my style of music: D

I use a RG50TC and the two together is bold but precise, warm and round but with a sharp attack.

Anyway, you know ... ca is a guitar feels and you can listen, we can not describe in words.

Sounds of the fire god. and clear sound is great for bluesy sounds good pêchus: D the emg it sounds great in any style, especially of mahogany

OVERALL OPINION

I have for about 4 months

the characteristic I like most: the sound, the neck and originality of style, cherry red, SG shape, perfect. no one has the same, and everyone raves so it has to fall from the aesthetic point of view.

I tried many guitars and it's hit me in the eye: D

frankly, concrete value for money, € 620 in jericho music for a stroke of this quality, no complaints.

with experience, yes I would do this choice, or so I would pay the eclipse, but I expect to have the money for the esp eclipse

With the Viper 400 model you get probably the lowest price guitar that comes with fully active EMG pickups. This guitar is an LTD ESP which means it is made outside of Japan. This lets them sell it for a much lower price than normal ESP guitars but the specs are pretty much the same. You get great features on this guitar. You get a mahogany body in the offset SG/Viper shape. The neck is a set neck which is also mahogany. The fretboard is rosewood with 24 jumbo frets. The guitar is a hardtail with a tune-o-matic brdige. The pickups are a set of fully active EMG's which is insane at this price. The guitar has an 81 in the bridge and an 85 in the neck. THe controls are simple with a master volume and master tone with a 3 way switch.

UTILIZATION

With the offset SG shape you can really reach all the frets. With the 24.75 Gibson scale the upper frets can get a bit crowded but the jumbo frets help with this. The jumbo frets also let you have a low action and you can really bend forever. The Grover tuners and the tune-o-matic stay in tune well. The Earvana Compensated nut means you have better intonation all the way up the neck so complex chords anywhere on the neck will sound in tune. The body is nicely contoured so it will fit nicely against you while you are playing and it is also pretty light. The finish has kind of a satin feel to it so it is pretty smooth. This smoothness extends to the back of the neck where it is most important. The neck is nice and thin and with this satin feel is very fast.

SOUNDS

It is pretty unheard of for a guitar priced like this to come with such nice pickups. Usually a guitar priced like this would come with some garbage in house pickups. There are thousand dollar Ibanez guitars that still come with junky Ibanez pickups. ESP is really helping you out by throwing in a set of active EMG pickups. This saves the cost of upgrading them. The 81 in the bridge has been an iconic metal pickup for decades. 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 85 in the neck is a great pickup too. It has a more fuller sound than the 81 so in the neck position you can get fat lead tones. The 85 is also good too in the bridge. With EMG's quick connect system you can easily swap these pickups position without soldering anything. The 85 in the bridge produces a super thick tone and cleans up better than the 81.

OVERALL OPINION

I see these guitars for sale used all over the place for about 300 dollars. This is crazy when you consider the pickups alone in the guitar are worth about 200 dollars. This guitar does not feel like a 100 guitar with 200 dollar pickups either. This guitar feels like a 400 dollar guitar with 200 dollar pickups. This guitar is very very good for the price and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a well priced metal guitar.

The ESP LTD 400 line of guitar is one of the best values out there if you are looking for a metal guitar. LTD is ESP's line of budget guitars. They are like what Epiphone is to Gibson. Their guitars are made to the exact same specs with the same species of wood except they are not made in Japan. The 400 has awesome bang for the buck. This guitar design is like an offset SG with 24 frets. It has a mahogany body and maple neck with set neck construction. It has a rosewood fretboard with 24 very big frets with the ESP flag inlays. It has fully active EMG pickups with an 81 in the bridge and an 85 in the neck. The controls are simple with a master tone and master volume switched with a 3 way selector. Up top it has Grover tuners and an Earvana compensated nut for truer intonation.

UTILIZATION

The playability is great as is with all ESP guitars. With the 24 frets you need the offset body to reach the upper frets easily. With the 24.75 Gibson scale the upper frets can get a bit crowded but the jumbo frets help with this. The jumbo frets also let you have a low action and you can really bend forever. The Grover tuners and the tune-o-matic stay in tune well. The Earvana Compensated nut means you have better intonation all the way up the neck so complex chords anywhere on the neck will sound in tune. The body is nicely contoured so it will fit nicely against you while you are playing and it is also pretty light.

SOUNDS

You are not going to find many other guitars this cheap that come from the factory with EMG pickups. It uses the classic EMG set that pretty much everyone uses with the 81 and 85 EMG pickups, also known as the Zakk Wylde set since he has been using it the longest I guess. The 81 in the bridge has been an iconic metal pickup for decades. 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 85 in the neck is a great pickup too. It has a more fuller sound than the 81 so in the neck position you can get fat lead tones. The 85 is also good too in the bridge. With EMG's quick connect system you can easily swap these pickups position without soldering anything. The 85 in the bridge produces a super thick tone and cleans up better than the 81. Speaking of cleans if you do the 18v mod on the EMG's. With the 18v mod you run the pickups on two batteries instead of one. This provides a more organic tone with more headroom. This tone produces better cleans than stock EMG's and clean tones are usually the weakest part of the EMG sound. This guitar is super cheap but sounds as good as guitars that cost twice as much with EMG pickups. EMG's are some of the best pickups out there and they tend to take over the sound of a guitar so if you can get a cheap guitar with EMG over an expensive guitar with EMG's the cheaper guitar will most likely sound just as good.

OVERALL OPINION

When these were new these guitars sold for about 450 guitars. Now you can get these guitars for 350 used all day long. The pickup set in them alone costs 200 dollars. This is not a 100 dollar guitar with 200 dollar pickups. Its a 500 dollar guitar with 200 dollar pickups that you can buy for 300. It is the bargain of the century when it comes to metal guitars nowadays. With the Viper or EC 400 LTD ESP guitars you cant go wrong if you are looking for a heavy metal machine at a low price.

24 frets, EMG 81 and 85 (neck), volume and tone pots, 3-position selector, etc ...

in short, everything has been said

UTILIZATION

Handle very nice and accurate.
Access to acute nickel saw the shape of the beast, bend it on the 24th of cake with this scratch!
Ergonomics for cons, I think the head looks too, even with a good strap and even taking the Straplock on the upper horn is still annoying. And it weighs really, after a few hours of play it feels good standing ...
The sound is easily adjustable for the little that does not fall into the trap of "I want a big sound, I boost the bass and treble and I cut the mids."

SOUNDS

I play metal, hard, heavy, so yes I agree sounds great!
Peavey Bandit 112 on the guitar is expressed particularly well by playing against in the apartment 'must make up a large if not the neighbors land ...
The clean sound is clear and crisp in acute micro (the 81) and hot round micro burn (85), a real treat! And its saturated say where ... waouhh !!!!! Technical Info From climbing the gain, the EMG are expressed and there is a massacre, but to keep an accurate sound is not put at the bottom ...
This scratching can really do anything, harmonics, pinched harmonics, artificial harmonics, tapping, legato ... as soon as you put in the mediator becomes saturated almost useless because it is so reactive!

OVERALL OPINION

I use this for almost 2 months scratches and I bought Arpes very careful consideration ...
What I like most, the sound! The least, that it leans heavily on the head (it sucks for solo ...).
I tried the Eclipse in the same range, the only difference is the final look.
Value very correct.
If I had to redo this choice, I will not hesitate one second!

- Mahogany body.
- 24 cases in neck 3-piece mahogany.
- Rosewood fingerboard, Jumbo frets.
- Marked "flag" in abalone, inlaid with model name at 12th fret.
- Pickups EMG-81 and 85, active electronics.
- Mechanical oil bath and compensated saddle.
- An adjustable volume control 1 tone
- Micro selector 3 positions (top, up-down, bottom)
- Price of € 666 Woodbrass

UTILIZATION

The handle is very nice because it is not imposing, access is easy to acute
nly downside of the weight distribution because the guitar "slumps" a toy sitting can succeed in finding the balance by standing against it is another story but it is fast! after 2 or 3 days you get used to playing and I know it does me longer a problem!

SOUNDS

Of the first chords I immediately had a view that it's very heavy!
Personally I am more focused in metal or heavy metal and this guitar is perfect!
I play with a 45 watt peavey amp and a Boss ME-50 and with the microphone at the bottom (EMG 81) asser sound is heavy and there are many sponsor, any "pin" is fatal as it sees fit! harmonics out all alone is a real treat! with the microphone from the top (EMG 85) gives a very melodic in its saturated
this guitar suits me also clear sound with the microphone at the bottom the sound is a little too abrupt, but with the microphone from the top (EMG 85) the sound is just beautiful, it is fruity and has a lot of presence
this guitar is suitable to all those that want fair of metal to play with distortion of the bullet for my valentine, metallica, Dagoba, slipknot
and can also play pretty clear sound rides the John Butler Trio!
No complaints regarding the sound you can really always play with this guitar!

OVERALL OPINION

I use this guitar non stop for 1 month and I am very satisfied! It fits perfectly with all my types of games. we can agree on standardized and then switch to drop very facillement.les micro C are very responsive and accurate. the only downside would be the stability of a guitar because the neck is more loud than the body of the guitar.
I tried a lot of guitars like gibson sg approximately € 800 and € 1200 and personally I preferred the esp for the price and value for the EMG 81 and 85 of the more believed that the color is very flashing but are not bright red it is dark and beautiful res
value for money is very good on Woodbrass bought € 666 and € 740 on the black box of the guitar.
To finish this guitar can suit all types of game I think of the hard metal through rock and blues What Makes no
I do it again the choice eyes closed

Made in Korea
Mahogany body
Channel set-thru (al imitating the heel of neck-thru) in maple with rosewood fingerboard.
24 Jumbo frets Xtra
Rpre flags
Seymour HS-1 (jeff beck) to handle
Seymour Custom 5 in bridge (the sh-t 4 would better I think)
1 volume knob 1 of tonalitbr />: Mechanical grover mini
The handle is very

UTILIZATION

end it is painted and varnished so very well slip
It feels almost no heel so CASC to treble up to the 24th fret is very ais.
The form is required but has put the belt clip has a location specific on who is not comfortable.
It is quite heavy 4.5kg more than he seems pretty impressive given its thick the paint is very nice the sunburst is very well done, it is clearer than the pictures (on the sides it darker red than black)
8 relative to the weight and position of the belt clip



SOUNDS

It is perfect thanks to the ultra versatile kit seymour and mahogany
My style is prdilection mtal (soloist) the custom 5 fulfills that role well and sh-1 can also take over for heavier or rhythmic solos less sharp.
Metallica, BFMV, the gun's, jimi hendrix, disturbed, van halen, everything goes and the sound is beautiful = D
I play on the crate fw120 mtal primarily as LTD but is very versatile (3 channels) and a wha wha like effects, great nothing to say.
9 because the sound from 2 microphones runi do nothing is actually

OVERALL OPINION

I've had it now but very intensive one week ^ ^
I've tried a harley benton therefore not comparable
a + are the versatility, beauty, her high notes ACCS
the - ergonomics
for 570 to have as good a guitar should see 100 or 200 more, therefore very good value qualitprix
With the exprience and if I can I will ever have a choice ESP gladly