ESP Viper 400 LTD

Bryant

Bryant

Mr. Sleepy
Apr 14, 2002
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I am considering a new (or used) axe. Out of dumb luck I happebed upon an ESP LTD 400 on a website. I love the classic SG shape and the 400 takes the SG shape to a new level. The tobacco sunburst color is just flat out awesome and I typically hate sunbursts.
My question is how well do these LTDs play ? I can get a Korean Ibanez pretty cheap and they look good and play well, (as I own one) but I can get an American made guitar for the price of this LTS (maybe even a used SG.) I must say, I am in love with the look opf that axe though if anyone has one or has played one, I would like to know the lowdown. Here is a link if anyine is interested:

http://www.espguitars.com/ltd_viper.htm


Bryant
 
both kelly and harj in my band use esp vipers bryant-we have an endorsement from them.kelly in particular loves his vipers-he's got a 300(which is now a 400 i beleive)and a viper 1000-the deluxe one.harj had his viper fitted with a pair of emg 81's,pickups he prefers.he's still trying to ween himself off his les paul to be honest.
 
Small world dude. Didn't know you ventured out of the oldschool forum. Your guitarists' sure sound good. They have nice tones on the demo. Man that Viper 400 is the most wicked looking guitar I have ever seen !! I love that shape. It looks like an SG on acid !!
I'll tell you what, contact Glenn Harveston (Prog Power promoter) www.progpowerusa.com and get him to book ya'll as a pre-show band (PPIV is in Sept) and I can play one of them if I don't have one by then or have tried one out. >:p~ I don't make rash decisions on $500 guitars especially when I already have five (including a bass and acoustic)
This forum is pretty busy, and I am getting off-topic so I'll talk to you more on the oldschool side. I appreciate the info though. I want a Voodoo SG, but it is twice the price and doesn't have actice pickups. I am ready for another axe with a couple of EMGs in it.

Bryant
 
talk to me anytime you like about guitars bryant,but being the lowly singer and ex bass player means that i'm not the best axe conversationalist.now kelly,the guitarist in my band,he would gladly talk to you all day about guitars!
the progpower thing would be amazing if the guy was interested in booking us-we'd do the gig for free,but he'd have to fly us out there and that would cost!
if we got the gig though,i'm sure you could widdle with a viper all day-we'd get esp to send some to us when we were out there!
 
Guitar Center and Sam Ash almost always stock those ESP LTDs. If you like the Extra-Jumbo frets, and 25.5" scale then you should be fine on the Viper.
 
oh and the viper is alright i dont really like it that much

what kind of amp you puttin it through? it sounds ok through a marshall, never ever put it through a line6 i liked the way it sounded best with a mesa or an amp similar to that.
 
Line 6 blows. Those strings of 0's and 1's can never replicate true tube tone.

I could never stand playing the Viper though, maybe it was just how high the action was set up at the store or the excessively large frets...
 
It is not as good as an SG IMO. The sound is fine, the look is great, but the neck is just all wrong. I don't know, now that I have been playing bass for awhile (in additon to regular lead and rythym 6's) I might have a different opinion of the feel for the neck of the Viper. You know the drill ... "play one before paying for one".
 
Go for the Viper 400. It looks pretty sweet. Alot of the new ESP/ltd 400's are looking really killer. I myself plan on picking up the F400FM when I get the funds.
 
sex machine-our band got an endorsment(both guitarists and bass player)by sending our album to esp and asking for one.
endorsements come in a couple of varieties i think-ours isnt a full endorsement yet,so we pay trade price for the guitars(thats about half retail)
hopefully when our album actually comes out and we do well,then we go onto full endorsement-free ones!
sorry pita,i've got to disagree with you on the line 6.our guitarist kelly uses one and it fucking rules as a live amp.he sets it up as two mesa triple rectifiers in stereo and the sound is awsome.the only two problems with it are that its not totally perfect for recording at the highest level,and for gigging you've got to play a place with good electrics otherwise the amo doesnt work to full capacity.the second point can be rectified by using a ups.
apart from that,the vetas rip big time.
 
can you send me a link so i can hear your band? i wanna get an idea of how good you have to be.

ive been looking to get an endorsement for a while now, a lot of people have been telling me that ibanez would be the best place, but i dont really like ibanex guitars that much so ti leaves me in a bit of a mess.
 
ok Bryant I'm in on this one! I'm a "Bedroom guitarist" meaning I haven't been in a band since college but all I do when not changing diapers, watching American Idol (sad, but true!) lovin' the wife or listening to metal is play guitar! hahaha

Anyways, that is a killer guitar! I have a Peavey Wolfgang right now but I did play one of those once and it was awesome. Great playability for any style...just my 2 cents
 
Yo, how y'all doin?

Just thought i'd put my thoughts down about the ESP guitars. I'm one of the guitarists from Panic Cell and as BaldyBoy has already stated I use the ESP LTD Viper guitars. Basically, if you like the Viper/SG shape then you shouldn't have any problems in making your mind up, the Vipers f'ing ROCK!!! I used to work in a major music retail shop in London and we used to sell alot of Gibson SGs so I got used to what they sounded like and how they played. Once I tried the Viper 301 series (which had the EMG passive pickups) I was totally bowled over. I always loved the SG shape but was never a fan of the metal sound Gibson SGs made, and they were never a good balanced guitar for wearing with a strap. I put EMG 81s into my Viper 301 and it sounds even better. It plays fantastic, sounds the bollox, and looks way cooler than the normal SG shape. My 301 also has extremely good tuning stability; I can take the guitar out of it's gig bag and it will still be in tune from the last time I used it. All the way through a gig it will keep it's tuning spot on and I can bend those strings like a motherf@@ker!! The 400 series have EMG 81s by default now and have the new Earvana intonation compensated nut which I haven't tried yet but sounds like a great idea. If you listen to Panic Cell's album then, for all my guitar parts, you are hearing my Viper 301 going into an Ibanex Tubescreamer and then into a Marshall 30th ann head. The only difference in my recording setup between the EP and the rest of the album is the upgraded 81 pickups that I put in after we recorded the EP. As for the other guitar player, Harj, he used the same amp setup but with his Gibson Les Paul. He has only just gotten his Viper 301 so wasn't comfortable with it at that point. HE is a Les Paul man at heart and will be getting his ESP EC-1000 early February which he will be using to record and gig with after that.

Basically, if you want an SG get the Viper 400 or the Viper 1000. The only real difference I have noticed between my 301 and 1000 is that the 1000 is a lighter guitar due to the flame maple top. The 301 is still my main guitar.

Anyway, hope this helps.
Cheers

Kelly
 
Man..I have one, a ESP ltd Viper 301 Black, with EMG hz(weaker pick ups than EMG 81)and i REALLY dont complain!my bes guitar ever!Great palm mutes, great sustain.

I am happy :D, thou in Portugal everything is expensive :|
\m/ cyazz
 
Sex Machine said:
oh and the viper is alright i dont really like it that much

what kind of amp you puttin it through? it sounds ok through a marshall, never ever put it through a line6 i liked the way it sounded best with a mesa or an amp similar to that.
Click to expand...
Right now I have a very odd setup. I am bi-amping with a Crate G-60 half stack (old solid state head but great tone for heavy chunky stuff like thrash) and a Crate Heritage which is not unlike a Fender Twin for everything other than the full blown heavy stuff. I've also got a JCM 50 (Marshall) which "cuts through" better on the solos than The Crate G-60 and use it sometimes instead, but I can't get as good of a chunky rythm sound out of it, even with an active EQ. I also have an old Peavey Stereo Chorus 212 I use sometimes if I am into songs that have a bit of clean guitar in them.
Basically, I have a bunch of different amps (no Mesas though.) Some are old, some new, some tube and some SS. I have been playing for twenty years and have never sold an amp, so I have a few "floating around."

Bryant
 
Kenji said:
Yo, how y'all doin?

Just thought i'd put my thoughts down about the ESP guitars. I'm one of the guitarists from Panic Cell and as BaldyBoy has already stated I use the ESP LTD Viper guitars. Basically, if you like the Viper/SG shape then you shouldn't have any problems in making your mind up, the Vipers f'ing ROCK!!!

Kelly
Click to expand...
Thanks Kelly. I'll definitely go try one out. Some people don't like the "big frets" but I own six guitars (including a bass and acoustic) and not one of them have that wide "Gibson" style neck and I miss that as I used to own an old Gibson Marauder back in the day. It was a 1980 model and the only guitar I have ever sold, stupid me.
Though my fingers are average length, I have big hands and a wide neck and jumbo frets just give me a little better control over vibratto and bending so the neck scale/width was never an issue. In fact, I play on my acoustic quite a bit (I write basic melodies on it) and when I jump on my Peavey Vandenburgh the frets feel tiny.
I've always loved the look and the neck of an SG, but the body was never substantial enough to carry a good tone (at least all of the mahogany bodied ones I played) no matter what kind of pick-up they had in them. I think ESP did a good thing by making an ESP "styled" guitar without making another "copy." I've also never been a big fan of the sunburst finishes either, but that tobacco sunburst on that 400 LTD is just too wicked.

Bryant
 
tedvanfrehley said:
Anyways, that is a killer guitar! I have a Peavey Wolfgang right now but I did play one of those once and it was awesome. Great playability for any style...just my 2 cents
Click to expand...
That's cool. I have an all original (less the hot rail in the neck was replaced with a more docile strat style single coil) 1990 Peavey Vandenburg. I love it, but I've become too lazy over the years to screw with locking nuts and Floyd Rose trems as little as I actually use the Floyd so it's not my "main guitar" like it was for several years.


Bryant
 
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