ESP Guitars and Heavy Metal
If you’re a fan of Heavy Metal music, then I’m sure you’re a fan of ESP guitars. Since the late 1970’s, ESP has been making quality high end electric guitars for artists of many different genres. The company actually began supplying replacement parts for guitars as early as 1975.
The Kamikaze was the first notable signature model of ESP electric guitars that was built for George Lynch of Dokken back in the late 1980s. The list of signature models the company makes for numerous heavy metal guitarists is quite large, making the definite go to guitar for the genre.
ESP Ltd guitars are the answer to an audience of young players that wanted to own the brand but couldn’t avoid the higher price of the exclusively priced signature and custom models. The Ltd series features models from every famous body style such as the EC, EX, ST and Viper, to name a few.
The EC, for example, is a guitar ESP models after the Les Paul body style. These come with “Set Neck” and “Bolt-on Neck” construction depending on the specific model number. The body wood is constructed of either Mahogany or Basswood and the necks are made from both Mahogany and Maple. All models of the EC come with Rosewood fretboards and some have 24 frets for those lead guitarists out there. The other nice features of these models are the ample amounts of pickup combos you can get for versatility.
I played for a couple of years on an EC-50, which I found to be quite suitable for the style of music I play. The guitar was quite light and had a very rich deep tone. I played through a Peavey 100w amp. My main music I played with this guitar was Metallica. The fast neck was very useful in nailing some of the faster songs like Battery and Disposable Heroes.
Tom Araya of Slayer endorses a line of ESP bass guitars name, fittingly enough, the TA. His primary axe is made of Alder in the body, which is a very hard wood, and a maple neck. This is one very bright bass guitar. It also has an Ebony fingerboard which lends well to the all black appearance. And of course is powered by EMG active pickups, as any great heavy metal guitar has.
And last but not least, my pride and joy is my ESP Truckster. I have owned this model for a just over a year and I absolutely love it. It is my main guitar for gigs and I will be adding another quite soon as a backup. I usually play with an EMG 81/85 combo in some of my other guitars but this baby has an 81/60 combo that I think sounds amazing with this guitar. I own other brands of this body style but I have to say the ESP model is far superior for the heavier and faster styles of music.
ESP guitars were becoming famous long before I ever picked up an instrument. I am one of thousands of heavy metal purists who are loyal to this brand of guitar instruments because of its quality of construction and the superior tones that they produce and will be for many years to come.
