Kamikaze IV
Kamikaze IV
The first runs of the IV were the same as the rest of the Kamikaze, aside from the maple fret board. They used the non plated neck joint. The second run had the buzz saw, and they used the plated neckjoints, and If I remember right they use the same body that the serpent guitar later used.
It just seemed like the IV should have came along long after the pre-production guitars. Although it was used in the "Walk Away" video in 1988. And it had the buzz-saw headstock in the video.
The first runs of the IV were the same as the rest of the Kamikaze, aside from the maple fret board. They used the non plated neck joint. The second run had the buzz saw, and they used the plated neckjoints, and If I remember right they use the same body that the serpent guitar later used.
It just seemed like the IV should have came along long after the pre-production guitars. Although it was used in the "Walk Away" video in 1988. And it had the buzz-saw headstock in the video.
the kami 4 doesnt have the serpent body, the kami 4 is the regular sized MII body with an extended cutaway
that kami 4 that metlupass posted is the regular kamikaze body, its a tad bit bigger and rounder than the MII body
I talked to the seller. He said the "ESP" on the headstock is silver with a gold background. The story with the trem is that he took it to Guitar Center and they said the original Floyd was missing parts so they put in a new one. That was mighty nice of them to replace a $300 trem with a $150 one.
I just wish it didn't have the pickup ring. The Floyd can be replaced, but if you remove the ring you can't do anything with the screw holes. The least they could have done was put it on straight. I guess my search for a IV with a saw headstock continues.
That neck looks like a Monsterguitarshop buzzsaw neck. How do I know? I've had 2... they were both fuckin AWFUL. Firewood at best. The logo has the paintlines of the camo graphic showing, which wouldn't happen on a real ESP... someone didn't sand the layers of paint down enough. Bill (strngth) painted my Kami up and you cannot distinguish any lines between the layers of paint, so whoever painted that one was a bit lazy. Floyd Special? Good trem but no one in their right mind would put one on that guitar... Body shape is a bit off too, that looks like the regular Kami 1 body shape, as opposed to the M style body found on the IV's... nothing adds up on this one. Home build fo sho.
Q: Hi. Was this made by ESP or is it a replica? Wondering why it has a Floyd rose special and a pickup ring? Thanks. Sep-04-11
A: i am told by owner that this was purchesed from an esp dealer who went out of buisness and had a body and neck that had been unfinished by company. that is why no serial number is available. the guitar was taken to guitar center to be finished with floyd and pickups. the trim ring was due to a small blemish durring installation of s.d. pickup. thanks for inquiry.
Has anyone ever heard of ESP sending out un-assembled guitars? Especially on low production models.
Q: Hi. Was this made by ESP or is it a replica? Wondering why it has a Floyd rose special and a pickup ring? Thanks. Sep-04-11
A: i am told by owner that this was purchesed from an esp dealer who went out of buisness and had a body and neck that had been unfinished by company. that is why no serial number is available. the guitar was taken to guitar center to be finished with floyd and pickups. the trim ring was due to a small blemish durring installation of s.d. pickup. thanks for inquiry.
Has anyone ever heard of ESP sending out un-assembled guitars? Especially on low production models.
as far as i know esp hasnt done the ''parts'' thing since the 80s
that guitar is fake id stay away from it, the kami 4s do pop up often ... just wait it out
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It is quite possible that it might be a pre-production model. I also know that there are many different variations of the Kamikaze 4 -some have the revo explorer/banana headstock, and some have the buzz-saw headstock. It's also possible that this one being a possible pre-production model for the Floyd to not be recessed as well. I have seen some Kamikaze 4's with actual inlays (a few from the Japan Custom Shop had them...) and the ones that did were in white pearl so they were kinda hidden unless you looked good at it, and others were in black to contrast the maple fingerboard.
All the Kamikaze 4's do have a maple fingerboard, so that will be a normal thing for it... As for the pickup not being a Screamin' Demon, it will depend on if it was ever swapped out since it left the factory or if it's the original one that's in it... One way to tell would be to take the pickup out and see if there's any markings on the back of it. It could also be a pre-production Demon too... The newer, production models which are just as hard to find will have the buzz-saw headstock, as per what I've seen and what's listed in the 2004 ESP catalog & website. It looks like 2004 was the last year as a production model too.