
« About on par with the Standard »
Published on 05/27/11 at 19:34UTILIZATION
These guitars are great, and I'm a big fan of the 1000 series for those looking for a great guitar on a budget. The quality of the flame is usually pretty good, and the fit + finish is pretty nice. There's an issue with some of the binding sometimes in that you can easily see where it starts/ends, but that's purely cosmetic. There's also an issue with it being pretty gaudy, but that's purely a taste issue. The guitar comes with an original floyd rose which is a HUGE plus. The fretwork is generally pretty good, and the ends tend to be finished decently. It's not quite as nice or consistent as the Standard series, but that's to be expected.
SOUNDS
These guitars generally sound pretty nice and resonant. It comes equipped with EMG 81s in both the bridge and neck position. The 81 in the bridge is tight and super cutting. You can get ridiculous harmonics with the thing, and it's one of the best recording pickups out there for metal. I'm not a huge fan of the 81 in the neck, but if you're into brighter, cutting lead tones, it should do the trick nicely. I generally prefer the 85 in the neck, but that's not an issue thanks to the quick disconnects.
OVERALL OPINION
These guitars are great if you're looking for a guitar packed full of features and at a cheaper price than the ESP Standard series. It's even better when you start looking at the used prices as they generally are around $500ish to $600ish. Considering this has an original floyd rose, real EMG pickups and quality woods, it's definitely worth looking into.