ESP 400 Series

This is basicaly a standard 60's strat copy, everything is identical. Mines has been fitted with a replacement bridge and graphite nut, and it has three active single coil EMG pickups fitted

This guitar sounds great, it resonates quite nicely and as the body is amde of nice solid alder it sustains quie well. The EMG's sound fantastic

The neck on my guitar moved a little bit but I found that if you tack it off get some wood glue and reduce the size of the screw holes and refit it with some new screws it is fine. Otherwise it is all fine, feels very solid and has a lovely neck. Mine also came in metallic blue.

This guitar is fine. Look after it, I think they're getting rare!!

don't know

This guitar is fantastic. If you find one buy it straight away or you'll regret it, trust me!

This is an early 80's ESP strat. It was modeled after the 50's/60's Fender strat. I would compare it to a good quality american standard. The pickups are very high gain and "quacky". All 5 positions are distinct faithfull recreations of the famous tones. Even the pickup selector is top quality...this guitar was made when esp was trying to establish themselves in the market as a serious guitar manufacturer.
This particular one was a find at $235 in mint condition in a color you don't see alot. Metallic sky blue with white pickguard...most of em that you see going on ebay are maroon, orange or purple....blech.
And they sell for like $500. I give this guitar a 10 for features cuz' it's identical to a vintage strat ('cept for the headstock)

I'm using this with a jb jr. in the bridge through a Mesa Triaxis rack setup. There isn't a tone I can't get with this setup...except maybe a polish 12 string double neck semi hollow body mandolin with an out of phase piezo ....but that would prolly sound crappy anyway.
Between this guitar and my les paul studio....I have no need to impulse buy any more guitars....except a PRS....which is just a LesPaul-ocaster.

When I cracked open the pickguard to put in the JBJR. I noticed how clean and perfect the factory wiring was.....not the sloppy metallic chewawa poop piles of solder I have been known to yield from time to time. Hey at least I never soldered a hole in my pickguard!!! yet...
This guitar strums, frets and plays well. It's a sweet guitar to jam on or record with.

This guitar is solid. It's much denser than some other strat reissues. The finish has minor pick scratches, no chips. In fact I'll be right back I'm gonna smack it against the wall to see how the paint holds up...


...yeah....ok it did chip. fuck. but it's still in tune.

I've never dealt with ESP. Whenever I need a really expensive custom guitar I have Kirk Hammett call it in for me....he is my bit-cha!

This guitar sounds better than MOST fender strats. It gives the eric clapton strat a wedgie. It give's the SRV strat a tex-mex nuggie.
I've been playing 10 years. My gear is all pro and this guitar fits right in. If it were stolen....I would grab the guy by his little fag pony tail shove his face into the curb and stomp on his head with black steel toe's. Then I'd leave OJ's leather gloves on the ground next to him....again....muhahahahahahahahaha!

This ESP 400 series guitar was built by ESP when they were based in New York City in the early-mid 1980's. It is likely that the parts were manufactured in Japan, but I have been unable to confirm this. My 400 series is an early version with a small "ESP" stamp and low serial number on the neck plate and an earlier ESP logo on the headstock.
The 400 series were modelled after 1950 or 1960 Fender Stratocasters. My "400" has a fairly thick neck like a 195x Fender reissue without the "V" contour on the back. The neck definitely feels thicker than the 1960 Fender Reissues that I have played.
My guitar is equipped with a one piece maple neck/fretboard, an alder body that appears to be one piece, three single coil pickups, and a vintage tremolo that resembles Fender's trem on their reissue models (w/o the Fender logos.)
The guitar has a solid candy apple red finish that appears to have darkened over time and the maple neck and fretboard is coated with nitro lacquer as it has also turned into a "deep butterscotch" color. There was a sticker on the rear of the headstock that was probably on the guitar for many years as the original lighter color of the neck remains in this area.
The tuners are vintage style and the nut appears to be plastic or bone. The frets are also modeled after a vintage Fender guitar as they are low and thin.
Compared to vintage Fender guitars, the 400 series rate high in this category, but when considering modern guitars, there are many modern features that are missing from older Fenders (such as locking tuners, updated tremolos, noise free pickups, and so on.) For this reason, this guitar (or any vintage Fender) does not deserve a "10" rating in this category.

I usually play with humbucking equipped guitars but was searching for something to nail Strat tones. I was considering many Fender and G&L guitars until I ran across this ESP. Many people consider the 400 series to be one of the best Fender vintage reissues ever made, so I took the chance and purchased this from a seller on the Internet.
The single coil pickups are very good. They're a little toned down compared to hotter single coils that I've heard. Nice and bright with a lot of pure "snap" -- However, I am still considering replacing them with Barden, Fralin, or Kinman aftermarket pickups. I would like something with a little more "growl" or bite.
The alder body sounds like a typical alder guitar. This particular piece of wood is nice and resonant and has the strong midrange presence. I believe that the maple neck and fretboard give the tone of this guitar a little more upper frequency clarity.
I give this guitar high marks in this category because it successfully produces the sounds of a high quality Stratocaster.

I purchased the guitar from its original owner and it was very dirty when I received it. There was dirt all over the fretboard and body. As I do when purchasing guitars, I take them apart and clean them up.
After it was cleaned up, the guitar has aged with grace. As I have mentioned earlier, the body is candy apple red and has probably darkened from exposure to the sun. Similarly, the finish on the neck has turned into a dark "butterscotch" color. I know that the finish has aged because there was a sticker on the back of the headstock that I removed and the finish under the sticker is just as clear as the maple on brand new Fender necks.
There are no faults in construction anywhere that I can tell, and the guitar plays very well. The action is nice and there are no dead spots on the neck. The neck pocket is tight and the fretwork is clean (although it is impossible for me to know how it came setup from the factory.)
The guitar was not purchased new so it is impossible for me to tell if there were any finish flaws from the factory, but I doubt there were.

As I said in the last paragraph, the guitar was purchased from its original owner and was very dirty. Additionally, there were many dings, nicks, and scratches on the headstock, neck, fretboard, and body.
I cleaned the guitar up extremely well and the guitar now looks good but still has the appearance of being aged and well played. It looks like a well worn instrument.
I'd have to say that the guitar has probably suffered its share of abuse in its life. There are dings that indicate that it was thrown around, leaned against sharp objects, and there are even bite marks on the headstock from a small animal! There was dried fluid from some spill under the pickguard. Dirt and sweat existed in many tight areas on the body and on the frets. It took me several hours and a lot of elbow grease to clean it up.
However, all of this indicates to me that the guitar has withstood some serious "action" and is a very durable guitar. It has aged well and looks like a nearly vintage instrument. I would count on it to perform without failing. It's a very solid guitar. It has deserved the high rating in this category.

The ESP guitar company has some of the most terrible customer support in this field. They have treated me rudely on the phone and I have heard similar stories from other owners of ESP guitars. It is very unlikely that I will ever purchase a new ESP guitar because of the treatment I have received from them. [However, I will buy used ESP guitars as I did in this case.]
I do NOT expect any support from ESP and am sure that I would recieive a rude response if I attempted. Thank goodness this 400 series appears to be made with parts that are identical to Fender components.

I give the guitar high ratings overall and can see why it is considered to be one of the best vintage Fender replicas made. It has a nice vintage feel and has aged well. It sounds great and has a nice acoustic resonance. It is well built and seems to be very reliable. For the price that I paid, it absolutely represents a fantastic value especially when compared with Fender reissues.