ESP Kamikaze-3

This is the third in the vast Kamikaze line up, and there's really nothing different about this guitar other than the paint job, just like the last two. It's the fourth version of this guitar where things start to change a bit. The guitar features a maple body with a bolt-on maple neck, an ebony fretboard with 22 extra jumbo frets, dot inlays, an original floyd rose bridge, an ESP single coil in the neck, a Seymour Duncan Screamin Demon in the bridge and a push/pull volume pot to select between the two pickups.

UTILIZATION

The guitar is a bit on the heavy side due to it being an all maple bodied guitar. That's about the only real downside of this, utilization wise. There are a few of these that are light, but most are pretty heavy. The floyd rose on this is an original floyd rose, and it's one of the best out there. The frets are absolutely amazing, too. The guitar can get some super sick action without any issues at all, and it was perfect for shred. The neck joint gap on this was great, and the shiny ebony was the icing on the cake for this guitar.

SOUNDS

The guitar sounds bright, period. There are a few of these that are more mellow, but most of these that I've played have some very strong treble. The Screamin Demon in the bridge is great for clean and shreddier passages, but I find it really lacks some balls. It's an underwound 59, and it sounds anemic in many ways. The 59 is a better pickup, in my opinion. It's fatter, has more output, is more versatile and can even deliver a great clean tone. The neck pickup is made by ESP, and it's a solid single coil. It works nicely for cleans, and it can do some leads, but there's not much to say about it other than that.

OVERALL OPINION

Again, not much different from this guitar compared to the previous other two guitars. If you've played one of these, you most likely know how the other three are going to be. You'll want to choose the one with the paintjob you like the most. I also recommend buying used to get the best deal you can. Search various forums and even eBay, but watch out for potential fakes.