ESP LTD Viper-301

2002 model. Replaced by the 400 series with active pickups, and slightly better tuning machines. You all know the stats on this one. Bone stock with the passive EMG's

White with black hardware.

I play all styles of music. It covers them quite well. Very flexable guitar. The EMG passives provide good tone coupled with the mahogany body, both pickups together gets a nice P90 vibe, almost tele like. The response is quite clear, and reproduces what you do very well. It is capable of very heavy tones with the right amp and/or pedals. I was surprised in that when I play in blues gigs, the guitar works very well although it raises some eyebrows. Very spanky.

I can't comment about how the action was originally. I bought this one used and some drop tuned knuckle dragging idiot had it strung with absurdly heavy strings and the truss rod was not adjusted properly, so the neck was a mess. I took it to a luthier and had the upper part of the neck planed and refretted. Now it is one of the best guitars I have ever owned.

The only gripe I have is that the tuning machines could be better.

The finish originally was flawless. Beautiful milky white. This one was used and beaten up, so I drop filled the dents and then used automotive refinishing compounds to buff it back to almost new condition. She's a beauty!

It is quite durable, the finish is very tough because it had been dropped on the output jack and dented the wood a bit, but the finish just showed minor cracking around the edge of the metal jackplate, but didn't pop off and flake like other guitars I've owned in the past. I changed the strap buttons to schallers, and the 301's came with the button on the horn already, so there is no neck dive like other vipers. I have been using this as my main guitar now and it is pretty much bullet proof. I may change out the tuners for ones with a bit better ratio, but all in all, not bad!

NA

I have been playing 30 years and my first electric guitar was an SG, and this one felt very familiar to me the moment I picked it up. If Gibson had ever considered upgrading the SG, this is the guitar that they would have come up with. It is superior in every way to the SG, and it is better quality than their SG standard for much less money!

I kid you not that I can take this guitar to any gig (yes I play metal as well)Do you think you need actives? Need more power? use a boost pedal in the front end of the amp. Voila. That way you don't have to worry about batteries in your guitar as well as your stompies, and then you have a guitar suitable for many styles.

I would buy another one in a heartbeat, but would like to try one of their ESP viper standard series, but the finishes are limited, Matte black or camo... yuck. I could have their custom shop do one for me, but it would take a second mortgage on the farm to afford it.

2003 ESP LTD Viper 301

The black finish is exactly that, a black finish. This is a double cutaway body, very VERY similar to the SG, but original in its own way. TOM bridge, works fine. Non-locking ESP tuners, which work great for stock tuners. The neck to me is perfect for metal, thin enough to move quickly but thick enough to not over slide. Rosewood fb with flag inlays, not bad for 420! Made in Korea, and dont care where it is made as long as it plays like this. 24 frets with one tone and one vol and a 3way. 2 EMG HZ pickups set into a heavy mahogany body. Overall, 420 bucks for a set neck sg with emgs and a mahogany body, wtf are you thinking, get it!

The HZ's match what I expected this guitar to do. Decent distortion, in between 81 85's and sh2 sh4 duncans. Dropped into C tuning, this guitar has great distortion actually. Cuts right through and picks up the mids better than any "Metal" guitar I have ever played. I play Progressive Metal like Mastodon,Opeth, or whatever. I also try to play every thing else, and this guitar has the sound to do it. The HZ's pickup some weird noises like my strap buttons and channel switching from the T.V. But other than that, it is actually pretty good with noise. I am using a Traynor ycv802x12 with a wah and boss ns-2. Favorite thing about the guitar is the low end metal "chugg" I get, this guitar makes me want to play metal.

Guitar was set up buy the guys at shop, and action was low, very low. The guitar was perfect in every aspect of the finish. Inlays are just amazing, the ivory binding makes the guitar look "elegant", and the black finish is just that, black. The only problem that you might have with the guitars is the strap button on the back of the guitar, and not the horn. I just dont like the feel of that digging in your stomach.

Guitar seems rock solid, except for the neck. Every day you see an SG on ebay with a broken neck. These guitars are different in many ways, but I am afraid of the fragility of the neck. WATCH OUT! Otherwise no need for backups, this guitar is ROCK SOLID.

No problem

I have been playing for 4 years and have owned fenders, jacksons, epiphones, other ESP's, and now 2 more, This one and a PRS SE Custom, go see the review!. Only one amp, or at least that matters, my Traynor. This guitar I will keep forever, this is the true meaning of guitar, rock soild metal destructor BLACK AS NIGHT weapon looking guitar! All ESP's are good, but this one you could fall in love with.

I owned an ESP 301 Viper, saved up to buy a real Gibson SG, then sold that to buy back a Viper. There is no comparison. I like heavy guitars that have some meat to them. The Viper is just that. The SG feels like cardboard and plays like poo. The Viper neck absolutley kills the Gibson.

Definitley beefier sounding than an SG, but I can pull off Angus with confidence. The Viper actually has sustain, the SG uggh. Who can play those things? 125 pounders are who.

The tuners and EMG's were replaced for Sperzels and Seymour Duncans. That's personal preference though. Some people may like EMG's. I'm confident these are the same people who put the distortion knob on thier Digitech to 11 as well.

I love the Viper!! The price is unreal too for a guitar this nice.

Dunno

Can't go wrong. Price is so cheap and they play nicer than the SG's they are copy'ing. I may get a real ESP Viper just to be cool. But the LTD version is just as nice I'm sure. Speaking from owning other ESP products vs. their LTD line. I can't tell the difference. Best cheapest guitar around. Schecters are nice too for the money. Maybe it's cuz ESP and Schecter come from the same factory eh?

Set Neck, stop tailpiece, dual emg hz humbucker SG Clone. 24 jumbo frets, flag inlays, ivoryish neck binding. Set neck this cheap is worthy of a 10 in this catagory.

I play Metal and if you bought this guitar you probably do too. Well I got this used so I wasnt blessed with the sound of the EMG HZ's, instead someone put a McCarty PRS bridge pickup in it. That pickup sucked ass for this guitar way too muddy no balls. This was through a Ampeg Vh140-c head with a Marshall 1960 lead cab, a real high end ballsy brutal halfstack!!!

So I usually only use the bridge pickup anyway I decided to throw in a EMG 81( my pickup of choice ) wired as a single volume striaght to the jack. The sound is so pure EMG 81 it was great. Harmonics and very articulate, just the way it should be.

So its not the guitars fault in sound if the pickups are cheesy, because with the right pickup it can sound just the way you want it too.

Almost everything was great, but here was the problem. WTF is up with the strap button placement. Your screwed if you use real strap lock systems like dunlop or what I use schaller. The Dunlop would be prone to get disconnected and the Schaller sticks out a little to far so it jabs you. Plus it made the neck drop a little to the ground, I hate that!!

I fixed this buy putting the strap button on the tip of the top horn, so like a strat. Way better, more comfort, straplock friendly and it wasnt neck heavy anymore! Plus it kinda hugs you like strat.

This is a great mahogany wood guitar and with the right care it will work for anyone. The strap button placement sucks ass though.

This is a heavy well built guitar and it dosnt feel cheap at all. LTD ESP exceeds my expectations of a Korean made guitar.

Love the site!!! www.espguitars.com

I play metal and have done so for 11 years. Gone through dozens of guitars and this ones a keeper. I also own a Gibson Les Paul Studio, a Gibson Gothic Explorer and soon a Gibson Flying V. This Viper I actually perfer over an Gibson SG because is does feel more solid in the neck joint. Looks more metal too. I can also beat the shit out of it and not feel so bad either.

KOREAN MADE. NOT SURE OF YEAR.. LOOKS LIKE A LATER RUN BECAUSE IT HAS SAME LOGO AS MY VIPER 400. GO TO THE WEBSIGHT FOR DETAILS. SMOOTH NECK DECENT SIZE FRETS. YANKED OUT THE EMG H-Z'S (AWFUL SOUNDING) REPLACED WITH DIMARZIO TONE ZONES

WITH THE PICKUP CHANGE, IT SUITS MY STYLE (C.O.C. , ZAKK , SABBATH, HENDRIX ECT.RUN THROUGH A SMALL STONE, A SMALL CLONE, A BOSS OCTAVE, A RM RED LION WAH A ZW 44 OD A IBANEZ TS9 AND A BOSS DD6 DELAY. ALL INTO TWO 1980 MARSHALL JMP 2203 100 WATT HEADS W 2 4X12 MARSHALL COPYS LOADED W MESA BOOGIE SPEAKERS. NOISY BUT WHO GIVES A DAMN. I GET ALOT OF DIFFENT SOUNDS W THIS SET UP. NO COMPLAINTS, JUST THE STOCK P.U.'S WERE WEAK

SET UP WAS NOT TO MY LIKING BUT 30 MINUTES W A SCREWDRIVER AND AN ALLEN WRENCH AND SHE WAS GOOD TO GO. DOES HAVE SOME SLIGHT BUZZ ONA FRET OR 2 BUT I LIKE MY ACTION LOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.

WILL WITHSTAND LIVE PLAYING. HARDWARE OK, THOUGH ILL HAVE IT RUSTED OUT FAST CAUSE I PLAY SO MUCH ITS DEPENDABLE BUT I ALWAYS HAVE A BACK UP. I USE THIS ONE FOR MY C SHARP TUNED STUFF

NEVER ANY DEALINGS BUT IVE HEARD ESP ARE DICKS ABOUT WARRANTY, BUT I BOUGHT MINE USED, SO NOT AN ISSUE HERE

BEEN PLAYING ABOUT 15 YEARS. IF IT WERE STOLEN, ID REPLACE IT. LOVE VIPERS.

Pretty Basic features. Tone Dial and Volume Dial, 3-way Switch.
Dual Humbuckers. 24 Jumbo frets. Not too many bells and whistles here.

I like to play a variety of rock - Hard rock, metal, punk, jazz, ska, blues, you name it i play it. This guitar did a great job conforming to the different styles that I play. Throw on the Neck pickup for thick bluesy sounds, both for thick metal licks, and bridge for thinner, treble rich sounds for ska and punk. This guitar is best suited for metal though, imo.

I ran this guitar through a Peavy Studio Pro 212 65watt and it rocked. Even at high volumes, this guitar showed no signs of wear in sound. Rich throughout no matter what volume or setting.

The action on this guitar was perfect when i got it. There was no buzz on any frets whatsoever. The finish was flawless too, very shiny and very beautiful coloring. The only things that really bugged me about this guitar was the fact that the neck was coated with the gloss, which made it slower to play than say a guitar with a smooth wooden neck. If your hands start to get moist at all, your gonna find yourself getting hung up. Also, I thought this guitar was a bit heavy..both the body and the neck. If you hold this guitar while standing up and let go (with the strap on, obviously), the neck is just gonna slide down, parallel to the floor. So while you are playing, you actually have to hold it up at the same time...you get used to it though.

This guitar held up like a tank, it weighs a ton, what do you expect? Very hard to scratch the finish, strap buttons never came loose, and stays in tune forever. I would definately bring this thing onstage even if i didnt have a backup.

**Storytime**
Unfortunately, this thing did suffer a fall in its lifetime. (hey it happens).

I was riding on my bike to my lesson one day, with my guitar strapped on my back in a cheap fender bag with plastic fasteners. I had ridden to lessons like 10 times before. The first time I was all scared and whatnot, but after a while, everythign was cool and in never had a problem. On this particular time, however, one of the fasteners broke, and the guitar hit the concrete going about 15mph., landing on the tip of the head, and falling flat on the underside of the body, easily hard enough to crack and cheap ass guitars neck off. Well, after I was finished pissing my pants I picked it up and opened it up. Nothing broken, nothing dented, everythingn seemed in shape. I finsihed my way to my lesson and checked it out. The only thing that happened was that it got knocked out of tune, and a little piece of gloss, no more than 1/8 of an inch in diameter chipped off. I tuned it up and was ready to go. Same great sound, same great quality...nothing was wrong with it at all. I was absolutely astounded.

Never dealt with it

Been playing for 5 years now, and this is one of the better guitars I owned. Its simple, but it gets the job done. Like I said, it is a bit heavy, which would make me steer away from it if i were to buy it again. Overall though, an excellent guitar, dont pass it up if you get a good deal.

pretty barebone guitar, one volume, one tuner, three way switch, dual humbuckers.

The sound is unique, it wont sound like a Les Paul, wont sound like a Strat, especially with the EMZ-HZ's. Ive come very close to replacing the pickups, or at least one of them, only because at times I want a certain sound and at other times I want another sound. But for soloing, this guitar has the best sound out there. The notes ring so crisp, bright, and loud that after connecting with the guitar over a solo you will not want it to sound like anything else.

It isnt to full of a tone like a Les Paul, but isnt as thin as single coil strats. This will cut through anything while still maintaning a great rhythm guitar.

For metal, I dont care, I dont like metal, I dont like heavy distortion. This guitar does great from clean to a blues crunch, to me all metal sounds the same, and this guitar is capable of doing metal.

This guitar has become the standard for which I compare other guitars. Fast neck, well placed pickups, fretboard has the best feel of any Ive played. You get used to a guitar, and Im used to my LTD.

For the price, what you get is cheaper pickups, non locking tuners, one volume/one tone. What you wouldnt expect is how solid the guitar is built. Much more durable then any Les Paul by far. All hardware is Black, and Black hardware is the hardest to find. I got the sunburst finish, I do not like painted guitars. This guitar is one of the sweetest looking SG's out there. Just the fact there is no pickguard is a huge plus for looks. Keep it polished and the finish will be in good shape.

Some people dont like how heavy it is, but I think its perfect. I sometimes think metal heads are lacking in experience sometimes. Pick up a Les Paul and all the bottom weight sucks big time. The head is heavy giving a well distributed feel on a strap.

This thing can fall off of a roof gig and still be in good shape.

no idea

The pickups are cheap, no locking tuners, and one volume one tone nob. Thats why its a cheap guitar. Unlike other cheap guitars with crappy fretboards, cheap wood, and bad construction with a good set of pickups, this comes as a huge shock. This feels like a $2000 guitar, after playing so many other guitars again I dont want to give this up. Soloing is such a dream on it.

P.S. everybody should have a set of 11's, any less really can make sound quality suffer. I dont care how easy 8 or 9's are to bend, they break and sound weak.

2003 ESP Viper 301, I won't bother putting the specs because they've been put up so many times before. I'm only giving this an 8 because I don't feel it has much to it at all. Could do with an active EQ circuit of some sort.

I play metal mostly, but this guitar sounds brilliant for all styles. Compared with my super-strat, this is much better for bluesy tones due to the chunky body it has. Some people moan about the clean tones you get from EMG's, but I think the Viper sounds great clean through either pickup, although I personally prefer single coils for a clean tone (Seymour Duncan stacked in particular).
The pickups sound great as well, very little buzz (only noticable once you go to about 7 on gain) and great for harmonics. Even though the EMGs are passive, they're extremely high output and allow for very good volume swells. Overall, this guitar sounds ace, but EMG 81's would be even better.

This is where I feel the Viper very much falls down. The painted neck never helps the action of the neck. I also feel the neck is too big and rounded as well as having big frets. I greatly feel that my dirt cheap Slammer has a much faster action due to a flatter fretboard, thinner neck and lower frets. The factory set up wasn't brilliant either, the pickups are not completely horizontal and the pickup screws came slightly rusty. Finally, the nut on the guitar doesn't seem to have been well set up, could probably do with being filed down a bit more. (This is all assuming the previous owner didn't make any changes)
On the plus side, the stop tailpiece and tune-o-matic are easy to work with. Both are easily adjustable and inntonation set-up didn't take me too long.

Like most ESP, I feel this guitar is very solid. I haven't had any problems with it yet and all of the connections appear to be rock solid. I would definately be able to use it on a gig without a backup, as it keeps tuning very well and string breakages are very unlikely with a stop tailpiece.

I haven't had to deal with the company as I haven't had any problems with the guitar.

I've only been playing for 2 years and also own a Slammer super-strat (don't know the model). I run my guitars through a Marshall MG30, a Dan Electro distortion pedal and a Jim Dunlop Cry Baby wah. If this guitar was stolen, I'd be very annoyed, as it sounds like a gem. However, if I had the money back I'd probably buy a Jackson super-strat, but that is only because I like to play shred and find the neck and action on Jacksons very comfortable.

n/a Many people have written the specifications below.. so I wont' add to it since the guitar is standard and doesn't change within the current models.

The reason i write the review today is that a lot of people buy this guitar with the hope of getting a nice neck-thru instrument that will match the performance of the Gibson SG, but for much less money. I would say that this is true in some ways, but I highly recommend that before you buy this guitar online without first seeing one in person that you run to the local guitar shop and take a peek at it. The thing about this guitar that bothers me is that the scale of the body seems to be unusually large. My first impression was "wow" this thing is a monster.. I was reminded of how electric guitars look when you're a kid and they just seem too big to use. It just has a very large body.. I'm 5 feet 7 inches tall and I couldn't see myself using this guitar on stage.. it seems made for people who are at least 6 feet and 160 or more pounds.. it's too much mass for me. I'm really used to the fender strat which just sort of hugs you and is light and slim.. this thing is just a whole lot of guitar if you ask me. i would however recommend it for anyone who only plays at home or needs a pro sounding studio instrument or is very large. Another weird feature I should mention is the very hard edged contours which run through the body design.. these contours don't show up that much when you just see the pictures in a catalog or online website. But these are some very heavy duty design features that you will either like or hate. People often say you can use this guitar for all sorts of music, but these body contours really spell out "heavy metal".. they countour right into the two horns and have a rather sinister gothic qualit about them. The pickups also seem to be for metal music and give a slightly colder sharper harder sound than the gibson sg. So be aware of that also! One other feature you should be aware off is that it's not very comfortable to hold this guitar and play while you stand.. it doesn't snug up against you like you'd expect.. you feel as though you're always working to manage the instrument.. it works well though when you're sitting of course.. plus one last fault would be that the guitar is top heavy.. it will take a dive the instant you let it go.. this isn't made any better by the placement of the strap button placed right on the end of the horn.. some people are taking it off and screwing it into he back of the guitar.. combine that with it's heavy weight and it's not the best instrument for anyone who has a lively stage act.. But just remember, you may not see these as faults. And as far as playability the guitar is very good.. it has really good intonation all the way up the neck.. fast neck too. as far as I can see, the good points don't outweigh the bad ones. Ergonomically the guitar is just really bad.. so check it out at a local guitar shop before you invest in it sight unseen. I wish ESP would refine the guitar down a little and fix the overall weirdness of the instrument. I now own the Gibson SG Special Faded model which runs about $600. $200 more than the esp viper. The body is much smaller, the guitar is easy to handle, it's not top heavy.. the design isn't pretentious and so you could essentially play any sort of music with this guitar in any sort of public setting.. you could play heavy metal one night, punk rock the next,and then play 80's cover songs at a wedding the next morning.. and then plug right in at a blues club that evening.. it fits in anywhere and will keep it's value too.. it has a nice slim ergonomic body design with a killer tone..check out the reviews here on harmony central.. it also has a great finish to it.. the esp ltd viper looks as though it's been sprayed in thick plastic clear coat.. the sunburst one looks better than the white one..

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What it all boils down to is this: The ESP LTD Viper is a design copy of the Gibson SG.. but be careful not to think they are similar and you're saving money by getting the ESP.. The viper seems to be great at the fretboard, but beyond that I think ESP has to do some soul seaching to finally figure out the future of this guitar.. Smaller body, less weight, better balance, more subtle body contour, better placement of strap button, better quality tuners. The clear coat on the white one shouldn't look so plastic. I can see in my minds eye the potential for a truly great instrument. As of now, the great instrument is the Gibson SG Special Faded. :-) Decide for yourself!

ESP Viper 301,black, made in korea, mohogany body+neck, rosewood fingerboard, set neck, 24 xj frets, 1 volume, 1 tone, threeway selector, TOM bridge+stoptail, comes with those dry (but pleasable to some), Emg HZ passive humbuckers, crappy diecast tuners.

well, i had mine customised, but before that, sound of this guitar was very good. The bridge pickup, i thaught was a little dry at any gain setting, really not to my liking, and the neck pickup, very muddy indeed, (but this is me were talking about here). I wasnt really impressed with this guitar on the clean sounds either. and as for those shoddy ESP tuners.....

NOW THIS IS THE FUN PART

I customised this guitar to suite me and my style, which is anything where an insane amount of gain and bottom end is used.
I took out both of those passive humbuckers, the selector switch, and wired a single Seymour duncan Invader pickup in the bridge, then i replaced those shitty tuners with sperzel locking tuners. I even ordered a custom scratchplate to mount over the space where the neck pickup used to be!(I know im insane)
Now for sound, i would give this guitar an eleven. I play through a triple channel dual recto powering a single mesa 412 recto cab, (i use channel 3 at high gain settings with the rectifier select on solidstate and the variac on bold), and the sound is absoloutley unbeleivable, especially when detuned using custom 10_52 guage strings, i have indeed found the perfect crushing bottom end tone ive been looking for years. Cleanwise, due to the ultra hot nature of the invader pickup, things are still gonna be overdriven, but with carefull tweakin of yer amp and volume knob on yer axe, i had no problen finding a decent clean sound full of body.
Without the custom job, id give this guitar a 5 for sound.

what can i say, i love this guitar, the black finnish (yeah, mine's in black), the cream binding. As if it came straight from the factory. I love the xjumbo frets, easier for string bending especially, and the neck is as comfortable as it can be. Ive had this guitar for a year and a half, the onily problem i had was whenever id have my viper strapped on, the neck would fall to the floor, but i changed that by unscrewing the strap button and attaching it onto the upper horn, no problems now, the guitar doesnt move an inch. This guitar looked ace the first day i bought it, but afer the changes i made, i wouldnt give this guitar up for anything in the world.

Two words, ROCK SOLID. built like a tank, when holding it, feels like it can withstand anything, and indeed it can withstand the hardest of knocks. Ive caught the back of the neck a couple of times just by turning around in my room, didnt make a mark

never dealt with them

ive been playing for 5 years now, i now use this guitar for everything, i use it live, for recording, i write all my songs on it.
I own 3 guitars in total, the viper(MY NO1), the other tow i dont use as often are the fender Competition Mustang, and my Schecter Jerry Horton. I will definatley buy more of these instruments, FANTASTIC value for money, and if it were stolen, id hunt the bastard down crucify em!

It is a 2003 ESP Viper 301, all black. 24 frets, Two EMG HZ pickups, 1 volume, 1 tone and 3-way selector. Pretty standard set up. Looks like a SG, but with much better upper fret access.

I play in a metal band and this suits my style perfectly. I use it with a modded Peavey 5150 head and a mesa oversized cab. The sound is pretty good, if it had EMG 81's instead I think it would be perfect. I think I'm going to swap the stocks for the 81's soon.

The action is unbelievable. This is the first ESP that I've owned, but I've played a ton and they all have very fast necks with low action. No buzzing either. Finish is pretty good, it's black I'm not sure how they can go wrong with that. The paint on the bridge is coming off a little, but that can be expected. One of the bridge pins was loose when I got it because it wasn't seated properly, but I fixed that and now it's great. I'd give it a 10 now but can't because I had to fix that bridge. I also wish the neck wasn't painted, but I'm just being picky

I'm not a fan of non locking buttons so I replaced them. The finish is wearing off the bridge, but that's to be expected. It's seems like it will take a beating. I do have a backup guitar, but I always carry one in case of strings breaking.

Never dealt with them.

I've been playing of about 12 years, I own a slew of guitars...Les Paul Custom, Ibanez Universe 7-String, Gibson Flyin V, Gibson Explorer, Fender Strat, Dean Bass, Martin d-16gt, Marshall Sl-x, Peavey 5150, and a lot more. If it were stolen I'd definetly go and get another. I really like this guitar the neck is amazing, the action is great, and the tone will be right where I want it with the EMG 81's installed.

made in 2002.
24 frets
Mahagony body - a bit heavy
Set Neck for extra sustain
Flag Inlays (not real pearl)
3 controls - volume, tone, and pickup 3way selecter knob thing
2 humbuckers - EMGhz's(passive)
Black..with a shiny finish
Sg-Style
Die cast tuners
came with a cheap thin cable, a few allen wrenches, and an ESP sticker.

would be better with more volume and tone controls. Also the tuners aren't so great. The pickups also are what you paid for.

Sounds great. Most people say it's for metal and stuff..but really it's all up to your amp. You can get a lot of sounds out of it. It's quiet. I use a Marshal Mg 30dfx with it. I think it would sound much better on a tube amp but i can't afford one.

this guitar is much better than the shitty squier i used to use. The pickups are hotter and are better for hammerons and stuff. It's not muddy either. I think it would be much better with some emg 81/85's in it. But it has great sound for the price.

Action is very low.
The verylow action causes annoying buzz in many spots. You'll get used to the buzz..but it sucks. The factory should have set the action up better.

As for flaws...the fretboard is a little messy. On the higher frets around the 20th, on the edges of the fretboard you can see areas that were sanded off and not finished it looks messed. Also the binding is shaved off and unfinished along the top edge.

And one thing that keeps pissing me off is the nut where you plug in your cable. Ther's like a metal tube that goes inside the guitar..and it's screwed on by a black nut. The nut always get's loose and the cable slot thing alwasy comes out..you have to keep twisting it back with your hand. I don't have a tool to secure it..so..if it happens to you get a wrench that can screw very thing nuts back on.

On time it completley fell off and i had to put it back. annoying.


The finish is black which can be a problem if you have a dusty room like me. ;) There's always tons of dust logded between the pikcups and also near the tuneomatic bridge. It's hard to clean and is annoying.

I think i need to get some polisher and stuff and treat my guitar. haven't done that yet.

It's durable. The tuners seems a bit weak. The finish seems strong. NOthing has broken except the stupid nut that attacches to the slot where you plug in yoru cable.

There's warranty but you have to send it within 10days of purchase...that was so stupid. I bought it from musiciansfriend and they have a return policy of 40 days. you have to give all the warranty and crap back........so by the time the 40days passed i couldnt even turn in the warranty with the guitar.

annoying.

This is a great guitar for it's price. There are just many minor things that can be annoying but they do not affect the playability at all. Nice guitar and it plays very well.

it's much better than a squier and is a very good second or third guitar. I wish it came with a case..haha. but at that price you can't expect a case.

good guitar. If you wanna spend aroudn $450 get this guitar. It's one of the best in its range.

Made in Korea in 2002, 24 XJ frets, Mahogany body, see-thru cherry finish. set maple neck. one volume, one tone, 3 way toggle. EMG HZ pickups

the guitar sounds really nice, and I've not had any real problems with the wiring. I've managed a really decent bluesy sound, as well as heavy metal sounds ala machine head, pantera, down, corrosion of conformity, etc.. it sounds pretty nice, but the pickups are definitely going to go, they're wayyyy too low output. The neck pick sounds like ass, it has no character, it's just like EMG's active pickups- they dont color your sound at all, and in this instance, that isn't a good thing. Otherwise, the guitar sounds wonderful

The action on the guitar from the factory was too low for my taste. It arrived in its box, i took it home, opened it up, it was outfitted with 9's, and was horrendously out of tune, i started tuning it to standard tuning, and broke the high E-- so i replaced teh strings with 11's (DR) and it was perfect. The bridge pickup was adequately adjusted, but the neck pickup was adjusted way too conservatively, so I fixed that. The finish looked beautiful, not like something from a < $1000 guitar. There were no visible flaws in the finish, and that's great

I've a feeling that this guitar will withstand gigging without a problem. I jam with buddies of mine periodically, and we can get pretty stupid while we're playing, and this guitar has already been to one such event, and took everything with a wink and a nod. I'd always gig with a backup, but I'm pretty confident that this guitar would have no trouble taking most any abuse I give it.

haven't dealt with 'em

I love the guitar. I've been playing for ~7 years or so, and I've played lots of guitars, Fenders, ibanezes, gibsons, schecters, G&L's, PRS', etc and some of them are pretty nice, but I think that this guitar really fits me pretty well. It's heavy enough to make it feel even more solid, the tone is really nice, and i'm sure it will be even better when I get some different pickups installed in it. Great guitar

Bought new in spring 2002, made in Korea. 24 frets with volume and tone controls with three-way selector switch. I changed the knobs from black to chrome skull knobs. Black hardware is poo! But, I'm not gonna replace everything just for chrome hardware.

Good if you like low end. I prefer to switch to the bridge pickup and turn the bass all the way up to give it a very nice growl. Used with a boss mega-distortion it is very good for slow doomy metal. I mainly use my Digitech Metal Master for most things. With my pedals I think it is fairly versatile, not as much as I'd like it though. Finally, something in the electronics is wrong because it has a strange chorus sounding problem with it. It has been isolated to the electronics in the guitar and I'm looking into it. It sounds like shit now but it did sound quite good when it worked.

Very little buzz and good action. All seems well produced.

Strap buttons are well located, it's also well balanced. Finish seems good also. Hardware is sturdy except for the tuners which look kinda weak, but haven't had a problem yet. Cannot and would not depend on it because it has broken on me within a year. I've had an Ibanez starter kit bass that has lasted much longer than this thing.

Don't know about the warranty. I'm gonna replace the pickups because I think that's the problem. At the ESP website they have not finished the tech support portion of things. They suck.

I love the growl that I can get from it when it works. I liked it better than the Kirk Hammet signature because it seemed more versatile to me. Sometimes (rarely) I play parts without distortion. If it were stolen I'd laugh at the guy who stole it and he'd realize why when he played it. I've been playing guitar since I bought it, I've been playing bass for around 5 years now. This guitar is good when it works.

This is the new model, 2003 with the sunburst finish. First of all, the guitar I chose was quite heavy, I prefer a heavy body.

It is a pretty basic set up, solid mahogany body with a set 24 3/4" scale neck. Has 2 humbuckers, EMG HZ- passive with flag inlays on the neck.

The only criticism I have of this guitar is the the very small, some what crappy tuners. Other than that it is great.

Has a single tone and volume control, 3 way selector with a typical tune-o-matic style bridge.

the neck shape is quite thin, with large frets.

I play blues and hard rock. This guitar has a very balsy, low end sound. Lots of chunk. No noise, these pickups are actually quite good. I would normally change these out, but these can stay, I like them. The guitar has a very flutey, musical sound, very nice.

The action and set up was perfect. Again, lots of sustain, lots of low end chunk. The fit and finish is perfect, no flaws, the fret work is quite even. It supports a low action setting with light strings, with out significant buzz.

I still hate these tuners, they are so small, they feel funny.

I could stand on this thing and not break it. It is a tank, literally.

Who knows?

Over all, I am impressed. This thing completely kills any Gibson SG I have ever played. there is no comparison.

Have I mentioned, I hate the tuners?

I think it was made in Japan. 24 Frets, Laminated top, one volume and one tone poti, EMG passive Picks, Mahagony body.

I do some heavy stuff, but also a little jazz, funk, blues... This guitar is definitly perfect for heavy music... The EMG's do their work. I use it also in my band for the other styles on my Marshall Combo. Even with Hi-Gain there is no noise. The sound is very bright.

Finish is very good, but there are some things I don't like: The couloured neck looks like plastic. I would prefer a simple neck without this coulourthing... I also don't like the inlays. I would prefer simple dots. The rest is very fine

That's my favourite guitar for gigs. I have a 7-string Ibanez and Gibson Les Paul Standard. The Ibanez is for some special songs. The Les Paul is to heavy for stage (I mean it weights to much - 4,5 kg). The LTD Viper has 3 kg and a killer sound too. I also played the original ESP Viper, but the sound was not so good than the LTD and the prize was horrible. I think there are better pickups in it than in the original.

I like the sound, the weight, the look, the pickups, 24 frets (Gibson SG has only 22). The disadvantages is this neck-coulor and the inlays.
If you want to buy the original ESP Viper you will have to pay ? 1500 and there are no real advantages. I played both. The original has also a bader sound. The only thing is the brandname on it and the neck is not glued (but that could be a sound-disadvantage too).

I'm guessing this was made about a year or two ago? I bought it used. See thru Black Cherry finish (so beautiful), EMG HZ pickups, ESP tuners, one volume, one tone. 3 way switch, 24 frets, mother of pearl flag inlays, set neck, mahogany body and neck, rosewood fretboard, tune o matic bride w/stop tailpiece. Nothin much else to say. Its a very nicely built guitar.

Sounds great, pickups sound very good too. A bit lacking in sustain, but not so much-much better than most pickups. I might replace them with real EMGs sooner or later. Quiet guitar, im using with some line 6 and marshall stuff and a few stomp boxes, sounds great. You can play a wide variety of styles with this.

This guitar plays like a dream, everything I've basically wanted. This is now my eighth guitar, best one by far. Its very comfortable to play with, the action is amazing, and the neck is perfect. Yet this is only my opinion.

Seems very durable, the previous owner put a few dings and scratches into it, but they are unnoticeable. A nice thick, heavy guitar which I love. It is a very dependable guitar, thank you ESP LTD.

Never had to deal with them

This guitar is just amazing, it suits me perfectly. If it was ever stolen, i'd hunt down the thief, castrate him and leave him in an alley and take back the guitar. Definitely the best guitar i've played on yet. I own Jackson, Ibanez, Fender, etc. They are good, but this is better

everything listed above

I find the sound a little muddy and bass-y...definitely not enough treble in the tone...anybody else find this??if so email me at troy@newworldonfire.com and let me know how you corrected it...
nice sustain though...

setup was wicked...low action...easy playing...

havent played live with it yet...just got it...i have a show on friday but im a little nervous to play it because of the lack-of-treble thing...ive used it in practice and its held up against the jumping and thrashing

im about to email them ...we'll see

very nicely built...plays like a dream...speed picking comes almost too easy...not crazy about the tone...should have played with it a little more...im sure it's correctable...maybe with a different capacitor on the tone pot...we'll see

BEAUTIFUL, that one word sums it up. Outstanding finish work. Bound neck and headstock, beautiful flag inlays. The G string had a little trouble staying in tune, so i replaced the ESP tuners with some Sperzel locking tuners, and now i tune like one a month. It has a weird heel on the back of the neck up at the headstock. At first I thought it would take time getting used to it, now I dont even notice it.Two EMG-HZ Humbuckers, these are wonderful all around pickups, although not that much sustain, so thinking about replaceing them with some Duncans. All in all one helluva deal.

I play in 2 bands, a original Metal band, and a Beatles tribute band. And this guitar has found its home in both bands. It is a really all around guitar. use it for anything. I run it into a FM4 filter modeler-Rocktek Chourus-Smallstone Phaser-Marshall MG80. Not a noisy guitar.

My only problem here was the pickups where both at the bottom, so i lowered the neck one a little more and raised the bridge up to the strings. Aside from that, Wonderful in all these catagories.

VERY depedable guitar, Its an ESP. What do you expect.

Not dealt with them, but heard good things.

Ive got a Fender Strat, and a Epiphone casino. And I would put this guitar in the smae feild as they 2. If someone stole it I would put a bounty out on there head.

Set maple neck,rosewood fretboard w/ inlays, mahogany body, two EMG-HZ passive humbuckers, one volume and one tone nob, three per side ESP sealed tuners,and a stoptail bridge.

The sound is right up there next to my Gibson Gothic SG. They aren't the same, but the sustain and quality of sound is there. I enjoy playing the blues, and throwing heavy metal rhythems out. This guitar is not noisy, quality assembly. Everything is there to do whatever I want sonically, with the exception of any tremelo tricks. I meets my needs 100% and then some for what I enjoy.

This thing was perfect the day I fist picked it up. That's the main reason I bought it. It just felt so good. The action is on the low side, but no buzz. Easy, fast action. All areas of the guitar were better than all $900-1200 Gibsons in the store, with exception to the nut dressing. Nothing I could hear. It was pretty much perfect.

I am easy on guitars, so I can't really say. It feels as solid as any quality mahogany body guitar.

Everything feels perfect, sounds ideal, and promises the world. No guitar I have had has won me over like this one did. I've owned and played lots of guitars : Jackson USA/Japan, Charvel, Fender Mex/Japan, Kramer, Washburn, Gibson, Epiphone, Yamaha, Schecter, Ibanez,Peavey USA, Aria ProII, etc...You know how it goes. If it fits... get it. Easy.