Awesome Players : Sweet Sounds

ESP LTD AX-2E

ESP LTD AX-2E

Nothing screams METAL quite like the AX-2E.

Featuring a unique and edgy AX body style outfitted with smokin' hot ESP LH301 pickups, that scream like no other. With this AX you'll be well equipped in any guitar stand-off.

Unique to the AX-2E is the super hard Ebony wood top and fingerboard with a jaw-dropping high-gloss finish.

Impressions:

First, with the ESP LTD AX-2E (the E signifying extended) you can easily reach a full 2 octaves per string with the AX's blazing fast longer 'through-body' neck.

The thin U-shaped, 5-piece maple and mahogany neck features 24 extra-jumbo frets on an excellent ebony fretboard. The neck is a thru-the-body design for extreme strength and fabulous resonance. A tune-o-matic-style string-thru-body bridge takes string-to-wood tone transfer even further.

It's built like a tank but extremely well balanced and very comfortable to play in many positions.

Fit and finish is excellent! It is a beautiful guitar. The gloss finish and black nickel hardware really complete the spell.


Playing: The neck is great! It's thin and fast. Love the action and string height ( minor set-up tweaks). It is a big electric so it's a wee bit heavier than say a Strat, but even with the extended neck the AX 2E has decent balance, just wear a good wide strap.

is comfortable in most playing positions.

Sound: Awesome for Metal & Rock as you might suspect, however, it is extremely versatile tonally, and is entirely capable of pulling off nice LP tones as well.

The electronics include 2 ESP LH301 humbuckers, a 3-way toggle, and coil-splitting available through a push-pull tone control for plenty of tonal tweaking. The pickups provide all the crunching chord and soaring solo tone options you can imagine.


Value: These guitars are pretty rare and the build quality far exceeds their price point. They were available for two years 2008 and 2009 they were discontinued for 2010.

This guitar is made in Vietnam, which was even more of a surprise to me at the time. It is probably why they didn't gain more popularity. Players likely saw "Made in Vietnam" and assumed "cheap." Well, nothing could be further from the truth - they are excellent guitars. When I first picked this up, the build quality and playability is so high, I kept looking at the price tag thinking, it couldn't possibly be under $2K. It's really a beauty.



ESP LTD AX-2E

ESP LTD AX-2E

If you can find the Ebony - Maple - Mahogany model, depending on condition, you can expect to pay $500 to $700
(or more in excellent condition)


ESP LTD AX-2E Specifications:

Neck-Thru-Body
25.5” Scale
Mahogany Body
Ebony Top
5 Pc. Maple-Mahogany Neck
Ebony Fingerboard
42mm Standard Nut
Thin U Neck Contour
24 XJ Frets
Black Nickel Hardware
ESP Tuners
TOM Bridge
ESP LH-301 (B&N) p.u.w/ Push-Pull Coil Tap on Tone Control
Finish: Natural Gloss

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Italia Mondial

Italia Mondial Classic Semi-Hollow Electric

On stage or in the studio, the Italia Mondial Guitar is capable of tones that are simply not possible with traditional guitar designs.

Unique Acousti-glass design with piezo/humbucker combo. The hand built piezo bridge, and Wilkinson WVC humbuckers, create an amazingly versatile instrument.

Impressions:

First, it is a very different design for a semi-hollow body, probably won't appeal to everyone but, in my opinion, the acousti-glass body has a very cool retro look. Somewhat a late 50's early 60's vibe. A few guitars in the late 50's and 60's (Supro, Airline) were all fiber-glass (reso-glass) and are still around today. The glass gives the Mondial Classic a unique sound that you will find no were else. Plus . . . I'm sure many people would consider the Mondial an "eco-friendly" guitar.

Having the ability to use both electric and acoustic output separately or together is its strength. I have played it mostly with just the acoustic piezo bridge pickup, with the hummbuckers turned up 'just a little' for a cool old time blues sound.

The tone is excellent. Clear and full. It is equipped with a 2nd input for the piezo pick up to more closely simulate an acoustic guitar. It does sound great too, but still not exactly like an acoustic. Some players have mentioned that getting a boss acoustic simulator dials it in to that real acoustic sound."

The neck is quite nice with smooth playability, it tunes up and holds tune well. It is uniquely different, but it's a beautiful guitar in its own right!


Italia Mondial Classic Semi-Hollow Electric

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Expect to pay about $750 new.

Was available in: Italia Blue, Italia Red, Italia Green, Italia Cream, Black


Italia Mondial Classic Specifications:

  • Body: agathis chambered body with "Acousti-Glass" top
  • Neck: hard maple
  • Fingerboard: rosewood
  • Frets: 22 med. jumbo, 25.5" scale
  • Pickups: 2 Wilkinson WVC humbuckers
  • Bridge: Wood with piezo pickup
  • Stopbar: Italia trapeze
  • Controls: 1 volume, 1 piezo volume, 1 tone, 2 EQ knobs, 3-way toggle
  • Jacks: 2 outputs ” 1 for humbuckers, 1 piezo

Epiphone LE 1966 G-400

Epiphone Limited Edition 1966 G-400 Walnut Electric Guitar


A true Rock n' Roll icon made with richly figured, American Walnut.

This reissue Limited Edition Epiphone 1966 G-400 Electric Guitar has a beautiful solid walnut body. The guitar's set neck is also walnut with a fast SlimTaper profile and a 22-fret rosewood fretboard with trapezoid inlays.

Epiphone loads the G-400 guitar with an Alnico Classic humbucker pickup in the neck position and a high output Alnico Classic Plus humbucker in the bridge position.

This stylish limited-edition guitar features nickel hardware including top-quality Grover tuning machines. The Epiphone LockTone Tune-O-Matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece secure to the guitar even without strings, while enhancing the tone and adding sustain.

Beautiful fit and finish. I was considering one of the Gibson SG Faded at the time I picked up the Epiphone Limited Edition 1966 G-400. And yeah, the Epiphone was made in China . . . but, it won on every measure. It's a beautiful player, with a very, very high build level.

If you can find one, it would be a good add to your collection.


Playing:

Looks great, plays like a dream, and everyone comments positively about the sound and fantastic appearance.

Light weight, but not too light. Great feeling slim taper neck. The sustain from the Walnut body and set neck is unbelievable, and the pickups produce rich and thick tones, with a really nice crunch when you turn up the gain. They sound great clean, as well, especially in the middle position, very full and warm.




  • Epiphone Limited Edition 1966 G-400 Walnut Electric Guitar

Epiphone Limited Edition 1966 G-400 Walnut Electric Guitar

Expect to pay about $170

FEATURES

  • Style: Double-cutaway SG
  • Body: Walnut
  • Neck: Set walnut
  • Scale length: 24-3/4"
  • Neck profile: Slim Taper
  • Fingerboard: Rosewood
  • Fingerboard radius: 14"
  • No. of frets: 22
  • Fingerboard inlays: Trapezoid
  • Nut width: 1-11/16"
  • Neck pickup: Alnico Classic humbucker
  • Bridge pickup: Alnico Classic Plus humbucker
  • Controls: Two Volume, Two Tone, 3-way toggle pickup selector
  • Knobs: Black speed
  • Hardware: Nickel
  • Tuners: Grover
  • Bridge: LockTone Tune-O-Matic
  • Tailpiece: Stopbar
  • Finish: Polyurethane

Next 3

SX SJB-62CT VYW Vintage Yellow

If I were ever asked to describe the most classic electric bass design of all time . . . this would be it! The mellow vintage finish, the bold chrome vintage style saddle and bridge cover, coupled with the (faux) Tortoise Shell pickguard creates an amazing and powerful look.

It is a gorgeous "wall hanger."

Yes! This is a cheap Chinese "knock-off" . . . but the real deal Vintage Fender would set you back several thousand dollars. The SX SJB-62 will set you back about $180.

Now the best part is that this SX bass features surprisingly decent build quality in both hardware and finish. Put some good quality strings and tweak it a bit and it's a worthy player too!

Now I'm not for one 10th of a second suggesting it can take the place a of Top-tier bass but . . . it is really a decent bass for the beginner, casual player or even a pro on a tight budget. The hell with snob appeal if you need an inexpensive bass to get you going.

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Actual Weight is only 10 lbs

SX SJB-62CT Vintage Yellow Bass

This SX bass features classic jazz styling at a fantastic price! $180 -$190 (If you can find it!)

Dual cutaway solid Alder body for excellent tone and access to the highest frets

Truss rod adjustable Bolt on Maple neck

Bound Rosewood fretboard, 20 jumbo frets

Vintage pearloid dot inlays on fretboard

Two J-Style pickups controlled from two volume and one tone control

Chrome vintage saddle and bridge cover

Tortoise Shell pickguard

Chrome tuning hardware

Width of the neck at the nut: 1 9/16"; at the 20st fret: 2 9/16 "

Overall length 45"; Scale length: 34"

Width at the widest point: 13" Body Thickness is 1 1/2"

More Guitar Reviews Coming Soon!


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