ESP Viper-304

I got this bass for my 18th, I'm now 22 so I have owned it just under 5 years. I think its about time for a review.

Its a bass really, 4 strings, 21 frets, mahogany body and neck (which has some darker wood inlay, not sure what it is), dark cherry gloss with black h/w, 2 EMG active humbucking pickups with a 5 band EQ (Volume, Blend, Bass, Mid, Treble), String Thru body.

Came in a box. Oh and its reeeeaally heavy.

I have played this in 2 bands over 5 years, one band being a 3 guitar cheese metal fest and the other being a rock/hip-hop band. To be fair this thing is made for metal and rock but I have found that the tone controls can make a really nice deep sound for hip hop. Its not ideal but it works for now. I'm not far upgrading to an Aerodyne Jazz so I'm not going to slate the bass for what its not designed for.

As other people have mentioned, the treble pot gives a bit of hiss but its only really noticeable once the bridge p/up is rolled on. Not much to worry about really.

This bass is reeeeally loud, for my hip hop band I play with the bass and treble boosted and the mids cut on the basses eq, it gives out a really smooth clean sound.

Overall the sound is awesome, this bass has sustain that lasts for ages, even after leaving it for 12 hours. Its loud and you can get some really gritty tones aswell as smooth ones, boss mate.

I play it through an Ashdown MAG3004x10 and it pretty good, ideally I think it needs to be played through bigger cones to make it sound its best.

I have had no beef with the finish, came to me perfect and needed minimum setup.

After 5 years of being my main bass it has stood up well, I have played loads of gigs and the most damage inflicted has been a few varnish chips, only a few because its tough.

The only sign of wear other than the chips are 2 cracks either side of where the neck meets the body, I think this is fairly normal.

This bass has withstood plenty of live playing over the time I have had it, I have replaced nothing on it as I have never needed to.

There are no "playing" marks on it, no wear on the varnish (apart from inevitable buckle rash) and no paint chips on the hardware.

I have never had the truss rod adjusted as the action has been perfect since I got it. The neck is perfectly straight.

Er, never needed it.

I have been playing bass for around 6 years, I this is only the 2nd bass I have owned basically because the thought of replacing it has never crossed my mind.

I actually love this bit of wood, she has served me well over the last 5 years and will never be sold.

If something happened to this bass I would be devastated. I would definitely get a replacement but it wouldn't be right.. My next bass will be a Jazz but this bass will not be left alone.

This inst much of a review, more my opinions on something I'm attached to, but maybe because its a good bass...

I bought this bass used off of ebay....excellent active electronics, with great sounding EMG humbucking pickups, and three band eq. Black finish, string thru body. Body is mahogany, which is a decent wood for bass, and the neck is a maple walnut blend with a rosewood fretboard....very fast neck! I really dig the slanted SG body style.

Unlike the other reviewers, outside of a few Sabbath tunes I don't play much metal, but more classic freeform rock and blues, and this bass sounds great. Lots of low end, WITHOUT compromising note clarity, and very slap-friendly which I dig. I use an Ampeg SVT3 head and a Crate 215 cab, and this bass compliments my rig nicely.

The action was perfect, as were the pickup adjustments, but since I bought it used, I couldn't say if that was done aftermarket, or at the factory.

My only gripe with this bass is that I had to either replace or tighten all of the volume, tone, and input connections. But as any active bassist knows, these problems are nothing you can't take care of yourself, with 2 minutes and a wrench. The nut seems very sturdy, but the tuning pegs were a little bit loose.

This bass is very sturdy. I play upwards of three to four set gigs, and have no complaints. Although I haven't done so yet, I would recommend replacing the knobs.

No experience with customer support.

I've been playing for 15 years. I also use a Schecter Stiletto bass that I love, and a Fender P-Bass, and I use this bass just as frequently as I do those. I would definitley replace this bass if it were stolen. This bass looks, plays and sounds great!!!

Still the same bass we're talking about, mine is wine-red mahogany color or how do you call it ? Active 3-bands electroniccs (bass, mids & treble), a firm set of 2 humbuckers that really kick ass. When I first saw it I thought it was a Gibson SG bass, but I proved to be wrong. The EMG-pickups are really great, I couldn't believe my ears when I first played this bass, really !

I play Stoner (Kyuss, Unida) and Nu-metal (Kittie-style), and also "heavy" rock and some more traditionnal metal (Black Sabath) in another band.. This baby is versatile enough to do the job, it's really the sound I got out of it that convinced me, I have been looking for this sound for quite a while. I play an SWR amp (800W)
Haven't used it in a studio yet, but it will do what it's requested to do I guess. It's not noisy at all. Oh, and the guy in the store did some slapping too, that was really awesome, what a rich sound he got out of it. unfortunatelly I still have to learn to do that :+)

Action was low, in the store they had put a set of 45-100 strings on it, so medium thickness. Easy enough to play it well, and get a rich sound out of it. No flaws at all when I bought it, it was a new one.

This is a solid bass. I do believe it will withstand a terrorist attack, if we should ever have one here in Belgium. All items seem to last forever, no complains at all. But it weighs like a ton. Guess I have to start working out again before my shoulder starts to ache. Playing this baby for hours can really wear you out I think. Man, she's heavy. I would not use it on a gig without a backup, but that's me, allways afraid that everything that can go wrong on a gig will go wrong.

Not yet dealt with them, sorry

I am playing this darling for over 4 months now. I do ow a lot of basses. Got Fender Precision, BC Rich Warlock, Ibanez Soundgear, even play Stagg BC-302N which is a great bass for my tone !!!
The Viper has got a whole different sound again, itn really is something special, you should listen to it once. I compared this bass to a Fender something, I don't know anymore which one it exactly was, it was one of their precisions, but it played like a bitch. If it were stolen, I would go to the store and order it again.

Made in Korea, set neck (34"), 22 fret, 5 control knobs (bass, mid, treble, volume, & something else) with emg hz humbucker pickups with active eq, mahogany body etc, 5 piece maple-walnut-rosewood fingerboard, string thru body.

Gives an excellent round bass sound, i play old school metal (steve harris style). I have used it with a variety of amps and has sounded nice on every one. Gives a very warm, low sounding tone. Huge variety of sound due to the active EQ. Sounds great both in studio and played live.

Played perfectly straight out of the box. Has a very low, soft action with no fret buzz at all. No flaws at all on any aspect. Stays in tune forever.

This bass holds up to live playing very well, have never had any problems at all. Everything seems built to last. Nothing has come loose/fallen off. The finish is super tough, i have had this bass for 3 months now and there are no major scratches, dents etc.
I have gigged with this bass many times with no back up. Also it is pretty heavy.

N/A

i have been playing almost 2 years and this is by far the best bass i have ever played. i also own a DeArmond Pilot Pro and since i got the Viper it hasnt been touched. If i lost it or it got stolen i would be devestated. Due to its weight it could easily pummel a theif into submission. I love everything and hate nothing about this bass.

Made in Korea, set neck (34"), 22 fret, 5 control knobs (bass, mid, treble, volume, & something else) with emg hz humbucker pickups with active eq, mahogany body etc, 5 piece maple-walnut-rosewood fingerboard, string thru body (main reason I bought it).

This thing sounds kick ass. I run through an Eden Roadrunner 600 with a 1000 watt Basson cab. Screams angriness. I'm in a Nu-metal band (www.drchunk.com)& this is the best bass i've ever played. I first purchased this bass from www.music123.com, & it came damaged, so I sent it back & they told me they weren't coming in for awhile. It then went & got a Schecter Devil Tribal bass, & although pretty good, was a little thin in the sound I wanted. I originally bought this as a backup (with my primary being a Nikki Sixx Gibson Blackbird & this quickly became my primary. You can get any tone you want out of this thing... Bottom line, it rules...

Really good setup from factory, but will still get it done by a pro. Pickups were adjusted perfectly & there are no noticable flaws on the bass whatsoever (I will beat this thing to death, so that doesn't really bug me)

Seems pretty good, but like I said, i'm going to kill this thing.

Haven't dealt with yeat, but I do know there website hasn't been updated in awhile, but from other reviews I read about Esp, it should be awesome...

Just another awesome piece of equipment in my arsenal. Drop me an e'mail if you want to know more.