Product: ESP Custom Shop Viper
Price Paid: USD 1700
Submitted
12/11/2006
at
01:03pm
by
Kevin P
Features
:
10
Custom order Lefty Viper
1pc Mahogany Neck Through W/ Mahogany body wings
Bound Ebony neck, no dots
Single EMG81. 1 volume pot
Sound
:
10
After handling a bunch of 400 series LTD's I have come to the conclusion that EMG's sound best with a Mahogany neck & body. So I ordered an upscale version for myself. This guitar is all business. Bright & Hot
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
10
The fit & finish is outstanding. The small details like fret ends, binding. Fret work & nut are perfect. The steel pickup box on the rear flips over for fast battery changes & looks clean.
Reliability/Durability
:
10
There's nothing that would worry me abou the reliability. Good materials & workmanship will last a lifetime.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
I'm a Luthier & the few times I have dealt with them, they were cool to deal with.
Overall Rating
:
9
This Guitar is light, comfortable & well made. I own 50 high end USA,Japan & Canadian guitars. This new ESP reall impresses me.
Product: ESP Custom Shop Viper
Price Paid: US $1499.99
Submitted
10/29/2002
at
02:00pm
by
Rob
Email: ViperESP at aol<dot>com
Features
:
10
I had a Custom Guitar ESP Viper built not very long ago. It has the following features:
24XJ Frets(Normal Fret Size)
Maple Body(Silver Sparkle Color)
Maple Neck with Rosewood Fretboard
2 Volume(Neck/Body pickups)
2 Tone(Neck/Body pickups)
5-way MegaSwitch
EMG Afterburner
Pickups: Neck - EMG 81, Body - EMG 81/85(Fully active pickups)
The bodys style is based on ESP's LTD Viper model
Bridge: Tune-o-matic with string through body
Spezel locking tuner
Neck Shape: Thin U
Included with the Custom Shop Viper, I received: A hardshell ESP Case, an ESP Strap, Allen Wreches, Strings, Fretboard Cleaner and a Certificate from the President of ESP saying that my Custom Shop Viper is a one of a kind guitar.
Also if you were wondering..my guitar was built in Japan. The USA ESP shop in Hollywood and New York have both merged with the Custom Shop factory in Tokyo,Japan.
Sound
:
9
Well, the Viper suits all of my needs from Punk and Grunge to Metal. I'm currently running it through a lower end Marshall Amp. which suits me perfectly fine for the time being. So far I've had nothing but a Rich, Full sound and I doubt it will ever change.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
10
The guitar set up was perfect right from the factory. I had no trouble hooking it up to the Amp. and getting the feel of it. The pickups didn't need any adjusting at all. They were set up just right with the way I specified. The guitar had no flaws at all. Everything was perfect.
Reliability/Durability
:
9
My Custom Viper would definately withstand the act of playing live. The hardware will definately last as it was well built. The finish at the moment seems fine..It dosen't show any signs of wearing off as of yet so I don't believe it will in the future. The strap buttons are very sold compared to other guitars I've used in the past. The viper is a dependable guitar and it can take a hit without doing damage to the body unlike other guitars such as a B.C. Rich Warlock where any hit would more or less snap a point off. I know this out of experience as well..I just barely hit it on the side of my wall and a big chunk of the headstock came off. I later superglued it back and you really can't tell it was ever broke. Anyway, I would definately take the viper to a gig without a backup. Again the guitar is well,well built and can take whatever you give it with no problems at all.
Customer Support
:
1
This is ESP's downfall right here. It took me a good month to get a price quote on this guitar. Numerous messages were left with no responses. They finally did get back to me and I was able to order it a little over a month later.
Overall Rating
:
9
Overall I'd give this a guitar. I've been playing now for about 3 years and I currently own: ESP F205,B.C. Rich Warlock and the Custom Shop viper which is the one i'm doing this review on. Really, I didn't have any i'd rather of asked before I submitted the order. If my guitar was stolen or lost I'd DEFINATELY buy it again, granted I had the money to reorder one just like it. Really, I love everything about the guitar. The only thing that I don't like is the dark colored fretboard. I'd of rather had a lighter wood but that wasn't customizeable so I couldn't do anything about that. My favorite feature would have to be the 5way toggle which gives me the ability to switch between numerous pickup configurations.
