ESP EX-100

I believe this guitar is produced in Korea around 2001.
22 jumbo frets
Basswood body
Maple neck
Rosewood fingerboard
1 volume, 1 tone, 3-way pickup toggle
Stock ESP LTH-100 (or something) pickups
EX style, a modified version of the Gibson EXP with pointy ends
Tune-O-Matic set bridge
included gig bag and tuner

I play mainly metal, Metallica, Maiden, Dimmu Borgir, Megadeth etc. That's why I got this baby. It suits metal good except the pickups suck. the bridge pickup has a way too bright clean sound but is pretty good for heavy palm muting. The neck pickup is good for clean playing with a very full and bluesy sound. On distortion though, it's good for leads because it doesn't squeal too much, but for anything on the low E and A strings, it's way too bassy and distorted. The worst thing is when I try to play an arpeggio or anything involving sweep type picking, all the notes get lost in distortion even if the distortion is on 1...

evrything was ok

Will this guitar withstand live playing? yes
Does the hardware seem like it will last? rock solid
Is the finish good enough to last, or does it seem thin and easy to wear off with lots of playing? some of it falls of when the guita knocks into stuff
Are the strap buttons solid? get some strap locks
Would you use it on a gig without a backup? yup

The EX-100 I got had the gunmetal-blue finish which I THINK was new for the EX100 at the time I got it. It's got 2 ESP LTD Humbuckers, 3-way switch. If you're looking here then you probably know all the other nitty-gritty features.....

The sound is definately for Rock. The pickups aren't the greatest but they're still nothing to overlook. They sound great for Heavy music. They have Fairly high output, good crunch and lead tones, and over-the-top SQUEALING harmonics. The Clean sound isn't outstanding but it's ok. It doesn't have top-notch clarity though. The bass kinda loosely sticks out, it's easy to control but it's not my sound . I already changed the bridge pickup to a duncan JB. Sounds much better overall but that's just for my tastes I guess. When I get my LP I want to put the JB on that cuz I think this thing would be a Godsend for EMG's!

This thing seemed put together kind of good. The 14th fret is slightly low on the Low-E string, makes me have to push a little harder to keep the tone...not that big of a deal. The only change I did (In it's stock form) was raise the bridge pickup. The guitar Is right out of the box ready-to-rock. It has a good feel and is easy to play even difficult licks while maintaining good and accurate tone.

It seems like it's built like a rock..I hit the tip of it on a post in my jamming room a couple times but it doesn't seem to have made any marks. Although when It arrived there was a chip on the bottom tip of it

I haven't contacted them although I should have for a few cosmetic defects I've mentioned earlier.

I've been playing for a little more than 2 years. I have a fairly big middle-of the road PA. I plug into it with Effects processors and 4x12 modeling. This guitar's only real week point is it's not-so perfect clarity in the mids. If you like Heavy music and don't really do that much soloing then maybe that won't matter at all. For the price I couldn't expect more than what this guitar has, and I paid $60 extra just for the finish I wanted!!

I believe this is a 2001 model, made in Korea. 22 jumbo frets that hold up extremely well to punishing rhythm guitar playing. It's a solid top with a near-impregnable finish (I've dropped it and bumped it a few times, with no noticeable damage). It's got one volume and one tone knob that sends it from pure crispness to swamp muddiness. It's equipped with two pretty standard LTD pickups, but they definitely sound better on distortion than any single coil. The body is basswood with a maple neck, and a rosewood fretboard. It has an explorer-style body (obviously) that is a little more bare-bones metal looking than the more rounded corners on say, the Gibson explorer models. Tune-o-matic bridge with a stop tailpiece makes for easy removal of broken strings and home restringing. The tuners are pretty standard but hold the pitch well; it once got slammed in a door and it was still in tune...this guitar can HANDLE. The neck took some getting used to when I first got it (I had a blister after playing nothing other than Strats before it) but now I'm totally addicted to it. The one I bought from American Musical Supply came with a free hardshell case, which in the last year or so that I've had it (and transported it often) has held up remarkably well. It would be nice if it had another tone control and better pickups, but I guess thats how it should be customized after-market for your own personal sound.

Since I pretty much play straight up hard rock/metal, this guitar ROX. No other guitar in it's price range even comes close to matching both the looks and the killer, fresh distortion sound that this guitar gives when hooked up to a killer rig. I just bought a Mesa/Boogie Mark III head and Mesa/Boogie 2x12 mid-80's cab, which I hope will give me a brutal metal tone. Even with my buddy's Marshall JCM 900 (NOT exactly the ideal metal amp) I still can kick some major ass. On solid state amps it gets quite noisy if you're within about 10 feet of the cab when the gain is cranked, so be sure to have either a wireless or longer cable. I absolutely CAN'T GET OVER how much of a perfect bass response this guitar gives with the basswood body, I can't even fathom how good it would sound with a pair of EMG pickups. When it's switched to either the front pickup (for maximum butteriness) or both pickups (kinda crispy) and on clean, you can get some interesting sound, in my opinion it's good, but a few of my friends disagree. I would have to say that overall, this guitar is pure metal, even for power ballads :-P!!!

The action required no adjustment when I got it, and the pickups were set ready to go. I could find no flaws, other than perhaps a slight click when the pickup selector switch is moved.

This guitar could probably survive a nuclear holocaust; it's built like a rock. The hardware is black chrome, and other than looking somewhat old when it's dusty, looks like it will live for the life of the guitar. The finish hasn't gotten any scratches on it from rehearsing and playing, and the strap buttons are still tightly attached after almost a year. I know I can depend on this guitar, and would prolly leave the backup in the van.

If this guitar was ever taken from my possession, I would probably buy another one of the exact same make and model, except maybe with EMG pickups. I love every feature about it otherwise. I've compared the tone and feel of this guitar to other metal guitars, and I have to say that it's in a class of its own. If you want a tone similar to Metallica or Soundgarden, this is the guitar for you.

Purchased for $199.99 in late 2001.
This guitar was made in Korea i believe.
Its got 22 extra jumbo frets. (but they seem normal sized to me)
Awsome body design!! Looks like a gibson explorer but much more evil!!!
Rosewood fret board and maple neck with a Basswood body.
One tone and one volume knobs. Three way pick-up selector.
Stopbar tail peice with a tune-o-mat-ic bridge!
Looks like generaic tuners...
Pick-ups are fairly cheap esp brand stock pickups.
Good finish and a nice gunmetal blue color.
Very simple and to the point guitar but looks and sounds good.

I play a mix a music ranging from metallica to green day and from deftones and godsmack to weezer. It suits most of these quite well but its much better for the heavier types of music. Tends to feedback pretty easy on high volumes. (which can be cool but bad aswell)
For clean music it doesnt do so well because the esp humbuckers tend to make it sound "dirty" even when its on a clean setting. Drop the volume on the guitar down about half way and it cleans up for the most part.
Good heavy guitar... but not a bright happy guitar. Made to get down and dirty!!!

No problems!!!
Bought from Marsmusic.com and it was 99% perfect!!!!
Great set-up and everything!!!!!!

I wouldnt use thise guitar without a backup just in case but it does seem to last and it seems as though it will hold up to some pretty hard live playing! Strap buttons are fine.

I dont deal with anyone!

Ive been playing around 2 years and I bought this so i would have a heavy guitar with more fret. (i also have a fender strat(mexican) and a kramer bass)
It sounds pretty good though my Peavy half stack(not so good amp but its works for the most part)
For the money this guitar is awsome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!