ESP EXP

1997 Japanese EXP with the black album style(glossy and shiny black finish that is...)22 shiny jumbo frets,rosewood fretboard on a bolt on maple neck and Planet-Waves locking tuners.

Solid Mahogany body with the 3 way toggle switch stop bar bridge and TWO volumes(no Tone on this one...)and loaded with the current Metallica EMG set up since the Load times which is not the 81/81 anymore but 81/60...

the 81 we all know and love doesn't need any introductions but the 60 well...I guess we could call this pick-up the greatest solution to make a two humbucker guitar with solid body to sound like a middle position single-coil in a Strat...

Planet-waves strap-locking system with a great shoulder protection pad which prevents those odd off balance situations as well as it prevents that pain on your shoulder wile your playying with it for 3 hours long...(like me...)

No original hard case though but it's being kept in a custom case hand-made by CAT Gustom Guitars-PORTUGAL

well...anyone who owns a guitar like this has to be into hard rock,thrash,heavy metal or some surrounding genre...like me...

thing is I'm not very into it right now...or well not as much as I use to be...but I still play my Ozzy Randy Rhoads era tunes some Metallitunes speccially the Loads and Garage tunes not because of the quality of the songs itself but because of the rich guitar tone on 'em...

As I was tellin'ya before we all know the EMG 81...rich tone,great sustain,great high ends as well as middles but what sticks out in this guitar is the EMG 60 that provides a heavenly,smooth and brilliant clean sound very close to a single-coil in a stratocaster which takes this guitar to a very versatile level...

Believe it or not I play Pink-Floyd,Police,Marillion,Brian Adams,U2 (the clean electrical stuff)and all those not-so-distorted stuff where you'd put a strat doin' all the work...

I play through a Marshall JCM2000 DSL100 head with the 1960 cab with the 4x12's and a ZOOM RFX-2000 midi fx processor and I must say I have all I need to rock the night away inside the clubs...

the set up I currently live use is a Eb like Metallica since the load records and like some european power metal bands like Edguy or Stratovarius....with Dean Markley Blue steel 010 strings...

The sound was something I really wanted it to stick out so that people would watch and go''hey it's not just a guts,blood,fire and metal guitar with an aggressive look, bound to make this guy a badass like Hetfield,it really sounds great and versatile!...``

So what I did was to to call on my usual luthier and ask him for to put the 81 to sound like a Gibson PAF and the 60 on the neck would follow and complement the arrangement by sounding clean and brilliant...

No flaws no dents,just a rubbing mark on the area around the strap-locks,other than that...

the action on this axe is as fast as it gets I told you I 'm a non tremolo player mainly because of this guitar and believe me there's a lotta secrets and thrill in doin'it!...

It also taught me that explorers aren't just for rhythm duties but they have a great word to say on lead as well...(remember Wolf Marshall or Marty Friedman?...)

The finish is your basic shinny and glossy black that mirrors everything standing in fornt of it,a lil'bit fragile;you have to use a clean very smooth cloth to polish it other wise things it will get scratchy...

First off I'd like to say that this IS a live guitar,period...
And one of the secrets to use this guitar well in live situations is never use it too low or too high...

If you use this guitar too low it will tire you of use it and you won't be comfortable playing with it 'cause it just keeps boucing on...too high it will tire you also but in another perspective...if you are a gtr/singer such as me you'll understand:it will block you breading and the highs that ya have on your voice won't come out...

as far as hardware is concerned the thing i like the most is the stop bar bridge it taught me how to rock the people in clubs by using no tremolo bar at all and just sticking to your hands and that's a great thing....

Great solid body that makes the EMG's sing with great clarity and sustain the high notes...

Great reliable guitar with a strap lock that really helps out in keeping the instrument of off balance situations...

And yeah you guessed it...I have no backup guitar ...I play this baby all night 'cause I know there won't be a sleepin' battery or a broken string 'cause it just doesn't happen with this one...

I play for 8 years an I have this baby for 7now imagine what I've learned palying with this....

Made in 1998-99, Japan, 22 extra jumbo frets, solid mahogany body, maple neck, rosewood fretboard, bolt on, 2 emg 81's, 1 vol. 1 tone 1 3 way toggle. vintage white... its now like a kinda cream colour. tune-o-matic bridge, got it mint with case.

Chances are if you have this guitar you play metal... and thats what i play... its awesome and sounds so thick and bottom endy. just sounds awesome... couldnt ask for a better sounding guitar.

As i got it used, i had to set it up,i like low action. Its a real solid full feeling guitar... as mentioned i got it in mint condition.

used live a few times by the previous owner, he's pretty ruff with his guitars, but this ones built to last. seems real durable.

never dealt with them.

been playing for 7 years, i own an ESP KH1, ESP flying V, ESP LTD H1000, ESP LTD EC300, Ibanez Custom RG7620, Ibanez RG570, Ibanez rg 270. If this guitar were lost or stolen i would kill who ever did it. Has everything that i like, nothing that i dont... sounds the best out of all my guitars. Unfotunatly it is no longer made because of those greedy gibson fellows... thanks for nothing gibson.

My MX-250 black explorer was made in japan in the eairly 90s.
It has 22 frets, ebony finger board, MOP dot inlays, Mahogany body and neck, 2 volume knobs, 3-way gibson switch, a pair of emg 81s, Tone Pros bridge and stop tail peice, sperzel tuners, hard shell case.

This guitar is great for any metal not just metallica. I have allot of jacksons and gibsons but this is by far my best guitar of the bunch.

It just sounds awsome.

The action is great on it, the guitar is used but theres not much fret ware.

there is one or two dings but its fabulous

The guitar is over 10 years old and the only thing thats happend to it is a dodgey wire for the neck pick-up.

bought it used.

I have been playing for 5 years and this is the best guitar i have ever played. I have been thinking to get a used gothic explorer,

I am just lucky to owen one of these guitars as they are no longer avalible thanks too gibson.

Anybody interested in selling a gothic explorer.

It was made in Japan in 1999! On of the last ones ever made. 22 XJ Frets, Black finish, 3 way toggle switch, 2 EMG 81 Humbucker, Tune-o-matic bridge, mahogany body!

What should I say. This is the thickest sound I ever heard. A lot of muscle in there. Well I don't have any fx but I'm working on it. Due to the tune-o-matic, there is not much room for a variety of sounds.
Right now I'm just using an old Fender amp, but I'm working on that, too.

Perfect set up and adjustment. Eveverything is perfect

Well, I love that guitar, and there wouldn't be a problem playing it live. It is just a little heavy. It's just a rythm guitar, no lead!

Perfect Supprot by the Dealer here in Germany!!!

Usually ESP guitars are a in my opinion a little too expensive. I got a pretty goog deal on a guitar that was actually sold out. Great Value

Made in Japan. 1995 i guess. With 22XJ frets. 3way switching system. 2knobs. 1 for volume. 2EMG81 pickups. Really great metal pickups. Great sound. Mahogny body with black finish. Tune o matic bridge.
One minus is just that the volume knob are to far away so i cant use my volume knob while playing Yngwie tunes. But everything else is absolutley perfect.

Marvoules sound. I luv it. It sounds good even at my equip. atx1000g pedal...Really great sound

Everything was in order. except my switch it were a bit glitchy. so it will be arranged by the store. A finish flaw were on the guitar when i bought it. It couldnt be fixed due ESP had been suit so they coulnd have got me another esp. But i got it 200$ cheeper.

The finish is very sensitive. And the switch easily gets glitchy so thats another minus. It really anoying when i have to change battery.
Well i havent seen any bigger problems so i have to rely on the other opinions that its a great guitar with high durability.

Great support by the store. Helps me when i need help.

Ive havent played such a long time. I own ATX1000g and a beginners guitar Aria Pro II xr-series. If my exp were stolen i cant get a new one so i would be devastated forever. i would probrably buy an Fender Stratocaster.

I believe it was made in 1998. Very basic setup, 2 EMG 81s, 3-way toggle, 22 frets. Body is mahogony, I think the neck is maple or mahogany, i don't know. Bridge is tunomatic. Finished in all black.

Sounds perfect for heavy metal/hard rock. I play lots of Randy Rhoads and Metallica through a Mesa 2:90/Triaxis setup and it just has gobs of tone. It is a perfectly quiet guitar, if you are plugged in directly that is. I usually use a Shure wireless system then I get all sorts of scratchy interference. I think it may be due to the active pickups. The sound out of this guitar is is very thick and full. It is probably my favorite guitar out of the seven that I own. Tonewise I think it sounds even better than my Gibson LP that I paid twice the the price of the ESP. Clean settings are usuable, although I am constantly struggling to find the perfect sound in this area. If you like really heavy guitar tones this is the axe for you.

The action on this guitar was OK from the shop but I prefer super low action so I had to lower it. I think it may need professional help. The paint job is perfect, even and thickly applied. When I got the guitar I did notice the grain in the rosewood looked like it had lots of filler. I think they could have selected a better piece for the fretboard. Other than that everything else was top notch.

I've gigged with guitar many times and it has held up beautifully. I once set it down on a chair at a rehearsal and I tripped on the cord and the guitar fell on the floor face down, with not one scratch or signs of damage. It even stayed in tune. I replaced the strap buttons with locking ones due to the weird angle you have to put the strap on in front. I would never gig without a backup that is just nuts. Overall a very solid and dependable guitar.

Haven't had to deal with em.

I've been playing 17 years and have been through a lot of gear and guitars. This by far is my favorite guitar. All I ever wanted since I started playing was an Explorer, and now I have the best version of this guitar shape, in my opinion. I wish that Gibson never sued ESP, because I would liked to have picked up another EXP.

Shiny black finish on this sharpened mahogany Explorer body, maple neck with matching finish and a bolt-on joint, Tune-O-Matic (Les Paul type) bridge, 2 metal knobs, being master volume and master tone, 3-way switch, two EMG-80 soap box active humbuckers, working with 9V Battery. All electronics are wired from behind, so there is no pickguard. Rosewood fretboard with 22 Extra-Jumbo frets and dot inlays. All hardware is black. Don't know the production year of this baby, but it's one of the last built ones before the model was discontinued. Brand new, unplayed, counting off all the test players in the music store I found it in.

I play with heavy distortions - Namely Boss Metal Zone - and this baby is suited for that, I'm telling you. With the active humbuckers, you are into making the house grumble. It also gives a nice clean sound despite the humbuckers. When using the Boss Metal Zone and Dunlop Cry-Baby, you are in for a great, pointy sounds coming out. BUT ya know, if you don't touch the strings, it'll stay quiet until you touch them, even with distortions high up. I don't always like the loudness of this guitar, but at least it's a GREAT sound!

Action on this guitar just calls for you to play faster and faster. You could use the finish as a mirror, and it also seems quite durable, as there's no dents although you can manage to punch it against walls, as the bottom end of the guitar is a bit too long for you moving around in a house. Seems like they weren't too careful when installing the knobs - they seem like they get stuck on the finish... easily fixed, though.

This guitar WILL stand live playing. Ask James Hetfield ;). He knows. I can believe this guitar would outlive me. The finish seems to be able to take bumps, so it will stand playing. Strap buttons are solid, BUT I STRONGLY SUGGEST GETTING LOCKING BUTTONS, DUE TO THE ODD SHAPE OF THE GUITAR. Otherwise, the guitar is prone to falling off from the strap. My opinion is that NEVER go to a gig without a backup guitar, but this will stand - IF it isn't a year since you last time changed the battery.

Never tried it... so.

I've been playing for 7 years and comparing to the Gibson Explorer I have as well, this is WAY better quality than the other. What can I say? I'm a Metallica fan, and I could afford this guitar and was even lucky to get one as they are discontinued. If this guitar was devastated... I'd be too. Only thing I wonder is if the active pick-ups can be converted into passive ones temporarily, because when playing at home, this guitar may be a bit too loud. The only downside of the deal was that it didn't have the original case and the case I got wasn't molded to fit the shape from the inside, so the guirar is free to move up and down in it. This isn't the guitars fault, though. Other wise, I love this guitar!

It's a '98.Made in Japan and finished in Hollywood.22 fret,solid top,2 volume controls(which is fine with me I never used the tone knob on my Ibanez so heh whatever)Comes loaded with EMG-81s.I thought EMG 81s were better.Trust me their a little overrated,But their great.Made with strong as a brick shit house Mahogany body and neck,rosewood fingerboard,The frets are so shiny they look like little mirrors,jumbo frets,normal neck width,no floyd rose(kind hard to get used to)stop tailpiece,and of course the god-like Explorer shape with a awsome olympic white color.

It fits me perfectly,Im playing through a Crate GX 30M,Its pretty noisy when your not playing,It might be my amp,sounds great even on my shitty amp,Not too versitle in the fact that theres no floyd rose and only 22 frets.

The actions great,it has alot of feedback though but like I said that might be my amp,one thing that pissed me off so bad is theres a little knick in the finish on the side over the output about the size of a flea but it still pisses me the hell off.So Im giving it a 7 just because of that,

Ithink it would definently stand live playing because of the hard mahagany and good tuners.Evereything on its pretty much solid.

Never dealt with them yet.But Im about to send it back to fix that knick on the side,by damn.

I knew what I was getting myself into pretty much it dont have floyd rose and has 24 frets and I knew that so Im giving it a 10.But no I gotta take 2 points off for that damn knick in the side.Sorry.I wish it had 24 frets and a floyd rose and a SC between the 2 hums but thats life.