ESP EC-1000 FR

It's just a follow up on my previous review. I've stated that a tremolo was an OFR - Original Floyd Rose Made in Germany, however it's not. It has a Floyd Rose engraving on the base plate (top) and two U.S. Patent numbers stamped on the sustain block which indicates that in fact it is manufactured for Floyd Rose but where? I found no answer so far neither looking at the trem nor searching WWW. Still the quality of the tremolo is impeccable and the tuning stability is the same as German made counterparts. I have two FR equipped guitars: one with OFR and another one with FR Pro, so I???m telling from the experience.

Still great, although I wish a had a little bit more low end from a neck pickup.

Like a said before, immaculate.

Nobody in a right mind would gig without a backup, especially if the guitar a fully floating Floyd Rose equipped.

Made in 2008, 24 XJ frets, single cut away mahogany body, maple top finished in see-thru black, 24-3/4" scale maple neck, abalone bound body, neck and headstock, H/H EMG 81/60 active pickups, 3-way switch, volume/volume/tone controls, Original Floyd Rose (OFR) locking tremolo bridge, locking ESP tuners, string tree and all hardware finished in black nickel. Again keep in mind that the bridge is OFR: before I bought it I called ESP to confirm it, however online retailer won't tell you that. In fact Musician's Fried's "expert" told me that it was licensed.

I play all styles of music, mostly rock of all kinds. I play into Digitech GSP 1101 with Control 2, Peavey Classic 50/50 power amp and two 2x12 Carvin Legacy cabs. I run noise gate on high gain settings, so I really couldn't tell if it's noisy, but knowing EMGs I really don't believe that the guitar is noisy at all. Sound is thick and rich, great sustain, not trebly at all, but as far as variety goes it's pretty straight rock guitar to the bone - shines with distortions. I like everything about this guitar. I have many others for different sounds, but this one does what it's designed to do.

I was a bit sceptical about fit and finish untill I got it and unboxed it. It was packed very well from the factory. When I took it out of the box and inspected it I could not find any flaws... Perfect! It came already set up, so after 1 minute of fine tuning I was rocking. The inonation was right on, the action was low, pickups were at the right height and the bridge position was also perfect -parallel to the body.

Don't know yet, because I just got it. Looks and feels very soilid though. I don't anticipate any suprises really.

Called ESP ones and they were great: polite and knowledgeable.

I've been playing for 30 years and owned many guitars; too many to list. However I always ended up replacing something either crappy hardware or crappy pickups. This guitar needs nothing - plug and play. I guess I'm the first one to review it and honestly I'm not dissapointed with my choice at all. Many find LP style guitars with Floyd Rose ugly or strange looking, but this is the style what I was after. You will not find any guitars in this price range with such appointments. Gibson Axess, Neil Schon and Steve Hackett signatures cost a fortune, ESP Eclipse FR or ESP Edwards FR are impossible to find in the USA, so this is finally it.