ESP LTD EC-1000

2002 ESP EC-1000 STBC, 24 Frets, 2 vol, 1 tone, Twin EMG-81 active
humbuckers, rosewood fretboard and mahogany body, sperzel locking
tuners, tonepros system II bridge, includes hardshell case :)

The EC-1000 blew me away. I used to play old gibsons which just
wouldn't cut the mustard, however, I got this guitar and the 81's
on it scream. I play a very wide variety of music and it seems
to keep up with every one of them. I love this guitar very much (I
guess I should for 899.99, exactly how much I paid). Very quiet
pickups with my Marshall G50R solid state amplifier.

Action is almost perfect, however the low E string buzzes a little bit (maybe it is because I was tuning too low?). I only had one
problem with the neck pickup fading out. I noticed that if I push
on the humbucker it would fade back in and out. I took the guitar
apart and plugged back in the wire. ESP doesn't leave enough slack
in the wire for the humbucker to be lowered, maybe this is just in
my experience.

Other than that little setback, the guitar is great. LOOKS OUTSTANDING, looks almost exactly like the picture on their website which is very SWEEEEET. See-thru black cherry is a very nice color.

Very sturdy guitar, I am going to take it wherever I go. The only
thing I would bring with me is an extra 9V for the EMG-81's, the battery always seems to die when you need it most :)

I called once about the pickups, they were pretty nice considering
the nasty notes I hear about their customer support. I was going
to get it repaired under warranty but the only choices I had for
doing that is sending it to ESP or sending it to music123 where I
bought it. I decided after waiting 4 months for the guitar, to attempt to fix it myself, which was a success... According to the
card I got with the guitar, this guitar has a lifetime warranty, excluding finish problems (paint and chipping), any aftermarket hardware (pus, etc).

I've been playing for three years now so I think my ear is getting better. However, don't get me wrong, I'm no experienced guitarest. I own several acoustic guitars including 5 twelve-string guitars (I just love those sounds) and three electric guitars including a Fender Stratocaster, Hamer Slammer, and a Washburn POS.

I was looking at several guitars to buy, something about ESP just drew me to this guitar. I looked at several gibsons and played them at the store. Don't get me wrong, they are SWEET guitars, however, for their price they should be. This guitar, however, has very nice looks, a very nice sound, and a very nice price.

This guitar pretty much has all the aftermarket goodies that I would have put on it if I had to replace them. Features a set-neck, abalone inlays on the neck and headstock. Abalone binding on the body, neck and headstock. Inlay work was really good. Made in Korea. The hardware is second to none with Sperzel trimloks on the head, a tone pros II locking bridge and tailpiece. A really nice combination. The pickups are awesome active EMG 81's in the neck and bridge. Two tone pots, one volume. This thing actually stays in tune quite well even after transport. The body is a solid mahogany LP style, but thinner and not as heavy. I really like the strap buttons on this thing. I probably won't even have to change to strap-loks.

I play a lot of heavy music and this thing is perfect for that. I'm using a solid state Marshall combo and it really screams. I don't use any effects, dont need'em with the EMG 81's. Has a nice tone, but my Viper sounds better.

Guitar was set up pretty well with decent semi-low action. I play heavy rhythm so I don't need it too low anyway. I didn't like the gauge of strings that came on it, but I guess I being picky. The black finish is laid down smoothly. The only mistakes I can see are in the fretting. At about the 19th 20th frets, the frets are too short, they don't go all the way to the edge of the fret board and are short by about 1/8" on two of the frets.

The guitar and all the hardware seem to be top-notch and should last for a good long time. The finish has a good thick coat of lacquer on it. Again I dig the beefy strap buttons on this thing. I would use it on a gig without backup, but bring extra 9-volts for the 81's.

Here is where ESP failed me. I don't like Gold hardware and that's the only color hardware you can get with the black finish. I contacted ESP about having the hardware replaced with a different color and it seems that the guy couldn't get off the phone with me fast enough. I told them I would pay extra and the guy just told me they "couldn't" do that. Hmmmm, a custom shop that can't do hardware replacement, That's BS. Anyway I've heard that customer service is at the top of ESP's list. That's dangerous in this economy.

I would probably not buy it again unless they offered different hardware options and changed their attitude on customer service. I may have just spoke with the biggest prick in custom shop though. If I never have to deal with sending it back, the guitar is a good deal for under a grand.