ESP George Lynch Sunburst Tiger

Late 90's SB tiger, maple body/neck, rW fingerboard, original floyd, screamin demon PU. Push/pull PU switch in vol pot.

Pretty good- nice growl, punchy. Neck PU weak.

Here's the problem- factory setup was SHIT- strings way to high and when I lowered it even a bit, it buzzed. my style is very Lynch/Greg Howe influenced and high action does not work well. I got it reasonably good, but it still buzzes on the e/b strings above the 10 fret. The finish: I've seen older SB tigers that look GREAT (one of the coolest graphics ever!), but this one looks like hell, very similar to the other review, the transitions between colors are too abrupt and harsh, and way too much yellow and too little purple. On a $1300 guitar, this and the set up are unacceptable.

I'll never know because I returned it to the dealer after a week of being pissed.

I love George Lynch and I'm not crazy about the fact that he endorses ESP- these guitars are WAY overpriced. You can find much higher quality and playability in the $1300 range elsewhere. I have a $250 Hamer Diablo that plays much smoother and stays in tune better. my HM strat is a better guitar and that cost me $300. I did love the way the SB Tiger looks, but I might as well get the new LTD tiger, but even that version is overpriced. ESP should start being more competitive and lower these outrageous prices before I ever buy another. Sorry George, I still love ya!

This was made in Japan, 1999. The body is a solid piece of maple with the sunburst to tiger stripe print... you know the one. This guitar is *heavy*! The neck is maple with a rosewood fingerboard and 22 jumbo frets. These aren't the same hurdles that are on my buddies Skull & Bones ESP's, but still not short (yes... that is correct... my best friend has two of the 25 Skull & Bones guitars their custom shop made).
The electronics are unique... Screamin' Demon in the bridge and an ESP single coil in the neck. The volume knob (the only control) has a push/pull pot to select between the two. Pull it out for the front pickup. It's pretty much exactly Strat dimensions, except for the flat fingerboard and reverse headstock.
The bridge is an original Floyd Rose and all hardware is black. It comes with a very nice hardshell case. I can't remember the manufacturer, but they make cases for several guitar lines.

My style is progressive hard rock, sometimes a little heavy and sometimes with a little more exotic sounds thrown in. I'm using a 5150 head and cabinet and various BOSS pedals. The guitar sounds fairly bright, but more balanced and better than I expected it to be. It's very punchy. I expected it to be harshly bright, but this turned out to be not the case. I already have my perfect guitar, but do like the way this ESP sounds. The single coil pickup in the front is a bit weak in comparison to the bridge pickup, though... it sounds kind of like a SD AlnicoII Pro single coil, but a bit warmer, more low mids and fewer highs. Sounds nice, but a little weak. My only complaint is the unwound strings can sound a little grainy and not terribly smooth. I like the way chords chime out, though... very punchy & clean. It's crunchy, but not chunky, if you know what I mean.

I've only seen one guitar come from the factory better than this in my cllection. The finish was perfect, even on the headstock. The transition from the purple burst to the tiger stripes is stunning and looks intense under certain lighting conditions. The action feels very good and the guitar is very easy to play right out of the case... feel's like it has .010's, but the documentation doesn't make mention of any string gauge. The only problem is the neck lacks a relief... which is a big problem. You have to remove the neck to adjust the truss rod. I subtract a point for that because you can't easily set it up. The fretwork is *perfect* and I mean that. There is nothing sticking on the sides, all the frets are perfectly aligned... beautiful...

This thing is *heavy*... more then my same friend's Les Paul. It is all maple, after all. The finish on the body is very strong and durable, so far, but I'm not 100% convinced about the black finish in the hardware. We'll see, but I haven't had the best experience with black hardware.

I've never had to deal with ESP, but they got the guitar out pretty quickly and were very helpful when I inquired about a custom order, even though they knew up front I wasn't buying anything at the time.

I have been playing for almost 14 years. My other guitars are four Peavey Wolfgangs, an American Standard Strat, Deluxe Strat Plus and Ibanez JPM/100, those last three having Seymour Duncan pickups. My favorite feature is the pickup selector on the volume knob. Although it does mean there is no center position to choose, it is a very practical idea. I chose this guitar purely on looks, but was surprised by its sound and playability. The only thing I wished it had was a stacked single coil of some sort in the front. That's easily fixed, though.

HS pickup config - one a SD Screamin Deamon and the other an ESP model. Push/pull pickup selecter on the volume knob. Floyd Rose tremelo, locking nut, recessed side mount jack input, maple body, mahogany neck, rosewood fretboard, 24 jumbo frets, and a paint job that wakes the dead.

Depending on what type of music you play, you may dig it. If you want in your face raw metal/hard rock - this does it. The clean is so-so. All sound requires a combination of the amp/effects and guitar though. The '10' is because this does just what I wanted this guitar for.

The action is OK - not great, but not bad either. the fit feels real good, but I like a thicker/wider neck. The finish fuckin kicks!

Can't say yet - I just got it a few weeks ago!

No opnion as of yet.

For what I wanted, it kicks ass. It's heavy, but expected from the wood. I use other guitars for other sounds, and none to date have gotten this 'attitude' sound this thing makes. The amps I use are high dollar, which definately helps, but paired with this guitar, the sound even better than ever when I go to hard/heavy/fuck-off sounds.

22 extra jumbo frets sunburst tiger graphic on the body and headstock (fade from yellow to red to purple with black tiger stripes over that) original floyd rose locking tremolo. one knob for volume and push/pull pickup selector. strat style body. pretty fucking heavy. maple body and quartersawn maple neck.

i like more of a metal sound from my guitar and this only has one and it is passive! but oh well it sounds pretty fucking good for the pickups. i am running it through a boss metal zone and a dunlop crybaby limited edtition, to a fucking peavy basic 112 bass amp. (so i played bass first and i am poor. shoot me) really nice tone with the knob pulled out for clean but sounds shitty like that distorted.

really nice setup. all the frets are in order and absolutly no fret rattles. i dont know what the other guy was talking about but mine is aligned perfectly. great action almost dont even need to play it it'll play itself. bought it used from bizzare guitar in reno nv. really cool guys but will rip you off if you dont know what you are doing. the finish on this guitar is flawless.

this thing is a fucking tank. i have dropped this thing at least 6 times and the only thing that happened was a small crack and a chip in the paint. the only reason i ever dropped it was because i didnt have any straploks and i would drop my pick, bend over to get it and then drop the guitar cause the strap would slip. so the only complaint is that the strap buttons are kind of shitty but i might have been using a shitty strap. very dependable.

i have delt with the company many times through e-mail and phone and every time they have come through and that is why i keep buying esp instruments. ( that and the fact that i could never break them if i wanted to. not like some shitty les pauls. gee mommy i paid 9000 dollars for a guitar that i can only play in a padded fucking studio. real fucking cool.)

i have this guitar and an esp explorer. i like the esp explorers better than the gibsons. this is an awesome guitar and i would reccomend it to anyone but i will warn you that it does look kind of goofy and if you play in a hardcore band you will probably get your ass beat for coming out on stage with it. but it is a really great guitar and i have no regrets about buying it. and to the other guy who wrote something, you got assfucked dude.
btw i had never heard of george lynch before i bought the guitar and i dont think i can recall hearing a dokken song. but it still kicks ass

Ordered New at Alpha Music, Va Beach 11/94. Arrived 12/94. Dealer Cost $999 or $1049 w/case. Paid $1329.00 w/case. Body: Maple Body/SB Tiger Graphic. Side mount/slanted jack. Neck: 4 Bolt Maple Neck, 22 extra jumbo fret w/locking nut. Poly finished/reverse headstock with SB Tiger graphic. String tree and non-locking tuners. Electronics: Bridge Pickup: SD Screamin Demon Trembucker. Neck Pickup: ESP Single Coil. Volume with push/pull pickup selector. Bridge: Recessed/Floating Floyd Rose.

Guitar had ground problems from factory. Dealer fixed wiring. Good metal tone/Marginal clean tones.

Finish/Graphic is heavily flawed. The advertised SB graphic has a slow fade from purple (around the perimeter of the body) to red then yellow (at the center of the body). My graphic is a harsh purple to yellow transition.
The neck was not properly aligned from the factory. The headstock was pitched downward so that the high 'E' string rode the edge of the neck from the 15th fret up. Zion corrected neck seating. I've seen many other ESP's w/Floyd bridges have this problem. ESP's explaination is that it is difficult to align due to the width of the floyd. But it isn't difficult for them to take your money.

Never been on the road.

The Worst!!! These guys are extremely rude and unprofessional. Most notably, Jose knows absolutely nothing about customer service. "The customer is always right!" Not here friends! I will never purchase another new instrument from these guys.

Not a good overall value. Dealer cost was $999. This is essentially a $600 instument with a $500 paint job and a $200 endorsement for George.
George Lynch is my primary influence and I am terribly sorry that he endorses ESP guitars. ESP's selling point regarding their signature series line is that these are the identical instruments that the artist uses. NO LONGER TRUE!! George told me at his clinic at Mars Music in Charlotte, that the new M1 Tigers are facsimilies of his personal M1's. The new M1's are pathetic in quality - especially in finish. One can see template bleeding around the tiger stripes from five feet away. I also have an older M1 (~1993) and there is a remarkable erosion in quality.