The ESP Guitar Company

The only one ive played is a friends Jem555 and is sounds dambed good for the price.
It is a shredders guitar though and it has a, that is too me anyway, distinct lack of thick bass tones on the bottom end, but that could also be due to the pickups.

So if its cutting through leads you want based around an mid-treble area then its all good.

On the balance issue, the Jem is a really thick guitar with a damed thin "wizard" neck profile so it balances fine, but i could see how you could have issues on a more standard guitar. (nothing a good strap wont fix though)

How does the body thickness or neck profile affect the balance of a guitar? If the strap pins are located correctly the guitar is balanced.

It has everything to do with it.

i have the mc 200 max cavalera viper...its a basswood body and a maple neck.....i put a emg 81 in it and it shreds

I agree with most that has been said here and yeah the strap position can make all the difference but in the case your using your guitar sitting down or it is a strange shape this may not be possible and in my experience most basswood guitars are neck heavy.

Sorry gfunk if i took you wrong its just i wouldn't want a guitar that is as neck heavy as some of the basswood ones ive played are even though they can sound pretty good for shred.

If you want to keep all original for resale value you may not want to move strap buttons.