ESP George Lynch Kamikaze

Mine's a 2007 edition straight out of the japan custom shop. im sure if you're reading this you know about how man frets and the controls and the pickups and the woods. Things that they dont tell you in the descriptions on sites is the actual feel of the guitar. The neck is unfinished (little oil i think) and feels absolutely amazing after its broken in a little by some general playing, its a U shape neck and its not real small like an RG but its not huge or even as big as like a Les Paul 60's type, i'd say its in between there. The fingerboard is fairy wide on this guitar which is good if you have big hands, and the frets are just about as big as they come which is great for shred purposes. One thing about the neck joint that i really like is it's smoothed out so you dont have that little corner on your hand, it feels very comfortable. The Floyd on mine works great, but every floyd i've used feels different so yeah. The guitar is big. its almost as thick as a les paul but flat, and the finish is thick as hell, its very hard to put a ding in. overall, i'd say the guitar feels great, other than being on the heavy side, but if you have a comfortable strap it should be fine.

I play alot, i mean obviously you like george lynch if you want this guitar, but maybe you just think it looks cool, so you'll get that dokken or lynch mob sound out of it. The sustain is phenominal (due to the weight) and if it's set up right it plays fantastically. I run mine through very dirty Peavey's and i get some pretty raw sounds out of it. once you get a feel for the harmonics on it, this guitar will scream its lungs out for you, especially if you work the floyd in on it too. To be honest, it sounds ...alright when playing it clean. The single coil wont clean up like a strat at all and its very bright due to the total maple design. Dirty this guitar is badass and works great for any hard rock/metal. Everyone always plays down the Screamin' Demon, but really if you have a good sounding amp it will deliver what you want. this guitar is built for crazy diminished-sweep-tap-slide-harmonic-legato-tremelo-picking sort of stuff (yeah you go ahead and try to make that work), but really its meant for gut wrenching chords, crazy riffs, and some fast solos. Works for me.

My guitar has always been set up just fine, i've never needed any work done in terms of set up. The finish is very hard to mess up, and the ESP custom shop really does a good job with all the fine touches.

This guitar .... its one of those guitars that if you threw it up in the air and it landed on the street, you'd have to pay the government to fix their street. It is a tank. The second you pick one up, you immediately lose all caution because you know that you would really have to try to break it. I put some Schaller strap-locks on it for good measure. Other than being heavy (more than most les pauls i've played) its a great guitar for live purposes.

Never Had to contact ESP about anything, warranty is limited lifetime.... SOS if you know what i mean.

I've had this guitar for almost a year and a half, because i hate reviewing something the day you get it. I think i'll eventually switch out the single coil for a Hot Rails, just to have some more output on the neck end. It looks awesome, and the shape is very comfortable. It's my main guitar and i dont see anything else replacing it. its indestructable. Email me with questions about it.

My ESP is a Custom Shop Lefty with TWO Seymour Duncan Lynch Screamin Demons - the regular one in the bridge, and a mini in the neck. The ESP model it comes with in the neck position is GARBAGE, so just have them replace it before you even get it.

The best finish I've ever seen on a guitar. Super think and rich clear coating over an amazing paint job - it's not the graphic cutouts pasted underneath if you order from the Custom Shop!

Maple body with an ebony neck. The frets are extra jumbo and simply beautiful when polished or cleaned properly. Super wide neck and low action that's just unbelievable.

Comes with the Custom Shop case and registration/certificate of authenticity of course.

He he...i mean man. I've never in my 20 years of guitar playing heard a guitar like this. It's tonally perfect - rich, deep, cutting and SOLID. It's how you always wanted envisioned a Custom Shop Strat and a Gibson Les Paul sounding if you combined them. (yeah I think about these things). Not noise at all, especially with the mini-demon in the neck position.

There's not a sound this guitar doesn't do perfectly, and it doesn't matter what amp you play thru, the personality of this thing cuts thru I've met more guitarists just noodling on this guitar somewhere, then u can imagine. The sound just pulls them out of the woodwork. I"m not a pro by any means, but strum this monster, and the tone sounds like i've spent twenty years as a session player tweaking to get this sound texture.

of course this is amazing for metal - of any kind. i played it thru a Vox, Randall RM 50 with the Lynch module, and soon, an ENGL.

Absolutely nothing to dislike; even the extra weight of the guitar is comforting in that Les Paul way. Yes it's heavier than a Les Paul, and yes it sounds better than a Paul; which I own and hardly play anymore.

The detail and work on this guitar is the best I've ever seen or owned. Perfect, with not one flaw in the finish, hardward, neck or body.

I've never played this live, and I doubt I ever would unless I had another two of them - which I might get - as backup.

The finish in the three years I've had it looks BRAND NEW. Of course with something like this, you shouldn't have it sitting on a stand. It comes out of the case to be played, then carefully cleaned and put away.

Absolutely dependable. But again, it's how you treat it. I'd guess the banana headstock is a liability if you're playing this live, just do to it's fragility, but otherwise this is a TANK.

ESP ARE AMAZING. They actually shipped me a first custom guitar that my guitar tech felt was a little off, so they build another one from scratch in a month and sent it out. On the phone they were prompt and addressed this without even a complaint. I only saw the first one, and couldn't even play it before it was shipped back so couldn't say if anything was even wrong, but my tech at the time was particularly detail oriented, so if it passed by him, you could play it assured it was the best. The second one, he simply handed me and said it's amazing. And yes, it is....

I've been playing 20 plus years and also own a Gibson SG lefty, Fender Malmsteen #2 Lefty (the only one of it's kind), Gibson Les Paul Studio, Charvel custom (the Rough Cutt 'Navy' model - www.amirderakh.com), Fender Strat Japan, Kramer Ferrington, and a Takamine Hirade 8 Classical.

If this guitar we're stolen I'd be on anti-depressants for months, it's the PERFECT guitar. So knock on wood.....

I'm currently hunting the globe for an original Kramer Nightswan Lefty; so please email me if you have one or know of one!

I'm sure if you're reading this you know mostly about the kamikaze and all of what its made out of and everything. this thing is one solid block of maple and is just insanely heavy, mine is like 12 or 13 pounds. Really thick body too, but that just adds to the sustain... mine is a 2007 model so its really recent. Huge Frets, Real Floyd, Push/Pull Knob for pickup switching, gotoh tuners etc...

Well obviously, i'm a George Lynch fan, but this guitar can sound great playing lots of kinds of music. You can get a great Yngwie sound out of the single coil and any kind of metal or rock sound out of the humbucker. It's extremely bright due to all the hard woods. i use it with a Boss Me50 pedal board and run it through a peavey bandit 112 or a marshall TSL 100. It sounds better on the peavey to be quite honest...

I did have to adjust the action when i got it but that wasnt a big deal and is to be expected, the graphic looks perfect and the finish is very thick... everything was pretty well setup on the guitar when i got it, and for these past months i've had it the input jack hasnt gone loose on me like trillions of other guitars...

this guitar is really well put together and its definately able to play live... see, this is the type of guitar that if you smash into a brick wall..... you end up payin the guy who's brick wall it was that you did all the damage to. i put some schaller strap locks on it to and a home made strap that just never comes off.. you can whip it around all you want.

i've never had to deal with ESP, you get a lifetime warranty for the guitar (you know the one that comes with every guitar over 500 bucks that covers very little).

I've been playing for like 4 or 5 years or 3 i dont really remember. i've had i think 9 guitars that have been completely destroyed by myself . but this one is definately a keeper and i know i would hurt myself if i broke it anyway, or tried to break it. but its really very well worth the money and i would highly recommend it even if you arent a lynch fan...

I have 1988 ESP Kamikazee 1. I beleive this one was made in the U.S. It has a maple body ,and a Ebony fretboard. This guitar has a push/pull volume pot. It takes some getting used to. It originally came with a Seymor Duncan super distortion pickup in the bridge. For some reason the pickups end up getting damaged. I have replaced the humbucker 3 times in the last 10 years. Currently it has a Duncan ceramic custom humbucker which is a great pickup. Lynch sighned the back of the head stock. Thanks George

The tone of this guitar is very aggresive ,and in your face. The tonal quality is unique. I think it has something to do with the maple body ,and ebony fretboard. For straight forward hard rocking it is great. I have reached a point where I use mine for drop D tunning stuff 90% of the time. I run mine through a Measa Boogie Tri Axis ,and a 2/100 power amp. The guitar is quiet as far as noise. Very raunchy sounding.

The action on this guitar has always presented problems. When I initally got it when I was 16 the action was very high. I was too young to realize the action sucked at the time. Once I needed the first fret dress on it Todd at ESP set it up for me. It had great action after that ,but it did not last more than 6 months. I have never re captured that set up since. This thing is a like a Ferrari you accidently bump it ,and the action will go from awesome to horrible. It is a really well made instrument ,but it has cracked at the neck joint (Paint only). It devoloped the cracks after about 5 years.

I have never played live without this guitar. It may not be the best playing one of my collection ,but the way it sounds makes up for that. For the most part it is dependable it has never left me hanging. The paint job is thick ,and very very cool.

The two times ESP set up this guitar I was very happy. They only honor new guitar warranty work these days. So if you have a older ESP find yourself a good set-up person. ESP will not service your guitar they are too busy setting up Korean made LTD's. They are just like any other company they want to make money which understandable. So they make a low end guitar that people can affoard. When people say they have a ESP ,and pull a LTD out I just tell them that LTD is not a ESP ,and there is a huge diffrence in tone,quality,and performance. LTD's have blemmished the reputation ESP once had which I do not care for. People are cheap though so that is why they make LTD's.

I have been playing for 14+ years. I have A ESP eclipse limited, Music man 7-string,Washburn JB 100,Fender Strat. If it where stolen I am not sure if I would replace it. This one has a lot of sentimental value. It was a gift ,and the first really nice instrument I ever had. I wish it had two humbuckers with a 3 way switch. Also the truss rod being in the bottom of the neck is a bad desighn. Everytime you want to adjust the neck you have to remove it from the body. Please don't get me wrong I really love this guitar ,and intend on keeping it forever. P.S I can not stand LTD's.

this guitar is a 2001 esp george lynch kamikaze. 22jumbo frets, ebony fretboard, reverse headstock and a maple body. esp single coil in the neck position and a SD scremin' demon in the bridge. this guitar is jap made, but it has a sticker on the control panel that says inspected in U.S.A. original floyd rose trem. comes with a very nice hard case. beware, this guitar is very heavy! it weighed 11.5 lbs. on my scale!

i rate this guitar in sound a 5 due to it's pickups. i'm a dimarzio man. the scremin' demon is the biggest load of bull**** iv'e seen since i left the farm. if you want a very low output, very bright pickup with no mid, then this is for you. no guts kinda pickup. but on the positive side, install a good dimarzio and this guitar comes to life. you really can't tell it's a bolt on neck. killer sustain, massive feel, and screaming harmonics. i also installed a dimarzio fast track 2 in the neck. this puts the guitar into a very sweet overdrive in the neck. i play thru a peavey XXX head. it now sounds killer with the dimarzio norton and the fast track 2 in the neck. other than the pickups suck, the guitar itself is a monster, but you won't find that out until you get the junk duncan out!

i bought this guitar used. the setup was terrible. i don't know if this is a factory setup or the result of someone else. it wasn't for me. after a major truss rod adjustment,(which is a pain, you have to take the neck off the adjust it,) and lowering the trem it gets great. super action. my only complaint with the factory work is the nut. it was not routed deep enough in the neck. after 15 min. with my dremel, the nut was properly seated. it was just too high. that was the fault of esp. once again, i spent a little time on the setup, and it plays like a dream. the factory fret work is right on. w/ proper setup, the action was really low with no buzzing. the finish is a perfect 10! killer graphic, and a shine that's as deep as iv'e seen. the neck also has a little flame on the back.

so far, the kamikaze has done great. of course it stays in tune, it's a floyd rose. i don't forsee any problems with this catagory.

i haven't dealt with this catagory.

i'm a metal head from way back. i have been playing guitar for 24yrs. i have always wanted a kamikaze since i first saw the "in my dreams" video in '86. i currently play a peavey XXX head thru a peavey butcher 412 celestion cab. this guitar very much agrees with the amp with the dimarzio's installed. i know i rated the kamikaze low in some areas, but the bottom line is this guitar is the best bolt-on iv'e ever played. i currenty own 20 or so guitars, a jackson custom shop kelly, a 90' les paul custom, a 2000 hamer standard custom, and various super strats i have built. i have owned over 150 in my days as a guitarist. this one stands out. the overall 9 rating is for what you get when you're finished. a metal machine that is like no other! the issues i picked on may not bother you. i have tried to be as precise as i can. the setup abillity is there, if you can unlock it. i do my own work, but if you have a setup man that's good, he can get it playing good too. the pickups are a matter of taste. i don't like duncans. i prefer the more meaty dimarzio's. to me, the scremin' demon makes the guitar sound like a strat on steroids. not a metal monster. the norton pickup really brings this guitar to life.

22 Fret, unknown year but straight from the land of the rising sun!
Totally stock construction, pickups etc - you know what it is!! Main feature - in my humble opinion - is the sound. This beast is a screamer, that's for sure but can be mellow when required. I love it.

This is a rock shredding machine, a very fast and smooth player. If you're a tapper and a fan of pinch harmonics, it certainly makes it easy for you.

Like most others, it can get a bit bright for my liking but I find it pretty easy to lose in the effects mix.

Bought used & it played perfectly straight out of the box.

Who knows - i finally found one and bought it 1 week ago. Not going to see enough abuse to tell, this is to look at and covet, not spill beer on.

Lets just say I'm trying not to damage the headstock.

Playing 20 years, gigging for 14. Wanted one of these since 1989 - Lynch & Dokken supported AC/DC & he just killed Kiss of Death using one of these.
Anyway, since then been pretty much a fan of Ibanez and was never able to find or afford one of these - wandered into GC and saw it waiting for me - seemed rude not to buy it.

Certainly it's the most focused instrument I've owned, style wise. I just love it, the sound, the presence, the fret board - works for me!

I own two of these guitars. They were both trades. Both feel and sound almost exactly the same. The instrument is very well put together with good materials. The fret work is exceptional. I have read other comments about the large size and heavy weigh and, but my opinion is that it is not much larger or heavier than a Strat. The single coil is very cool and it can even be used for Blues. The bridge pick up offers humbucker power with a lot of definition (even under heavy processing). Simple volume, pull push pick up selection makes it a "no brainer". I received one as a trade from one of my wishy-washy friends, which received this guitar and tought he wanted something more contemporary after having the guitar for two days. He did not make any adjustment to the guitar, just pulled it out of the case and played it. When I received it, I did not have to do anything to it either, just play it. I highly recommend this guitar to people that want a rock guitar that plays great and does not sound "muddy".

I like to play 80's metal and blues. I use a very clean sounding Peavey, stereo, super chourus 130 and use a V-amp modeling unit. As I mentioned before, I like the good pick up definition. That way I can play clean or with high gain, and still hear every note. I like clean amps and pick ups because it is my opinion that you can always add more gain by using effects.

Everything is great. If I could add or change something, it would be the tremolo arm. I would replace it with a quick lock in and release arm with a plastic washer, since they are easier to put in place and do not transfer any noise to the pick ups while swinging.

It is obvious that this guitar can be used for live playing, Mr. Lynch has proved that many times. The finish and hardware are strong, and if you get a few dents? "so what!" the finish does not affect the sound quality. As for using it live without a back up? yes, I would and I have. I am not famous, and if a string brakes...we can take the 3 minutes to replace the string without stoping a Gramy award ceremony.

Have never had the pleasure to talk to these folks. I imagine they are pretty decent people.

I have been playing for about 20 years and own several guitars. The ones I like best are the Kamikazes, my 79' Explorer and a "Mexican Strat" go figure, with Duncan Hot Stacks at the neck and middle and Hot Rails at the bridge. I believe it would be interesting to try a Kamikaze with a neck thru to increase sustain and confort. If both of my Kamikazes were lost or stolen, I would try to get another one.

Don't no the year.
Maple Body (Heavy)
22 Frets XJ Jumbo
Maple neck/ebony fingerboard
H/S configuration One push/pull volume/selector pot
Seymour Duncan Demon Bridge
ESP Single Neck
Bridge original Floyd Rose
Tuners ESP
Neck 1 3/4 width flat radius

This is by far and away the best sounding instrument I have ever played. My style of guitar playing is in the likes of Lynch, Van Halen, DeMartini, LeTekro. My chain of effects and rig consist of Boss SD-1, Boss DS-1, ADA MP-1 (Channel 17) into the power amp section of my 5150 head to a Marshall 4x12 loaded with 30 Watt Rola-Celestions. I use a slight amount of stereo chorus and fair amount of delay to widen the sound. The sound is Lynch all the way which is the sound I have been trying to get for the past 12 years of playing guitar. This guitar has gotten me closer to Lynch's tone due partly which I believe to the heavy maple body. Before I purchased this guitar, I was playing an Ibanez RG550 (basswood body) fitted with a Duncan Distortion pickup. This unit got me close to the tone however, the kamikaze is dead on to my ears. The kamikazi has a ESP single coil in the neck which has the tone of Beast from the East's Alone Again. The bridge pickup is a screamin demon which I have tryed in other guitars but never really cared for it cause it didn't have the output I desire from a pickup. However, the demon in this maple guitar is a match made in heaven. I am convinced that the demon was made for maple body guitars. As far as dislikes, the 1 3/4 neck
takes a little getting used to but is excellent non the less.

The guitar was bought used on ebay. The razor action and intonation set-up made this very pleasent to play. The fret work is flawless with excellent fit and finish. Tight neck to body pockets.

This guitar is a tank. It weighs more than my Les Paul. Very solid as far as construction and has quality components. One word describes this guitar heavy and solid. Sorry two..

Have never dealt with customer support so I can't comment on this...

I've been playing 12 years off and on. I currently have a Fender Stratacastor, Les Paul Standard, and Ibanez RG550. The Kamikaze is my favorite. If it were stolen,I would hunt down the SOB and bring a can of whoop ass. The ESP signature series guitars are pricey due to royalties/endorsement etc. But you get what you pay for.

My Kami is an older model that has identicle specs as now, except mine has the original ESP Floyd copy bridge. It has a Dimarzio Evolution humbucker in the bridge pos. & I just recently switched the ESP single coil for a Duncan Vintage Rail. It sounds very similar to the s/c, but it's extremely quiet. I can't rate this axe for features because of it's simplicity. 2 pickups, 1 vol. knob, no frills guitar.I feel I must put forth an HONEST opinion about the wide neck(1&3/4) & the so called 'heavy' thick body.I have 3 ESP's. 2 other customs & this Kami. All 3 have different body woods, pickups & nut widths, & this guitar takes no getting used to at all. The wider neck makes for more accurate playing (for me) because the strings aren't so close together & yes the body is big & thick but NOT as heavy as other reviewers are making it out to be. It only feels a bit heavier than my other 2 & unless your an anorexic little runt, how could you complain about 2 pounds for a guitar?

This guitar sounds FANTASTIC !!! No bull. Of course your pickups, amp & obviously your hands will determine tone, but this guitar really sings. Great all around tone. Best suited for good ol'loud rock n'roll. I play mine through a Soldano half stack & has a sound noticeably different than my other 2 which are alder & ash.Thank god it was not any bit as bright as I was expecting an axe to be made of maple with an ebony fretboard. Clear sounding but not shrill. Of course the Evolution will sound a little bassier than a Screamin' Demon.

Even with the age of mine & the use, it plays perfect. No buzzing or fretting out. The bridge stays in tune perfect. (I'm stil going to put a real Floyd on because I prefer them to any other bridge) Aside from roadrash,the finish is perfect, as are the frets & neck pocket. Ive had 4 ESP's & tried many others, & they are stellar guitars.

Although I didn't put all the use on this guitar, it's had lots! This axe is simply a WORKHORSE. You would have to see it to know what mean. I don't think this guitar would fall apart if you threw it 20 feet.

I haven't had to deal with ESP over guitar problems, but my dealings with them were pleasureable enough. Can't say a bad thing about them.

The only gripe I have about this axe is the bridge. Although it stays in tune perfectly, it's design is the shits. There isn't any bad thing about it's playability & sound, & I like the big body because I like mass in a guitar.Not only would I get it again,I plan on one day getting the white/tan as well.Ive always wanted a Kami & 12 years later, I got one & it was worth every day of the wait!!! I know my review seems almost to perfect, but I swear this guitar is it.

Well "HOT DAM" I finally got the thing. I waited 3-1/2 months for it. It came from the ESP custom shop in Japan. It was worth the wait.Its a 2001 model, if that means anything. 22 fret neck. Nice and wide. Almost classical guitar wide..almost. I have an old 81 Charvel (see my Eddie Van Halen Black and yellow striped guitar review under Charvel) that I put a 1-3/4 maple neck on. This one is also a 1-3/4 at the nut (it has a very nice ebony fretboard with mother of pearl inlays), but it feels larger; it may just be the weight difference. This is a heavy guitar. I think it is heavier than a Les Paul. I have eight guitars (6 of them electric), and this is one of the nicest. I saw reviews above on this guitar that said it was of poor quality. I disagree. I have been playing for 22 years and have played a lot of nice guitars. I must have gotten lucky, because ESP did good on this one.
It has a very thick strat-styled body (about a 1/2 inch thicker than a standard strat body). Solid maple. It has the reverse hocky-stick headstock. Very nice finish. Very nice neck. I've only had this guitar two days and have probably played it 4-5 hrs. The neck is just real nice. No fret wire problems, no buzzing anywhere. Real Floyd Rose tremelo system. Big frets. Nice for long-slow vibrato. Tuners look like Gottos or schalers. Screaming demon pickup is pretty nice. It has a real good rythm sound. I like the Duncan Full-shredd a little better for leads. The single coil front pickup is a little weak, but.. clean it has a very close strat bluesy sound. I think the pickups match the guitar very well. Its bright sounding, but hell, its an "80"s guitar. Came in a nice case. One volume knob (push pull for pickup change). I love simplicity.

I played in bands in the 80s, so this guitar suits me just right. Its not made for alternative music or thrash or the current rap-metal fuzzy stuff. Its an 80s, Loudness, Dokken, Ratt type of sound. I use a marshall JCM 800 combo ran into a JCM 800 marshall 4X12 bass cabinet (I like a ballsey sound). I don't use many effects. I like to crank with my hands and not with electronics. This guitar is up to the challenge. Very full rythm sound. Best I've heard in a while. It bends very well. Never feels like a string is going to go. The recessed Floyd Rose gives it great action.
The only feedback problem I've had is when standing too close to the amp when in distorted single-coil mode (front pick-up only-accessed by push pull volume knob), but thats pretty regular for a single coil.
It sustains really well for a guitar with a locking tremolo.
I haven't found any dislike yet. The weight takes a bit to get use to, but its a well balanced guitar when standing up playing, and I'll suffer the heavy weight for the great sound.

I was pleasently suprise at the factory set-up. The last two guitars I've purchased needed a little neck help. This one is fine. No buzzing anywhere. The paint job is emaculant. The pictures of this guitar do not do it justice. Very pretty if you like the exotic look (it has the red-black-khaki-yellow desertstorm camoflage graphic). The pickups are screwed directly into the guitar body. Hell, the way this things sounds, all manufactures should try this procedure.

This guitar would be fun to play with live, but the drawbacks are the Floyd Rose and the price of the guitar. They aint cheap. These babys retail for 2400 bucks. I got a deal at 1800. I wouldn't take it on the road. The hocky-stick headstock would probably be fragile. The road can get rough, I'm sure Mr. Lynch's guitar tech has replace a few necks for George. I think this is a pretty sound guitar simply because of its lack of a lot of electronics. The less wiring the better. I would use caution when strapping this baby on. Make sure those straps are tight. Its a heavy axe.

I never did actually speak with anyone from ESP. I got this through a mail order company. They didn't advertise the fact that there was a waiting period. That pissed me off a bit. I order it on 12-5-00. I got it on 030901. Do the math. Its is a custom guitar, so I'll give them some points back for that.

I have been playing guitar for about 22 years. I have five other electric guitars (1978 hardtail fender stratocaster, 1981 Van Halen custom Charvel, 1984 ash body Charvel, 1998 ESP LTD M-100, and an Eric Clapton signature series strat). I also have a Yamaha classical and an old Stella Harmony acoustic (Great Great Grandmother hand-me-down). I use Marshall amplification and old MXR and DOD effects (very sparingly). If someone stole this guitar from me, I would hunt them down and beat the S--t out of them with the heavy SOB. They would put me in jail and I wouldn't be abled to buy another one.
I played a lot of guitars before deciding to invest this much money into another one. I tried PRS guitars which were nice but not my style. I tried LesPauls, And a few other nice, popular guitars.I took a chance on this guitar because I didn't get to try it out first (I'm a fairly big George Lynch enthusiast, so that was a chief deciding factor). I got real lucky. I can't say enough about the good quality of this guitar. If you like the "80"s sound, They got real close with this one.

Rock maple body Ebony neck, Orig. Floyd Rose. Nothing fancy just a good rock guitar. I had George sign it in 97 and I took a picture of him signing it and playing it.

It has a pretty clear sound even when my Soldano is cranked.
I don't know what all these other reviews are bitching about.
I've owned 80's Jackson Randy Rhoads, Soloist and Kellys, Gibson Les Pauls and Fender Strats, and this guitar fits my hands and plays better the all the others besides my RR. The Demon pick ups are fine, the guitar has a lot of tone, sounds good with my amp.

Fret work is great, all ESP's have great fret work. Neck is fast once you get used to it. It's wide and thin, great string spacing. Almost a classical neck. It does take some getting used to. But once you do, it's awesome.

Standard problems after 5 years of owning it.
Volume knob comes loose once in a while, input jack come loose every now and again, but what guitar doesn't.

Never had to have it repaired. I did call about finding a local dealer other than Mars when I moved. They were pretty helpful.

I love the guitar, I'm getting ready to order a George Lynch sunburst tiger. Don't take my work for it or these other guys(I have know idea what they are talking about), Go play one for a while, get used to the neck. You will love it. I've played on a few ESP's and other guitars at Mars and they weren't set up right, they were bet. Go to a smaller shop to try one out. I hate Les Paul necks they suck, this is much closed to the early 80's Charvel/Jackson neck.

the neck is nice to pay on and it is easy

i use many effects with this guitar and it seems to bring out all of them

the guitar fit me and my body perfectly there were no flaws on it and it has not broken anything in 6 months

the only thing that i break is strings on this guitar

i did try to change strings once and a part on the bridge broke but it was my fault because i took a screw driver and a hammer to it and the company fixed it free even though it was after warranty

i have been playing this guitar for 6 months but i do have two other esp guitars that i play often. this is my best guitar and i am very proud of it

It was made in Japan, has a solid maple body (read: *heavy*) with a maple neck and an ebony fingerboard. See my review on my Sunburst Tiger. Many of the specs are the same. It has a Screamin' Demon in the bridge and an ESP single coil in the neck. There is only one volume knob and it also functions as a push/pull for the pickup selector. Pull it out for the front and push it back in for the rear. The finish is the camouflage graphic like the "In My Dreams" video, however my best friend has the one with the flourescent camouflage graphic and the serrated headstock like the "Just Walk Away" video.

He got that because he called and asked if they had one there or could make one. They had four left at ESP, so they sent one to him (he works at a music store). The finish is shiny like a lacquer, not like the satin finish I've seen on this guitar when used by Lynch live and in videos. Strat body... you've all seen this guitar. It has black hardware and an original Floyd Rose. The guitar just came with the associated hardware and a very nice case. I give it an 8... it's sparse, but does everything it does very cleanly and with no drama. Some of my opinions have changed since getting the Sunburst Tiger, so these are my current thoughts. Mechanically, both guitars are identical.

I've never been a huge fan of the Screamin' Demon. The longer I had my Sunburst Tiger, the more I disliked it. I still don't like it. It's a cool pickup, but just doesn't suit me too well. I play heavy progressive rock music. It's cool to have a guitar with a humbucker and a single coil for different sounds, but I'd rather have something with dual humbuckers and just split the coils when I want to. The Demon is fairly bright and only more so when combined with the maple body, although the body does add a little midrange the pickup seems to be lacking. It's not an awful sounding guitar, I'd just like it to be a little more full. My main rig is a 5150 head and cabinet and assorted Boss pedals. My Wolfgangs and my Ibanez JPM sound great through all this. Actually, my M1 Tiger sounds better than my Sunburst Tiger and Kamikaze. It makes no sense... see my review on the M1 for more details.

The pickups were adjusted fairly close to the strings, but not too badly. It was pretty good considering the pickups were body-mounted and couldn't be adjusted easily. The finish is flawless and the ebony fingerboard is one of the best I've seen. It's still tough getting used to the difference in tension playing a neck with a reverse headstock.

I did have some problems with the setup, though. The neck had too much relief and a lot of buzzing around the middle of the fingerboard. Also, the 6th & 7th frets were a little too high. I just left it after having the relief fixed. It's not so bad that it needs to be corrected, but certainly out of place on a guitar of this money.

This guitar is built like a tank. I wouldn't test it by throwing it out a window, but everything on it seems strong enough to me. I don't think it'll get played live because of the floating tremolo. Besides, my Wolfgangs are my live guitars. They have the d-tuna, the sound and everything I need to live performances. I think I only own signature guitars... my Lynch ESP's, my Wolfgangs, my JPM... I do have two Strats, though... 8 )

ESP's support *sucks*.... I mean *sucks*!!! They were cool when I called them in the past, but the guitar tech messed up one of the pivot screws on the knife edge of the Floyd Rose. When the store called ESP to get another part, they told him (I think the name of the guy at ESP was either Mark or Sean) to tell the tech they weren't a parts store. Nice bunch of guys after buying a $1600 guitar...

Ibanez and Peavey have the best customer support I have seen. When I had problems with my JPM, Ibanez took my guitar, put a new neck on it and got it back to me within four days. Not four days after getting it... I mean four days from the day I dropped it off (day one) to the day I picked it back up at the store (day four). Incredible... I don't like all their guitars, but I'lm buying a Prestige Roadstar later this year just because they were so good to me.

I have been playing for 13 years and have two other ESP's, four Wolfgangs, two Strats and an Ibanez JPM. If stolen, I'd find the guy who did it and beat him with that 15 pound guitar because it cost me so damn much money! My favorite feature is the push/pull pickup selector on the volume knob.

This was the "Desert Storm" Kamikazee, as seen on GL's REH instructional video. Maple body, bolt-on maple neck w/ ebony fretboard (22 frets), banana headstock, Kahler double locking tremolo, SD Screamin' Demon at bridge, ESP single-coil at neck, no tone knob or selector switch. The selector switch was in the push/pull volume pot. Satin finish on the back of the neck. No tremolo recess for the bridge, so the whammy bar can only lower pitch. Jumbo frets.

As you may have read fron the SD screamin demon database, it's a real good pickup and alot of people are happy with it. But you need a pickup like that in a guitar that has a body made of basswood, alder, ash, mahogany, or something other than maple. The unique EQ spike of this pickup in a guitar with a maple body/neck and an ebony fretboard just screamed resonance! So much so that it was impossible to control/minimize the feedback, no matter how good your muting techniques are. The guitar reaks with high-end frequencies, especially when you back off the volume knob. You can get some more bass frequencies happening if you crank the amp, but your problems with the feedback will get worse. There's so much high-end that it makes the guitar sound sterile and thin. As far as versitility, remember, a signature model will only do what that particular artist wants it to do. In this case, that's not very much.

The first thing you notice about this guitar when you pick it up is how big and thick it is. Even the neck, This is a MAN'S guitar. The pickups were direct-mounted, so they stick out like a sore thumb. This may cause you to alter your playing technique a bit. The cover for the volume pot kept falling off, so that was a bore. There's no way of adjusting the tightness of the whammy bar to the bridge, so when you're playing non-tremolo licks, the bar is flying all over the place. The neck was fitted pretty solid.

One trip to a competent repairman and most of your problems will be solved. I still would'nt gig with it due to the feedback/overtones.

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I turned it back in 3 weeks later and got something else. 'Nuff said.

The version that I have has neon camoflage (neon green, neon pink, yellow, &c.). It has the banana headstock, not the rare jagged version that you see on some models.

While the guitar itself is a well-made guitar, what you are paying for is obviously the look. You can probably get a better, more versatile guitar for the money. As for me, I really liked the look when I got it, and even though it's a little dated now, I don't ever plan on parting with it.
The two main comments people have told me about the guitar are (1) it is surprisingly heavy and (2) the bridge pickup is very hot. I don't disagree.
The bottom line is that the guitar's styling makes it vulnerable to changing tastes. However, whether or not you like the graphics, it's undeniably a superb guitar.
Lastly, if anyone has a neck with the jagged headstock, I would be very interested in trading the neck that I have (with the banana headstock), plus cash.

Made at ESP's Custom shop in Japan. I bought it used/incomplete, so I added a Floyd Rose Pro bridge and Duncan Lynch Screamin Demon pickup. It originally comes w/a Duncan Distortion pickup and an Original Floyd. The body and bolt-on neck are Eastern Maple and the fretboard is Ebony. The body/mega-reverse headstock are custom painted black/red/yellow/tan camoflouged w/ fighter pilot(Kamikaze)graphics. Humbucker/single coil configuration with volume knob that is also a push/pull pickup selector.

Sounds thick w/ no muddiness. Very good for hard rock/punk/thrash/metal. The single coil is thin though. For rockin it's a 10!!

Neck is very wide(like a classical)and thin. Great string seperation, and good for tapping.

The long, reverse hockey-stick headstock is very fragile!! This guitar fell over and it shattered!! Having it repaired(ESP wouldn't go anything!!) wasn't fun. Everything else on the guitar is awesome!!

ESP did not stand behind this guitar when the headstock broke. It just fell over off of a guitar stand and it broke in 3 peices!! I've heard other Kamikaze owners suffer the same fate and ESP doesn't Warranty their headstocks!!!

10 on sound/feel, 2 on ESP's Customer Service, headstock is fragile. Out of my 7 guitars this one is tied w/my Les Paul as the best sounding!!