ESP Axxion

Goodluck getting one of these, they don't make them now, and i'm pretty sure i bought the last one listed online from a music store in VA.

Neck-thru-body construction
25.5" scale
Mahogany body
3-piece mahogany neck
Rosewood fingerboard
Custom XX inlays
Seymour Duncan Dave Mustaine livewire active pickups
2 volume & 1 tone control with 3-way toggle
Black hardware
Sperzel locking tuners
Dunlop flushmount straploks
Tonepros locking bridge w/string-thru-body
24 jumbo frets
The only difference is my LTD model has a rosewood fretboard instead of ebony.

I play 80s thrash, so it's great.
I use it with Marshall MG100 solid state and Metal Zone MT2.
You can get any sound out of this guitar, the pickups are so HOT, the amp must be turned down when switching to this guitar from any other i've plugged up.

The store i bought it from set it up and of course i am going to get it re-setup after the season, it came with 9 guage, and i will play 10 so there is more reason, but it's awesome.
Right now i have slight, slight, fret buzz on fret 6,7,8 on big E but will easyily fix after the season and my guage changes.
I had my action set super low and that's the only buzz, just on that string, and i think that was from error of the music shop, because the E is the lowest and that should not be, the small E should be.

Live playing, i would say so, don't know yet, but the locking straplocks are the best way to go.

Never encountered it yet, just sent in my registration and warranty

This guitar is the best guitar i have ever played, i like it better than my other guitarists' CFH dimebag USA guitar and my other guitarist's Guild USA ratt signature from 80s, it's awesome but i like mine better.
I would buy it again if i could if it went missing, but it's hard to find.
I love the shape, very comfortable playing sitting, the pickups are amazing, i compared it to many in my search, but always set my standards high comparing it to my buddies and their expensive USA metal guitars.
It is perfect, i would only add the ebony fretboard that the american version has, but this is the fastest rosewood fretboard i've played.

Excellent features all the way around, just add a Dimebucker, and it's right

I love this guitar. It was a great sounding axe when I got it, but I pulled the bridge pickup out, and installed a Dimebucker. It's incredible. I have several high dollar Gibsons, and this guitar is fast and brutal sounding. The neck is my favorite, out of all of my 13 something guitars I own. I run it through various things, including a Boss GT8, Marshall JCM 2000 100 Watter, and my Genz Benz ElDiablo. It puts a many expensive guitar to shame in the sound department.

Guitar was setup great when I got it, but it's been tweaked a bit since then. There were some flaws on the finish, especially at the input jack location, but overall I love it. Body takes a little getting used too, but otherwise great guitar.

This will probably withstand years of playing for me. It seems to be built very solid. I would always have a backup guitar, and it would probably be one of my othe ESP's.

Never dealt with them.

Been playing 30 years, I own tons of stuff, and actually I love this guitar a lot. I own the whole ESP 30th Anniversary Collection, as well as the Mustaine V, so I guess you can say I like my ESP's. For the money, it's probably one of the best rock/metal guitars out there.

Made in Korea, Mahogany neck through body, tone pro bridge, Seymour Duncan Pickups(JB bridge, Jazz neck),Very interesting shape,kinda like a modified Iceman, locking tuners, Dave's Signature on the Headstock, Your basic metal machine.....

First off, I have other another LTD guitar and it doesn't sound or play as well as any of my ESPs so I wasn't expecting much. WOW, was I in for a surprise! This guitar is brutal!! The distortion it generates through my 5150 Combo is so thick you could barely cut it with a knife. It also makes some awesome tones out of my Fender Twin (Evil Twin) on the gain channel. I haven't been able to make this guitar not sound bad,even on my Fender clean channel. I'm not sure why I was surprised since I also have a Y2KV that has these pickups plus the mahogany neck through body and it also sounds awesome. I have to give it a 10 for sound.

Nothing out of the ordinary. Seems to be setup well, but I bought it used so it may have had a visit to a tech. The overall craftsmanship seems pretty good. I will say you can see the lines on the back of the guitar of the neck through part vs. the wings....no big deal though.

I'm not sure about the durability of this shape. There are a lot of pointy parts that could get damaged given the right situation.

No opinion here. I have had problems w/ ESP in the past.

I've been playing for many years, and own 10 electric guitars 2 ESP Kamikaze's,2 Jacksons(1-Y2KV,1-Vinnie Vincent),Gibson Les Paul and SG Standard, LTD M-1 Tiger,Fender Strat, This guitar, and a Peavey Vandenberg. I also own a 5150 Combo and Fender Twin Amp(new this week,and very cool!!). I play everything from 80's Metal to current day metal, to Eric Johnson style music. This guitar is definitely great for metal, but I also got some usable thick bluesy tones out of my Fender. I am impressed w/ such an inexpensive guitar to feel,play and sound this good. This restores my faith in LTD products.

This is the LTD.Features are great,read last review.

I'm using it with a Hughes and Kettner Warp-T head,it sounds killer.It's very crunchy and warm,but,it can whip out some brutal tones.It's very versitle as well.

This guitar was ready to kill right out of the box.The neck is fast and smooth and the action is perfect.The only thing I had to do was raise the pick ups a little to get some more growl,but that's it.

I've had it for a week and have abused it pretty good.So far so good.

Don't know.

I play death metal and it's perfect.Like the guy said below me,you'll either love the shape or hate it.I love it.I give it a 9 because it doesn't come with a case.

2005, LTD version of the new Dave Mustaine guitar. Made in Korea (LTD. ESP is hand-made in the custom shop in Japan) . Black in color; Mahogany body, 3-piece Mahogany neck; neck-thru type; rosewood fretboard (ebony in ESP model). Custom XX inlays; 24 frets.TonePros bridge, string-through body; Sperzel locking tuners; flushmount Dunlop straplocks. 2 Volume knobs, one Master tone, toggle switch at the top. Same pickups as the Y2KV and DV8: Duncan Jazz at the neck and JB at the bridge. Any more descriptions, I'll sound like the catalog!
The body is unique....Like a Jackson Kelly in a way, with a deeper cut to make the upper frets more accessible IMO. I can say that you will either love the shape or hate it, that's it.
I think it's cool as hell, but the LTD comes with no case (separate), and good luck trying to fit it in another case oir gig-bag, because the headstock is shaped weird enough to keep it from closing....But I don't mind. Love it, easy to use.

Dave advertises this guitar "for serious metal players", and well, I think that the guitar is more versatile than that. Most Megadeth fans aren't just "chugging along" on the E-string anymore, and I think the choice of pickups can give you a lot of fun. The guitar sounds WONDERFUL unplugged! I must say, ESP does a great job. Plugged in to my Lone sta, I feel that the Duncan pickups sound JUST FINE, in fact great, but you have to LIKE that configuration. If metal is your gig, TRUST ME the guitar is WAY capable, if you know Mustaine's sound.

I gotta say that here in Japan, the ESP salespeople try to push the ESP model on everyone, but as many of you know, and as I have realized, LTD IS FANTASTIC!!!! I never had a guitar shipped from the States to here in Osaka (in a F&')ing BOX, no less) so ready to go! The fit, finish everything is WELL DONE! The frets are well-chamfered, so no slice and dice on your fingers! For a rosewood fretboard, it's really smooth to play. I will take off for this, and inspect carefully: my Axxion has some small, pinhead-sized holes next to some of the XX frets. Poor wood? Machine's fault? Dunno. But I will say that they gotta fix that. But it's goregeous, and otherwise SUPREMELY WELL BUILT.

I'm sure it will survive the gigs, but the headstock is pointy, so I wonder....Dunlop ain't my thing: I like Schaller myself, but my Y2KV has stayed on, no probs. No backup? How long have you been playing to trust ONE git? HA HA! NEVER!!!!

Esp here in Japan is great. Too bad in America people don't say much about them...

Playing 17 years, not enough confidence, too much gear, got an ESP Viper (they're made by hand here, with different finishes)last month, and fell in love with ESP! I am a HUGE Mustaine fan, but the DV8 struck me as just another Jackson Y2KV, and not U.S. made, so forget it, I thought. I wrote this review because I'd like to say that as an American living in Japan, I can see why people have moved to LTD back home. They are easier on the wallet, and play great. I say if you want to get this git, hurry and remember, this is a celebratory guitar for Megadeth's 20th Anniversary, so they might not make many of them. Also, it's not as extreme in shape as a V, so us thirty-and-up-somethings can vibe on stage withiut looking goofy. The ESP model will cost you close to 4 grand, and here in Japan there's a 4-month wait, because they BUILD IT FOR YOU (heh,heh). I think Dave is waiting to see who'll buy it, is all. But trust me, ESP and Dave knew what they were doing with this, and respect guitarists buy making a high quality axe with out killing your wallet! KUDOS!