ESP Jake E. Lee

From what I've gathered my Jake E Lee is a '94/'95 model. Same specs as others already reviewed: 24 3/4" scale neck, Jumbo frets from 1 ~ 12 and medium frets from 13 ~ 22. Alder body. S/S/H configuration. Maple neck, RW fretboard.

The body is very light weight and very resonant. It also sustains naturally very, very well. I'm impressed as I've owned Custom Suhr guitars that didn't sustain this well.

Now where mine guitar is different lies in the fact the original owner painted the body a Daphne Blue/Seafoam Green and installed Seymour Duncan Blades for the neck and middle pickups and a Duncan Distortion in the bridge. He also had a custom pearloid pickguard installed and custom volume/tone knobs. Additional mods include a separate switch to split the bridge humbucker to single/hum and an aftermarket tone knob that offers 20 different tone settings. Not really that impressed with the tone control feature and feel like it steals away from the natural sounds of the guitar, but kept it in place for now.

Well I quickly ditched the Duncan Blades for Lindy Fralin pickups since the Duncans didn't even come close to the classic strat style sounds I was after, and the Duncan Blade's were too dark sounding. I also replaced the Duncan Distortion with a Gibson Iommi. The Duncan Distortion is actually not a bad pickup at all and is kind of a misnomer regarding its name. However, the Iommi is a great pickup that looks awesome in the guitar due to the solid nickel cover. I usually only use Fralin pickups but made an exception this time due to the looks of the Iommi.

I really dig the jumbo frets from 1 ~ 12, and have gotten used to the smaller frets from 13 ~ 22. Not sure I see the advantage of switching sizes but they sure work well on the guitar. I've also preferred the shorter Gibson scale lenghts and actually looked for one of these guitars for that reason. I wanted a strat style guitar without the brightness and higher string tension of a 25 1/2" scale.

This guitar can sound like a strat in any of the normal 5 way switch positions, especially with the split humbucker switch. I like alder bodies as they are neutral sounding but not dead neutral sounding bassword or poplar. Alder and swamp ash are my favorite woods for Start style guitars. The guitar is lightweight, resonant and sustains very well. Single notes are solid and chords ring out with clarity.

I can get nice Hendrix tones from the neck and middle positions and some solid punchy tones from the bridge pickup, not as solid and mid-range punch as a Mahogany guitar though.

The guitar overall is very balanced and nice sounding.

I'm really, really impressed with the fit and finish of this guitar. The frets are immacuately dressed. I'd rate them up there with any of the Suhr's I've owned regarding fret dressing. Nice straight and solid neck. Super smooth light finish as well, even though I've take steel wool to the back of the neck to smooth it out even more and remove some more of the finish. The repainted body was done very well and looks like a factory paint job under the pickguard as well. There is one ding in the guitar that shows the original black paint. So even with two coats of paint on this guitar it still rings out very, very well.

This guitar has proven to be very solid. The neck joint is tight and attached very well to the guitar. The tuners are solid and the bridge is a rock too. No real tunings or stability problems and its 15 years old so far. The original strap buttons are nice and big to hold most straps on very well; however, I replaced them with my standard Schaller strap locks.

Haven't contacted ESP for any support as previous owner already tried to get more info based on its serial number, which was limited to a year range of '94 ~ '95.

From what I've gathered this limited run of guitars by ESP were all great. If you can find one I'd highly recommend getting it. However, good luck finding one. They pop up every once in a while on ebay, but they were only offered in white or black. So even though they are not the most eye catching guitar in stock colors they make it up for it in tone, playiblity, and comfort. I'd be pretty sad if something happened to my guitar as it'd be difficult to replace it due to limited circulation and production numbers.

Made 1995, in Japan. Got the last new white one in Canada. Rumor has it that Jake played this one at NAMM...

22 frets, 1-12 jumbo, 13-22 medium
1 volume, 1 tone. s/s/h passive pickup configuration
Made of Alder body, maple neck w/ rosewood fretboard, Snow White originally, but going kinda yellowish now... Strat Style body, Les Paul Scale (24 3/4" scale length)

I give it a nine, simple yet effective.

This has always been a great sounding guitar if you want to jam on some blues or maybe crank out some Hendrix-y stuff. It lacked for what I wanted to do. The Stock bridge pick-up is grainy sounding. I generally have trouble with alder bodies anyway. I tried a Duncan Distortion in the bridge... Put a set of EMG's in it, SA/SA/81, swapped the 81 for an 85, that was a bit better... one day I decided that it had to go because I couldn't get it to sound right. But as a last-ditch effort, I bought a Dimarzio Evolution and stuck it in. Saved the guitar from being sold. I'm glad I kept it now...

Pretty good factory set up needed some tweeking when I put my favourite gauge of strings on it. "G" string still worbles due to single coil pickup magnetism, but I've gotten used to it...

The is a very well made guitar. It's been my number 2 for a while now. (it still can't top the Tele). I replaced the strap buttons with Schaller locking, but I do that on every guitar. Stays in tune no matter how hard I play or how much I bend...
I've used it live with no back-up and no problem.

Never had to deal with ESP. My local guitar shop takes care of any issues.

I've been playing for about 10 years and have become very picky about my instruments. This one has finally found a place in my collection and I won't ever sell it. It sounds great through Line6 Amps. It really sings. I'm thinking about building one like it, but with a Floyd... see how that works out.

I'm trying to locate one in Purple and one in Black... any one got them for sale?

made in 98 I think... in Japan... 22 frets, 1-12 are jumbo, 13-22 are medium, contoured neck for easier reach... this is something that has to be played to believe. Ive had her for about 2 weeks now and Im just getting used to it. The strat I have just isnt the same... 1 volume, 1 tone, s/s/hum, with slated single coils... for looks I think. If anyone knows why this was made like this, email me. theyre stock ESp pickups. Not bad but keep in mind this is a very trebly guitar. These pickups are very trebly. Its a alder body with a maple neck and rosewood fretboard. Black with white pickguard. pretty standard from what I gather. string thru body, helps with feedback and sustain. The necks like a Gibson. At least thats what it feels like to me. Im used to strats and ESPs. came with a very nice ESP flight case.

Like I said before the guitar has treble and bite. And lots of it. She screams and snarls. I havent put her down yet, and for me thats an accomplishment. I have a hard time sticking to one guitar. Im running it through a Line 6 POD and a solid state amp I built. It gives some amazing sounds. Its not really noisy for having stock ESP pickups. I can back off the volume knob and it cleans up nicely. I cant really say that it would have a variety of sounds. Its built to scream. And she does! Seeing as this is a signature guitar, if you get one, keep n mind that it was built to the specs of a certain person. Jake E Lee in this case. Listen to his records and youll have a good idea of the tone of this guitar. Try his solo cd "A Fine Pink Mist". Thats what he used trought he whoile album. Dont try to get a George Lynch or Kirk Hammett tone out of her. It wont happen. Think about what youre getting into. I did alot of research before I bought this guitar. It was worth every minute though.

This guitar probably wasnt played before I got it. And it was setup beautifully. ESP is one company that I deal with alot and I cant say enough nice things about them. I am a hard core ESP player and I cant ever see changing over. I had heard horror storys about them and I honestly cant say Ive ever had a problem. The guitar has no flaws at all. Beautiful paint job, setup was perfect, a quality product. There are no flaws in the wood at all.

Im going to use her on stage pretty soon... I have no problems with taking her onstage. everything seems pretty sturdy. the alder wood is pretty light though, so I wouldnt want to treat her rough. Not that I would anyways... I think shell be very dependable. Shes gone through alot of playing the last 2 weeks with no problems... not even a broken string! But since I have a problem with different sounds, shell always have a backup even though Id play without it if I could. But 1 guitar wouldnt cover all the bases...

Like I said above, I have never had a problem with ESP. Ive worked with them many times and I havent ever come across anything negative. The best company Ive ever worked with hands down! keep up the good work guys!

Ive been playing 12 years and this ones definetly a keeper. I have several other ESPs and a couple of strats and this one stands out. Its the first signature series Ive bought though... If it were stolen, Id pity the poor bastard who took it. Life would be long and painful for him... anyways, Id replace it somehow, this was a hard guitar to track down...

not sure of the year. the Jake E. Lee models were made in Japan.
Alder body, maple neck, rosewood finger board. Black with white pickguard, these are strat clones with the single coils slightly slanted. String thru body bridge (I'm getting out of my floyd rose stage).
ESP pickups in s/s/h configuration (forget the model #s, doesn't matter, they're not bad for stock (I'm an EMG snob)).
Generic jap tuners.

What interested me? The 1st dozen frets (1-12) are jumbo, the rest are medium frets. Sounds wierd? You should try it!!! Plenty of room for string manipulation down low. My leads feel so much more natural now. I've had my Carvins, Charvels and Ibanez's all redone with the jumbo to medium fret layout that I found on this guitar.

I'd be the last to say I like a Strat like guitar, but this thing is great. From the innovative fret-wire usage, to the bitey tone this thing has, I love this guitar. I prefer the bite of EMG-81s in the bridge position but for passive, this guitar sounds great. The single coils have great clarity for clean sound.

I bought this used but in as new condition. Flawless. I'll never ever find a bargain as I got on this work of art. The strings were factory installed, the axe was played a couple of times and stored. Rusty strings but that's the only problem I had. It has very low action very similar to my Carvins. The alder body is light enough and gives good sustain.

Pretty well made axe, reminds me of Ibanez jap workmanship.

I've called them. The USA support team is very nice and extrememly honest. They're not afraid to say what is going on.

I've been playing for 15 yrs. I'm a progressive metal nut! I love the fret wire setup, I love the beveled back at the neck joint and the string thru body bridge. what a great guitar that I got for a steal! If I find another one, I'll shurely pay more just to aquire it.

I think it was a '95 model. It has a string-thru bridge with 2 ESP single coils and 1 ESP humbucker. The single coils are also slanted (not sure if this helps). Strat bodystyle with a cool purple finish. Neck has great feel and rosewood fretboard over a maple neck. The neck heel is shaved down for total fret access.

This just has a great sound. The pickups provide an exact replica of Jake's Ultimate Sin tones. With the bridge pickup and hi-gain you have a "Never" tone but within seconds you can switch to neck pickup with reverb&delay and you have "Killer Of Giants" tone! Truly awesome!

The action was very low and pleasing to the fingers. Everything was cut to perfection. The selector and pots are noiseless.No glitches in the finish either.

It is solid and dependable. Very Roadworthy!

Have not dealt with ESP

This guitar was a great value. I would buy it again. Now I want to find a white one. If anyone has one Email me with prices!