The ESP Guitar Company

How bad thick is the neck vs the thin u? I normally only buy ESP guitars with the thin U as I have smaller hands.  Thicker neck profiles are uncomfortable for me.

Personal gripe:  Removing his signature from the headstock makes the guitar look cheap sadly.  Leaving it blank under the LTD logo makes it more similar to a 256 or a 401, and for a $1499 price this looks really bad.  The truss rod cover just doesn't do enough for the looks.  Removal the signature logo was a seriously bad move... 

Can you get the AS-1 in blue/black like the AS1-FR model? Love the blue color but don't want the Floyd Rose. 

Is the body chambered, or solid?

 What's not to love about this guitar if you are looking for something with the feel of a LP?  Thick body, chunkier neck, great Duncan pickups, fit and finish is top notch! Straight out of the included case it felt and played great, resonates well unplugged and sustains for days!  The top on mine is a beautiful lemon burst and I could not be happier with a guitar!!

Sadly, I had to reject the Lemon Burst that I ordered. The color was no where near the yellow shown in ESP's official photos of the Lemon Burst.

This does not look like a photographic lighting issue or ‘slight variation in color’ that most manufacturers warn consumers about. The guitar I got was a deep honey gold:  this looks like a manufacturing quality control issue. I am a woodworking craftsman among other things and understand that there will be some variation in color, in particular with wood, but I'll bet good money that the formulation of the stain and or finish coat and or selection criteria of the maple was changed at some point, either by ESP, or by a sub-contracted vendor.

This is not a case of just one rotten lemon: I later found photos of used models on the web that reflect the true color of the guitar that I rejected: it's gold, not even close to lemon yellow.  Alex, if the lemon yellow color advertised for your Lemon Drop represents your artistic vision, sadly, ESP's manufacturing has somehow strayed far from your choice. - Mark 

Hi I would just like to ask what kind of strap buttons did the older AS1 models come with. Plus they didn't come with a hard case right? The older models with the rosewood fingerboards. Thanks

I received mine last week and it’s a stunning instrument. 

The description says it’s a 3 piece maple neck, but the spec says 3 piece mahogany (I take it it’s the latter?)

Also, I’ve read and heard a lot about how heavy this guitar is and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it’s not that heavy. My 2014 Les Paul Classic is heavier and that has ‘modern weight relief’. Does the AS-1 have weight relief cut-outs in the mahogany body?

Thanks in advance 

How does the "U" neck profile differ from the "Thin U"? I assume its just bigger? More "gibson" like? I love the Thin U, but I also have a PRS with the Wide Fat neck, that is comparable to the thin U, but just feels bigger, which I also like.

Thanks

Dear ESP:

Received my AS-1 yesterday.

Shipping condition?  Beautiful!  The box was in great shape, the staples cut me up a little but you know what?  That's the sign it was protected well in shipping.

I ordered the guitar and a CECFF case to go with it.  I like that someone took the guitar and put it in the case for safer shipping.  One would think that's instinctive and basic, but you'd be surprised.  Thank you.

The 'shroud of Turin' thing around the case inside the shipping box was a nice touch.  Thank you for keeping the case nice.  And, filling in the voids around the case in the shipping box with extra paper, wadded up tightly in the gaps?  You guys in shipping are awesome.

When I opened the case, I swear I could have heard an angel choir.  My AS-1 is beautiful.  Absolutely beautiful.  The flaming on the top in a lemon burst gave me goose bumps.  I asked that the guys who picked this guitar out take their time and be 'picky' and they were.  Thank you.

The case is terrific too.  Fits the guitar like a glove.  I absolutely love how roomy it is around the neck.  There's room for picks, a tuner, a wiping cloth, all the goofy little extras that come in handy.

One other thing...it came out of the box just about in-tune, set up perfectly.  I could have opened it up at a gig and played it on the spot.  I've never EVER seen that in a new guitar before.  Its ready to go.  Strings, intonation, neck adjustment were spot-on.

For these things, I cannot compliment ESP enough.  I'm beyond excited to play this guitar live.

I cannot let this commentary go without a few things, however.

First, I own a previous version of an AS-1, in a honey burst.  As beautiful, and playable, and tonally terrific as my new one is, my 3-year old AS-1 is 'beautiful-er'.  Putting one next to the other is a very striking comparison.

Second, I was expecting my new AS-1 to have an 'Alex Skolnick' signature on the front of the headstock.  There is none.  I have been combing the ESP site, and other dealer sites, looking for AS-1's without the signature on the headstock.  I have not been able to come up with any.  That is disappointing.  There is a tiny signature on the back of the headstock.  That's it.  I was hoping that these two guitars would be more identical that way.

Third, the strap button on the lower bout was stripped and loose.  I prefer the double-design straplocks much more so I took the original ones off.  The mounting screw on the upper bout came out perfectly, and went back in perfectly.  Nice and snug.  The lower bout mounting screw about fell out when I started turning it.  I don't want to send the guitar back, so I got out some glue and glued the new mounting screw in place.  Its not going anywhere.

Finally, the pickups are adjusted quite low.  So low that if you jostle the guitar even a little, the neck pickup bounces around in the pocket and it sounded like there were loose parts in the guitar.  After playing it for awhile I finally adjusted the pickups up a turn or two, which put some pressure on the pickup mounting springs and all was solved, but initially its disquieting to shake your guitar and hear stuff banging around in it.  Incidentally, adjusting the pickups up a little makes the guitar sound fantastic.

So in summary, thank you for a beautiful guitar.  I love it.  Its part of my guitar posse, and I'm going to go be loud and proud with it.  I wish it could have been as perfect as the one I bought that was a little older, but they can't all be that incredible.  As great as ESP QC is, there are some things I think they should have caught before it was shipped, but I've discovered them and corrected them to my liking.  I'd rather do that than send the guitar back and wait for a new one.  Yes, I will definitely consider another LTD guitar.  The Ron Wood stuff definitely is on my radar.  Thanks again!

Daniel E. Jansen