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tjon901 « Alexi Laiho's ESP with Scythe inlays »
Published on 08/09/11 at 21:59Children of Bodom have always kept a Grim Reaper motif around with them so it is only fitting that one of Alexi's signature models carry this motif. This guitar has Scythe inlays which make it special among his signature guitars. Alexi is the frontman of the popular band Children of Bodom. He was known for his custom Jackson RR guitars but when they were stolen he switched to ESP as they were able to meet his order very quickly. This guitar is a typical Alexi model apart from the inlays. It is white with the double black pinstripes down the side. It has an alder body in the offset V shape. It has a maple neck with neck through construction and an ebony fretboard. The fretboard has 24 jumbo frets with the cool Scythe inlays that carry on the Bodom theme. It has a locking nut up top and an Original Floyd Rose down at the bottom. The electronics are typical too. It has a single passive EMG H4 pickup with a single volume control.
UTILIZATION
The offset V is a classic shape ever since Randy Rhodes started playing them. The shape balances well and makes itself very comfortable when you play it. The back of the neck is unfinished so it feels nice like a bolt on guitar but since it is neck through it has no heel. This no heel helps a bit because the upper frets are kind of hard to reach. They are set pretty deep into the body because the V shape is pretty broad. The fretboard is ebony and this is the best wood for fretboards I think. It has a super smooth feel and this with the jumbo frets mean this guitar is very easy to play. The locking nut and the Floyd Rose are great and keep everything nice and in tune.
SOUNDS
Alexi uses a lot of high end in his sound. I have seen his amp settings and they are like 10 treble 10 mids 0 bass. This guitar fits into his desired tone well by providing a ton of high end on its own. The maple neck with the alder body are both pretty bright and neck through construction I find tends to have the brightest sound. This with the super brittle passive EMG completes the super bright sound. The H4 in this guitar is like a passive copy of an 81. They managed to capture the high end of this guitar but without the fullness that the 81 provides. So this guitar sounds really bright in most situations. This guitar is perfect if you think every guitar is too muddy.
OVERALL OPINION
You have options if you are looking for a guitar like this. ESP makes a non signature guitar just like this called the SV. It has fully active EMG pickups and a neck pickup as well. If you are a Bodom fan and want the single pickup sound Jackson now makes a guitar just like what Alexi was famous for playing. Its called the RR24 and has an EMG 81 in the bridge instead of the passive pickup this signature guitar has. It is pretty hard for me to recommend this guitar when you have two better choices out there. You can get the Jackson which is identical to what Alexi played for many years or the ESP SV which is a more versatile and usable version of this guitar.
UTILIZATION
The offset V is a classic shape ever since Randy Rhodes started playing them. The shape balances well and makes itself very comfortable when you play it. The back of the neck is unfinished so it feels nice like a bolt on guitar but since it is neck through it has no heel. This no heel helps a bit because the upper frets are kind of hard to reach. They are set pretty deep into the body because the V shape is pretty broad. The fretboard is ebony and this is the best wood for fretboards I think. It has a super smooth feel and this with the jumbo frets mean this guitar is very easy to play. The locking nut and the Floyd Rose are great and keep everything nice and in tune.
SOUNDS
Alexi uses a lot of high end in his sound. I have seen his amp settings and they are like 10 treble 10 mids 0 bass. This guitar fits into his desired tone well by providing a ton of high end on its own. The maple neck with the alder body are both pretty bright and neck through construction I find tends to have the brightest sound. This with the super brittle passive EMG completes the super bright sound. The H4 in this guitar is like a passive copy of an 81. They managed to capture the high end of this guitar but without the fullness that the 81 provides. So this guitar sounds really bright in most situations. This guitar is perfect if you think every guitar is too muddy.
OVERALL OPINION
You have options if you are looking for a guitar like this. ESP makes a non signature guitar just like this called the SV. It has fully active EMG pickups and a neck pickup as well. If you are a Bodom fan and want the single pickup sound Jackson now makes a guitar just like what Alexi was famous for playing. Its called the RR24 and has an EMG 81 in the bridge instead of the passive pickup this signature guitar has. It is pretty hard for me to recommend this guitar when you have two better choices out there. You can get the Jackson which is identical to what Alexi played for many years or the ESP SV which is a more versatile and usable version of this guitar.