ESP Alexi 600

24 Fret, oversized RR shaped V, through maple neck, ebony fingerboard, extra jumbo fretwires, original floyd rose trem system, single Duncan AHB-1 (Blackout). Mine is white with black stripe -- I like this look. Gloss finish.

I really with it had a kill switch and a tone knob, and I wish the neck was satin finish, but this works. I'll be modding it for those features. Not a problem. A little steel wool on the neck and voila -- satin finish -- just don't try this at home.

I play everything from blues to metal. This axe covers it all. You can play blues on a V -- Albert King did. I'm playing this through a Randall MTS RM100 and a Peavey 5150 II. I don't have any problem with noise caused by the instrument. The pickup is quite bright but has IMO more depth and harmonic richness than its EMG counterpart. What sounds can it make? I don't know. What sounds can you make it make?

As I said above, I wish it had a kill switch and a tone knob, but for what it does it does it well. I can always use an EQ pedal in front of the amp to act as the tone knob, and I use one there anyway. I knew its shortcomings when I bought the guitar.

This instrument was perfect right out of the box. Professionally set up and everything. I took it to the tech and he gave it a look over and just said, "you still have a setup." So since I tuned down a full step I took it and had him do that work. But ESP does a great job on their stuff.

Now onto the neck. This has to be the most comfortable neck I've ever played. It is my favorite instrument at the moment. My guitar teacher loved it and he hates ESPs as a rule -- he's a PRS dude. No complaints anywhere in this category.

This instrument is a winner. I did have straplocks put on it day one. Look it's a Floyd. You never gig without a backup when you've got a Floyd. Fact. But I had a Tremolno installed and if I'm playing with the bridge locked, yeah, no backup needed.

ESP dudes are cool. I haven't had a problem that needed warranty work, and hey, it's a guitar, not an amp. Pretty much if you buy it you own it because as soon as you change something like add a Tremolno you've modded it. But they've sent me stuff free like extra hex head screws with no problem.

And the store where I got it gets a 10.0. They've been great as well.

Let's see 16 + 30 = 46/5 = 9

I also have a Schecter C-1 Hellraiser, Gibson SG, G&L Legacy, Fender Mustang. And yes if it were stolen, i'd file a claim on my insurance and replace it with the same model. As I said earlier it is the most comfortable instrument I have. The key factor for buying a good instrument to me is how it fits and then how it sounds. Pickups can be changed, but if it doesn't fit right you're not going to play it very much.

This is a 2007 model made in Korea.

Modified flying Randy Rhoads B shape. The finish is white with 2 black pinstripes (looks cool). V-shape body has a special cutout (the Jackson doesn't have it) to make upper fret access easier on the top strings. A great idea in my opinion. Guitar seems a bit neck heavy, but a decent strap should fix that problem.

Alder, 1 humbucker, 1 volume. This year's model comes with a Seymour Duncan Blackout pickup. The one I bought was last year's model, which had an EMG-HZ H4 (only difference). I replaced the H4 with a Blackout as soon as I got it, so my guitar is equivalent to this year's model.

Original Floyd Rose tremolo, standard ESP tuners (doesn't really matter since strings are locked at the nut. The neck is pretty thin and really fast.

All the features on this guitar serve one purpose.. METAL! And they achieve this very well. So I'm giving it a 9 only because of:

The strings that came with this guitar were 9s.. they bend waaayy to easily though, so I switched them to Ernie Ball Skinny Top Heavy Bottoms (which are 10s at the top end I believe). This caused the bridge to stick out so much that I had to add a 4th spring in the back (had to buy it).. LAME. ESP put 10's on this guitar for crying out loud!

Ok. I switched the EMG-HZ H4 to a blackout, so I'm reviewing the 2008 model, even though mine is 2007.

This guitar sounds like forklift carrying steel bars was shot by a Howitzer and exploded everywhere (if you play Metal, that's good, haha). Seriously.

The Blackout pickup is great (a huge improvement on the H4). The lows are low, the highs are high, and the distortion is nice and smooth. Palm muted riffs are really punchy in sound, which is nice from an Alder guitar. I just got it set up with some new strings and started playing Slayer's "Raining Blood" and it was spot on, even through my Spider II.

If you want to play heavy metal/thrash, this guitar is perfect. I haven't tried it through my Marshall yet, but I can't imagine it will disappoint.
Harmonics on this guitar are great.. pinch harmonics jump out with ease. Sustain is good

As a side note, the tone with the EMG-HZ H4 was not bad. However, it was not as articulate as the Blackout and was not as colorful generally (a bit duller sounding). It produced a decent amount of gain, but just a little under what's needed for that hard metal tone.

This thing was set up perfectly, with 2 exceptions.

1) The strings really should be 10s, not 9s. 9s are too light for playing this kind of metal or if you intend to bend any strings.
2) The output jack was really loose and I had to tighten it. This shouldn't happen on a guitar this expensive.

Otherwise the action was perfect, the intonation was good, and there wasn't a single fingerprint on it.

This guitar is rock solid. The only thing I can complain about is the output jack which was loose when it came and for some reason refuses to stay tight. I'll have to get my toolbox and give it one more tightening.

This happens on pretty much all guitars though, but worth mentioning.

Haven't needed them or dealt with them.

I've been playing for 5-6 years. I play mostly metal, but also some rock/emo/alternative and some blues/funk. Don't expect me to play funk with this guitar though.. this thing is a metal monster. It's perfect for its purpose.

At $1,100 it's a bit pricey. I got mine for $699.99 brand new at Samash (they were selling the 2007 model for cheap to get rid of them and make way for the 2008 model with the Blackout). However I don't think it's possible to make a guitar that sounds better at this price range. Perhaps if you bought one that cost $3,000 maybe, but the difference would not be worth $2k.. It would be nice if this guitar had a push/pull boost for soloing, like Alexi's guitars do.. no real complaints though.

If you want a guitar that plays metal, and only metal, then this one's for you. No neck pickup, no versatility.. only metal. I wouldn't buy this as your main guitar (unless you're a Children of Bodom cover band) because its not versatile enough.. However, as this is my 5th, that's no problem for me.

If this guitar is metal enough for Alexi Laiho, it's metal enough for YOUR needs. Go out and buy it!

This guitar looks great when you look at it(if you're a metal fan that's obviously),but don't you stop at how it looks!!
It has a floyd rose tremolo,an EMG HZ 4 pick up passive configuration,only one volume control(no tone since it's always full speed);woods are good,even if I was get used to Mahogany(changing it's not so bad sometimes).
The finish(yellow and Black)is very cool;I used to listen to children of bodom and to tell you the truth,I buy this guitar because It's the alexi beast...after 5 month of playing,I Think i would have a custom model similar to this.
The sawtooth on the fingerboard and the white binding really makes me fall in love for this guitar.
There's only one little problem...on the connections beetween the two wings the finish of the guitar starts to be scratched,but not so heavily...maybe it's because I don't polish the body so often..(too busy in playing and compose)...nothing to worry about,since it's perfect if you don't look at it with a microscope...

I play Thrash metal(testament,slayer and pantera influenced),and...well try to imagine how this little cutie baby work!Great!
I use a Marshall Jcm 2000 dual super lead 100 with a Marshall 1960 straight cabinet at home(ultra 2 channel with very high settings),sometimes a Zoom gfx9.2tt(even if I'm trying to do a great patch for my style);At the reharsals I use a Hughes And Kettner 100 watts head(I don't remind the name sorry),and two cabinets,a Marshall 412(I think the name is correct)and a custom Cabinet...
Really great,but I take off that HORRIBLE EMG hz4,and please,please if you plan to buy this guitar,get your hands on a EMG 81 active please...this way you can blow anything to pieces...trust me.
Even clean tones can come out good,but this guitar was designed to play metal,and that's the best thing this baby can do...

The factory set up was good but I've changed the strings to use some DR strings.But I think that with the factory set up you can live well for some weeks.Pick up...emg hz 4 sucks and we know it,but the set up of the pick up was good.Even when I change the pick up myself I can see the job was really well done...well ESP is the greatest guitar factory in my opinion and I was expecting to see that perfection.The guitar was perfect,ESP really knows how to make the job done.

Live Playing was great and the guitar can bear all the beatings I've done on it,never bumped on it anyway,and it never fall or have a single little crack on it.Good finish even if it scratches a little ,good strap buttons(I've changed it with some Schaller blocking).
Use it without a Back up on A gig...well i used to have no back ups,but...yeah...I would do this,even if my ESP LTD EX 400 it's always ready to substitute(you know...things always happens when you don't expect it...and the worst things follow this rule...ALWAYS...:-) )

No need for customer support,and I hope I will not need it for looong time!!! ;-P

I've been playing for 9 years,and I own another ESP LTD ex 400,a Yamaha strato like(my first guitar)...I also owned a Epiphone Gothic Les Paul and a ESP LTD ex 351(that I give to my best friend and rythm guitar of the band)...this Alexi 600 is very cool and I can say that it's better than all the esp I possess.If I lost this baby,I surely buy again one of it,even if it cost a lot of sacrifice in drinkin nights...I love the sound,the sawtooth inlays,the binding on the fingerboards,the shape,and the EMG 81 I put on it(Ok enough with the EMG 81)...This guitar It's definitely metal...a riffing machine,and a great lead guitar..I'm very happy with it,except for the emg hz4...If one day,I will have Esp build my own custom axe,the Alexi 600 will be the start line to realize my guitar...maybe I can copy it with a different finish and inlays...and also an EMG 81...(ENOUGH WITH IT!)

It's got pretty much everything the RR24 has but with a few changes for one the lower wing on this guitar is a little bigger and it has Yellow Stripes on it. It has 24 frets and it has one EMG HZ4 pickup and OFR tremolo. I can't give it a 10 because it is lacking a 2nd pickup and has only 1 volume knob

For the price of this guitar I wasn't expecting to like it but I do. It does the Children Of Bodom sound pretty easily but this pickup does have a lot less gain than I thought it would have. Much warmer sound out of the maple and the alder than I expected.

This guitar came with 9's on it and it was set up great. But I use GHS tnt's and also tune a full step down so I had to re set it up the neck was straight and it looked wonderful the finish is perfect and I wouldn't have changed a thing!

Well considering that all of my other guitars are Les Paul Customs I love this guitar because it is light and durable. I also like the fact that it is finished in Poly instead of Lacquer I don't need to be careful with this guitar at all and it still plays and looks great. Neck-thru joint is really strong and I enjoy the OFR and not having some liscensed shit!

I have been playing guitar for almost 7 years I do a lot of shreddy type music and I always did everything on my Les Pauls. But I was really itching for a trem equipped guitar and I found it. I didn't want to spend more than 1000 dollars and I did it. I was looking into the RR3 but I didn't like the bolt on neck. I also looked into the Dean ML's but the liscensed Floyd Rose's just didn't do it for me and I didn't want to but a guitar and put a new bridge in. Anyway long story short This guitar helps me let me get my shred on and I still have my Les Paul for bigger tonal options. I would buy this guitar again in a Heart Beat Esp really impressed me!

This guitar is great, and im a big fan of the locking tremelo. But when reaching up to the higher frets the point where the neck joins the body really makes it hard. I was expecting it to be alot easier and with only one pickup and one volume knob I can't really give it a good score on features.

The HZ Pickup supprised me. Since alot of reviews Ive read are of people switching the stock pickup with an 'Invader' I really didnt expect too much. I just use a Peavey 5150 head, and this pickup sounds pretty good. It has a little bit more low end than im used to. But it still has alot of gain. Kind of a warm tone like 'Lamb of God'. The only thing about this pickup that doesnt match up is the clarity of Sweep picking. it just doesnt match up, Alexi has such clean sweeps but with this pickup it definatly didnt sound as good as EMG 81's or anyother of there active pickups. But, im sure it will make me strive to be even cleaner at sweeps and I love the fact that its passive(No Feedback!).

Out of the box everything was perfect. But I play in Drop C, so being my first guitar with a tremelo it took me like 4 hours to adjust the bridge and tremelo. I also changed the string gauges to medium, from the light strings you get with the guitar.

The action is a little high though (just a little, maybe .5mm). I just cant seem to find that perfect point where the action is low enough but you dont get all the string buzz.

With the locking tremelo I dont see why this guitar would be unreliable. Plus all the hardware seems to be pretty well made and from good brands. Even then, if something did go wrong; with only one pickup it could be fixed very easily.

I havent had to deal with anybody. The warrent is a 'Limited Lifetime Warranty' and is under manufactures warranty for 90 days. The electronic parts are also under warranty for 1 year from purchase.

Like I said I play though a 5150 head and there is nothing wrong with the gain on this guitar. Plus, this thing looks so nice. I really think its my favorite looking guitar, (I bought the Black and Yellow). The downsides are the action being a little high, but that might just be my problem, the pickups not being able to make the sweeps sound clear, again probably my bad and the high frets not being reachable.

I bought the white model. It's a very attitude-rich, metal guitar. The only down side, features wise is the HZ pickup. Other than that it is perfect for it's intended purpose.

The HZ pickup sounds horrid. It has no tone and very little gain. I have read reviews that praised it and it makes me wonder what kind of amps they were playing through? I use some good quality tube amps that drip tone. As for guitars, I am mainly a PRS player and I compare tone/gain levels to PRS pickups. I would say that the HZ is in the gain range of the McCarty pickups.. i.e. slightly hotter than a PAF, but without any richness of tone. The #7 pickups in my PRS single cut were hotter than the HZ and then the PRS HFS... well, it made the gain level of the HZ sound like.. well, I won't use the word I want to use, but you get the picture... so what did I do? Back to guitar center, bought a Duncan Invader and.... WHAMMO! That did it! The gain was insane, the notes clear, sustain improved. I highly recommend the addition of a pickup such as the Invader or, perhaps a Dimarzio Breed or EVO2. Since I did not like the stock pickup I have to mark down on this category... with the Invader I would give higher marks. BTW if you have never changed a pickup out before this guitar is a great place to start. The simple control cavity and the way the single control is wired made it a breeze to do.

This guitar plays as well as my best $3000 PRS. Build quality is A+++. I am totally impressed by the quality.

This is a professional quality guitar. I have no doubt it will last longer than I will. I will gig with it but would never take a Floyd Rose equipped guitar to a gig without a backup... I did that 20 years ago and had a string break on the first song.. oh so very ugly...

This is the first ESP guitar I have ever owned, but I have called them to ask about where to find their product etc and was treated like a friend. I was impressed.

I have played guitar for 26 years. I own quite a few guitar. Several Paul Reed Smiths including; Custom 24s, Custom 22s, Mc Cartys, and a Single Cut. I have a Dean, a Les Paul, a Strat and several Gretsch guitars. Play through 2 Traynor YCV50s w/extension cabs and also a Peavey VTM120 with a 2x12 Celestion cab.

Looks wise this guitar is near perfec.. I think the saw tooth inlay is a little cheezy, but not enough that I passed on the guitar. Tone is perfect for a shredder once the cheap HZ pickup is replaced. -1 point here for the pickup, which is easily fixed.

I would have to have another if anything happened to it.

I bought this guitar over the summer because my other guitar (deluxe strat) was stolen. So I needed a guitar that was affordable ($900-$1,200) and had every spec that a serious shredder needs. This is that guitar.
It has a neck-thru body design, original Floyd Rose tremelo with Grover tuners, 24 extra jumbo frets, ebony fretboard with custom sawtooth inlays, a low cutaway v-shape for easy access to higher frets, a passive EMG HZ-4 humbucker at the bridge and a wicked paint job.
The only reason that it doesn't get a ten is that it has only one master volume knob, so there is no tone option. But if you dig Children Of Bodom's sound (as I do), then this is not a problem.

I use this guitar primarily for power metal and neo-classical. It has a great crunch on the low end and a clear, searing tone for the high end leads (as anyone who listens to Alexi's sound knows).
The floyd rose also allows for insane divebombs and bends and you always come back in tune.
Again, since there is no tone option, I am being fair and not giving it a ten. It still sounds awesome tho.
If you want to hear this guitar in action, visit my music myspace account at http://www.myspace.com/omnislashesp The recording quality is far from professional but it still sounds superb!

I bought the Alexi online after thorough research but never actually played it before the fact. I was holding my breath before it came, but when it did...wow. The inlays look even better in person and the paint job is so sick. I honestly don't know how the ESP model can be over a $1000 difference.
Another great aspect of the Floyd Rose is that changing the action entails only the turn of an allen wrench on the two saddle screws.

This guitar is very durable, I beat the hell out the whammy bar and it seems to have no effect on it. And the paint job is holding up fine from the many pick scratches I leave (no pick guard).
However, I will say this, do not sweat on your hardware, or if you do just make sure to clean it when your done playing! When I first got it I played till I was pourin sweat off my face and I guess I didn't realize I had sweat on the scews that tighten the strings behind the fine tuners on the bridge. The next day there was a little rust in the allen wrench threading. But I applied some gun oil with a Q-tip and no problems since.

I've been playing for eight years and this is the kind of guitar you need if you are serious about metal and you want to take your skill to the next level as a lead guitarist. This is a beautiful guitar that will leave an impression but it is also a finely crafted instrument. If you want the most bang-for-your-buck in a shredding guitar, I highly recommend it.

The new alexi ltd 600 v model features neck-thur-body contruction, 24 jumbo frets, single bridge humbucker EMG-HZ pickup, original floyd rose system, ebony fret board and grover tuners. has a nice setup and bad ass sound. def a shredders guitar. I personally bought this guitar because i wasnt about to spend $4000 bucks on a custom shop jackson rhoads V with 24 frets and floyd rose system (which they dont make.. u have to get a usa custom shop for those specs). this guitar contained all of the specs i needed while still being reasonably priced.

I love the way this guitar sounds. i play through a peavey 5150, so its sound matches the head nicely. its has great sustain, especailly for harmonics.

This guitars action is the great. period. the ebony fretboard makes it fast and versatile. great for sweeping and picking. since i wasnt used to Vs i had to adjust some technique to play extremely high on the fret board (but thats all Vs). the guitar has a great floyd system, which stays in tune after flutters, dives, and pulls (very improtant!!). basically, it playes great. this guitars' finish is SEXY!! lots of chicks have told me that too.

This guitar is built like a tank.. ive bumped it a couple of times and nothin happened. im confident that this guitar will not rust or have jack problems in the future. the finish quality seems that it will last.

I am a shredder who was looking for a guitar to match my style. this one did it perfectly. i love this guitar with all of my heart and im glad i bought it. i would recommend it to anyone who is a shredder or lives to play metal.

2006 24 fret white and black version with single EMG HZ ,alder body .mahoghany neck , grover tunes , original floyd.

Its a shredders guitar , its a great sounding axe for what it does , Its only got the single EMG HZ ,so you really can only lower the volume to change tone . But for what it does it does well , its a excellent sounding guitar .
If you opt for a Laiho model your not playing jazz, So if you want a in your face ballsy metal weapon , This guitar does that nicely.

Action was great , Looks better in person , Set up was good to go .
For the cheaper model LTD its a helluva of a guitar

LTD is a very well made guitar especially the 1000 series and theit signature stuff seems very well put together .
I have real ESPs as well the LTDs compare well.

Its a sweet ass metal monster , The ESP version goes for 3k this one was under a grand , Im sure the ESP version is better made but I cant see 2 thousand dollars difference . The LTD plays great looks great and is a killer guitar . Its got a fast as fuck neck is rock solid and gig ready . I bought the Wilton LTD recently another nice axe for the money ,

I Love the LTD higher end stuff I have a Truckster , a MH1000 , 2 EC 1000s and several ESPs . All great instruments. I play thru a Marshall DSL currently.
I play heavy rock hard blues , Schenker , gary moore , to name a few.
Bottom line the Laiho is a killerguitar , While I like Children of Bodom and I respect Laiho as a player , I bought the guitar because its a worthy instrument in its own right .