My Sound Clinic

Specs

Price new: £899 (no longer in production)

Neck type: Bolt-on

Body: Basswood

Hardware: Black

Bridge: Floyd Rose double locking

Frets: 24XJ

Pickups: 2 Duncan Designed Humbuckers

Price second hand: £250-£400

Review

When I’d played ESPs in the past they didn’t click with me, but when a friend offered his 7 string up for grabs I couldn’t put it down. It felt great, weighty, chunky, everything you’d want from a metal axe.

You see, manufacturers like Ibanez offer craftsmanship and beauty, masterfully created for elegance and virtuosity. The thing I felt with ESP is that they are designed for beating the utter crap out of!! From the moment you wrap your fingers round the baseball bat of a neck you just want to hammer the shit out of it and play as hard as hell.

Playability

As I said, it’s chunky. The neck is not for me personally, it’s a little rounded and a tad wide, but that may not be a problem for you as it’s all down to preference. ESP have always modelled themselves on the fact that their necks are flat, fast, and built for speed, but I found that my playing was a little clumsy and void of any flare, even after giving it a setup. Don’t get me wrong, it was most definitely playable, but it felt like there was something missing.

That being said I cannot find a single fault with the rhythm playing on this beast. It’s ferociously tight and responsive, with a nice chuggy low-end that’ll make the ground shake. This guitar is certainly a performer, so long as you’re only playing up to the G string.

Sound

It’s a very “full” sound in my opinion, rich and full of tone, but the Duncan designed pickups leave a lot to be desired with the treble frequencies. The sustain on harmonics aren’t amazing for instance, not to say that the tone is dull, but it’s just not quite as bright as I like it, but this is easily fixed by swapping out the pups for something a bit edgier. With the right amplification and a few tweaks you can achieve some very useful sounds.

Over all

An interesting guitar to say the least, it looks tough, and it means business. However if you’re more inclined to shred then I’d recommend a lot of adjustment and most probably a change of pickups. With arrow inlays, reverse headstock, Floyd rose trem, and a variety of tough looking finishes, I’d say this axe has the full metal arsenal you need to throw down something heavy.

Rating

Sound: 7

Looks: 9.5

Playability: 7

Value for money: 7

Overall: 6.5

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