ESP EC-300

All the usual gubbins, i havnt customised it in any way, shape or form. very attractive piece, especially the contoured cut-away

I play lots of different styles, though generally in a live context i play indie and stoner metal, and this axe is surprisingly versatile. it might suffer a bit from the alck of a single coil, but frankly, its not what you buy it for. cutting bridge tones and smooth neck tones, although they can be a little flat sounding on the neck. i play it through an ashdown peacemaker 60, so theres plenty of volume. the pickups handle higher volumes very well.

the washer and the nut around the input socket keep coming loose, which is frankly annoying, but thats the only problem with it. lovely set neck, good bridge, stays in tune, cant complain there.

this has withstood being dropped repeatedly, much practise and gigging, and hasnt let me down yet.

never used

does what it says on the tin, and a little bit more, looking pretty sweet while it does it.

Read any of the other reviews if you don't know..

I write dark and desperate metal and am very demanding in my tone. No amature bullshit tone is going to pass for me. I got this guitar as it was an extremely reasonable price and I heard nothing but good. Boy was everyone CORRECT -- the sound with the standard (not active) EMG HZ's is great. I play through a Line 6 Pod 2.0 to record directly in Sonar and need little tweaking to get any variety of sound I want. Obviously the heavy sound is very clear and heavy and comes across well with both low end and high gain settings.

The clean guitar should also be mentioned as it sounds excellent.

I got it setup for E-flat quite easily, but it came setup nicely. The action is perfect, the finish is beautiful (although a dull satin finish would be nice too..) and it is very light weight. Love it!

Even though I don't take this guitar on the road, I tend to be pretty brutal with it when I'm sliding all around the room on the computer desk/chair/etc.. especially those late night hours trying to crank out an inspired piece of darkness and I've had one too many drinks and bang it once or twice. It stays in tune better than the other guitarist of my bands $1000 dollar Gibsons..

Haven't had to deal with them, wouldn't know..

An incredible guitar. It has both the look/feel/vibe/sound that I was looking for - something satured in dark atmosphere for writing likewise music. I'm sure the more expensive ESP's and Schecters may give you a bit more features, a bit better hardware and perhaps even a little better tone, but for the "under $700" category, you can't beat this guitar.

Basic LP style axe, mahogany body, two EMG-HZ humbuckers w/separate vol controls and one tone knob, 3-way selector. Neck is slightly thinner than LP's. Tune-o-matic style bridge. Should do and suit me fine after a pickup change.

I've play it thru a 60's fender vibrolux and a H&K duotone head. With vibrolux i use an ibanez tube king for distortion and H&K is straight plug-in. With that fender amp it sounds killer (i dunno if it's just that amp cuz it sounds killer even if you plug a squier into it...). With that H&K the variety of sounds ranges from dark metallica-style clean tones (you can't get that Shadows mellow-clean tone with this guitar anyhow) thru Gary Moore blues distortion all the way up to Dream Theater blowout. It defenately is not a les paul, but it's not so far away from it (save the price..)

It just plays well after some adjustments. The factory setup was 9-42 strings which were way too light. I switched to 10-48's and that was ok. The pickups SUCK so a set of Duncans or PAF's is recommended. Otherwise.... it was solid plank of mahogany.

Never had problems... had that axe for 6 months now

As i said... no probs

It's all the way basic axe. It ain't greatest it ain't even american made but it defenately does it's job.

You should know the run-down by now. Pretty straight forward.

This is a great guitar for almost any style. I play a little bit of everything and this fits the bill. I run it through a RP200 and into a Peavey Trantube Bandit 112 or an old (vintage) Fender Princeton Reverb. It doesn't put out any noise. Very quiet.

Bought the guitar from Mars so the setup blew. Brought it home and put some .10s on it, adjusted the neck and set the bridge. It looks killer. I bought the see through red (which doesn't look anything like the pictures). I did switch the volume knobs. To me they were backwards. The front knob controlled the bridge pickup and the middle one controlled the neck.

I don't really play live. I hack around with a couple of other guys ocassionally and so far no problems. It seems to be built very well. Strap buttons blow.

I have never dealt with them but I have heard a lot about their customer service. Mostly that it is terrible. But, I don't know.

I have been playing for about fifteen years now and have owned many guitars. This is one of the best that I have owned. If it were stolen I would without a doubt buy another. Wish that it came in another color and I think that this year it does.

Made in Korea, 2002 Inspected by ESP USA
Setneck/24.75''
Tune-o-matic w/ stop tailpiece
EMG-HZ H1 set (H-H)
2 Vol, tone, 3-way toggle
White binding neck and headstock
...

i changed the stock PU (shitty EMG-hz) for 2 Seymour Duncan (JB-Bridge, Jazz-Neck), now it suits perfectly in my style. Deftones- kind of style...not a ripoff. I love the tone of Deftones guitar, so i bought the 2 SD (the same they use) and i was amazed =) but my rating goes for the stock...

i love almost everything in this guitar....it's not heavy, looks amazing, it's beatiful. I had no problems with it yet. When i bought it i had some Schaller straplocks put on just to prevent a accident...

I play live lots of times...i use it always and the guitar never gave me problems. I feel safe with it, but i have a backup (Ibanez RG550) just for the case...The stock strap buttons were solid but i didn't felt safe with them...

i never dealt with the company =) but i had some doubts about the guitar and they've always made my doubts clear =)

I've been playing guitar for 6 years now, i played bass for 2 years. I own a Marshall AVT2000 100 with a Marshall JCM900 Cabinet, a Boss Gt-3, Ibanez RG550, Jim Dunlop CryBaby Dimebag Darrell Signature, Boss TwinPedal Amp Factory (Studio),...
If it were stolen, i would follow the guy who stoled it...kicked the sh*t out of him and look for my guitar...if didn't find it, i would certanly buy other...
I just wish it had other stock PU...

you know by now
Gibson Explorer type setup. (aka 2 volume 1 tone) # way toggle switch

I play Rage, system, pod, puya and a lot of metal shit mostly in drop "d" and standard tuning. The emghz stock pickups are pretty good. I run my ec-300 through a Jimi Hendrix dunlop wah-->Boss flanger-->Boss Digital Delay-->DOD EQ-->Digitech rp-200-->Randall 100 watt 2x12. i run everthing through the clean channel on the roland cause the rp-200 is always on and has a nicer more fuller messa sounding distortion than the amp which i like. Also i can switch from crazy death metal to crystal clean in a heartbeat, which comes in handy. The guitar is great for any style i use it for metal and some reggae and funk too. It's mostly a metal guitar though. I have a compressor on the rp-200 so i dont have any pickup noise. I might get a better pickup for the bridge or an 81/85 combo

This is where this guitar excells. It feels and looks awesome and the action is perfect. I have .10s on it and the graphite nut is the shit.. stops all buzzing. The guitar stays in tune really well, Let me put it this way... i can play master of puppets and still be in tune at the end. The flag inlays and head stock are great. WARNING!-The strap locks suck and need to be replaced right away with strap-locks cause the guitar will fall.

built like a tank, not heavy at all get strap-locks and start gigging

never needed too

PLayed for 7 years own a strat, tele, and this and i haven't touch the other two guitars since christmas when i got the ec-300.Lost or stolen id by it again along with the ec-1000.

2002 Korea EC-300 in Black finish.
24.75 scale w/24 XJ frets
Dual humbucking EMG-HZ pickups.
2 volume, master tone and 3way toggle.
Tune-o-matic bridge w/stop tailpiece

I'll give this a 9 as I can only fault the XJ frets (personally prefer medium) the rest is just great. I needed a guitar with the individual volumes pots as Im a bridge player and switch the neck PU off that way I can kill the sound with the toggle switch when needed. I learned to play on a les paul copy and will never play anything non-les paul.

I play a lot of heavy music (Tool, SOAD, Raging Speedhorn, GlassJaw) I use drop tunings only and like a really thick power chord. My current les paul really shreds so when I play the EC 300 next to it with the same overdrive it sounds weak in comparison. It doesnt distort as well sounds more jangly. But it is a lot lighter than my other guitar so the sound could be accounted to this fact. I got this guitar because I wanted a les paul setup on a lighter guitar and this guitar is just that.
Ive heard a hell of a lot of bad reviews for the HZ pickups and they were half right. Theyre not all bad they mute out really silent which is good and the output is moderate. When Im playing any rhythm parts tho I feel like I want to turn it up to 12 and get pissed when the volume is up full; they really arent loud enough. It has awesome sustain tho and is really good for lead work and solos.
I use a lot of harmonics in the songs I play and the pickups do have a lot of harmonic capability but then I hit another brick wall. The frets buzz on my lowest string and its just about impossible to get a good pinch harmonic cuz the buzz muffles it out.
This guitar in no way sounds bad; it is still a good sounding guitar. Just has flaws (but could just be my personal tastes) if you dont use pinch harmonics on your sixth string then the last will not concern you at all.

Man this guitar just looks so mean with the black hardware and black finish. The finish is very nice and the flag inlays are very nice quality. My guitar has slight finish imperfections (which is how I got the price lowered) if it is held to the light in the right position you can grease marks except they are underneath the clear coat so cannot be wiped off.
I love the way this guitar looks in black the cherry is very nice but with the black hardware and the black headstock top it just suits it better if the body is black also.
The electronics are very silent on this guitar which is a very important thing to me.
The bridge was too high for me when I got the guitar home so I lowered it a few millimetres to get a better action and more crunch so it plays a hell of a lot better now.
Overall very good with a few minor flaws.

The guitar is very well crafted and comfortable to play. It seemes very durable and reliable but Ive only had it a couple of weeks so cant be too sure.

havent dealt with them

Ive been playing for like 3 years now but I know a lot about guitars and how to set them up so my comments are educated. I think that to make this guitar my ideal axe I would have to install a new bridge pickup (a higher output one) and get the frets filed down to medium. I think then I would be really impressed by this guitar. Looks-wise only a PRS single cutaway would look smarter than this guitar but Im all about functionality and for me its not as fitting.
I am overall happy with this guitar and think for the price it is a great buy. This definitely do me till I can finance a proper gibson LP.

This is a 2001 ESP eclipse (les paul style guitar). This has 24 jumbo frets 2 volume 1 tone and a three way selector that switches between 2 emg-hz humbuckers. This guitar has a mahogany body with a glue on mahogany neck. It's got a see-through black cherry finish which is awsome! It's got a tune-o-matic bridge and standard ESP tuners. It also has some cut-outs and bevelled edges that make it a more comfortable guitar to play. They also make the top frets more accessable.

This guitar is is for total shredders, it's got an awsome tone for metal. I play out of 2 marshall jcm 2000 dsl's, a Fender 65 twin reverb, and a Crate gfx 120. It sounds unbelievable! Over all, this guitar cranks out some unbelievably clear tones on every setting! It is extremly versital too. You can get bright sounds, fat sounds, any thing! And every single tone is the richest and fullest that it gets. This guitar is a pure METAL guitar. I love every thing about it.

This guitar is set up perfectly, it plays great! The pick-ups, action, and everything were set up perfectly strait from the factory. This guitar has know flaws.

This guitar could withstand a nuclear blast! It's the toughest guitar on the market. Perfectly fit for live playing. Every thing is put on solid and made to last!

I've been playing a long time and this is the best guitar I've ever played!If it were stolen, I would definatly go out and buy a new one. I love every thing about this guitar. I'm thinking about puting EMG 81's and 85's on it or another one, but I'm afriad to mess with it. It sounds so good, I don't want to screw it up.

Set neck 24.75" scale.
Mahogony body, 3pc Mahogony/Rosewood neck/fretboard
Flag inlays with model name @ 12th fret
Black hardware
tune-o-matic bridge (fixed)
White binding on neck and headstock
24 frets, has 2 EMG HZ H-1 passive pickups
2 volume knobs, one tone knob, 3 way toggle switch
I got the see thru black cherry color.

Sounds great, I use it both with various amps in rehearsal rooms (often with a Boss Metal Zone pedal, sometimes with out) using Marshall and Peavy and Fender amps.
My main rig is a Mosvalve 180 power amp, Valve-FX preamp, BBE Sonic Maximizer and Crate 4x12 cabinet, it sounds really good, as good as my Les Paul Studio Light with EMG's

Action was OK, strings were kind of crappy and wouldn't stay in tune. As soon as I put on a fresh set of 10's, the guitar is sweet.

Well it's a guitar, so if you drop it, it might break. Finish seems stable, I keep it in a gig bag and it gets tossed around a bit, no problems with the finish so far. I always use 2 guitars live, and this one is my backup guitar for my Les Paul. I did replace the strap buttons with Schaller strap locks the first day I got it, so I can't comment on them. The input jack loosens up now and then, but I just tighten it and it's set for a while.

No need to contact ESP for support yet.

I've been playing for way too long.
I have 2 Les Pauls, a studio and studio light, it plays just as nicely as either one of those guitars.
If it were lost or stolen, I'd probably get another one, unless I found a good deal on a used Les Paul instead.
THing I don't like about it is that I wish the knobs were layed out a little differently. I mainly use the bridge position pickup, but keep adjusting the volume for the neck one, my hand goes there naturally for some reason. I may open the guitar up and swap the potentiometers around. I think for the money it's a great guitar. I played some other lower-end ESP's that really felt "lower end" For the sub-$500 range this is a great guitar, I have no plans of selling it anytime.