GuitarIV
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2017
- Messages
- 1,396
- Reaction score
- 3,888
Hello my fellow MFers.
Here's a post from the guy who needs another guitar like he needs another hole in his head. Like seriously. I should just go and practice more instead of buying stuff. Oh well.
I wanted to open this NGD thread with this majestic photo of my newest aquisition. I also wanted to make sure to spend some time with this guitar before I deliver any conclusions.
Story goes like this:
I went to a Gojira concert two weeks ago. Those guys slay, especially live. They had a band called Conjurer open for them (if you're into heavy stuff, check em out, they slay too!) and one of the guitar players was rocking one of the new ESP LTD Phoenix 1000 models in Ivory. I thought to myself that is cool, I rarely see anyone playing a Firebird style guitar!
Also happens that my band decided to cover Nobody wants to die by the Rival Sons and I watched a Rig Rundown of their guitar player Scott Holiday. What does Scott play? Firebirds mostly.
So a few days later I'm sitting in the car with my dad to help him out with work and I'm browsing on Ebay Germany, I see this thing pop up for 620 Euros. Says local pickup only. Not thinking too much I message the guy: "Would you ship to Austria if I pay for the cost?"
He says he'll make an exception and I PayPal him instantly. I wasn't even thinking about it.
Long story short: a week goes by and I finally get the box delivered to my door.
Now AFTER I had purchased the guitar I started thinking and doing some research. "Firebirds are huge"; "Neck Dive"; "The neck is stretched out to the left"; "The case is massive"
Ok whatever. I can sell it if I decide I don't like it.
Let me tell you I'm still shocked by how well this thing sits on my body and how easy it is for me to play. The weight is around 4 kilos or 8.8 pounds (by estimate, haven't weighed it yet), that's kinda my upper limit for guitars. I use thick and broad Richter straps so I have no problems in that regard. No neck dive whatsoever, I balance the body to my right so my forearm can easily rest on the upper horn and the neck is pointing slightly upwards and away from me so even the F barre chord is easy to play. Access to the upper frets is effortless.
First time plugging it in I was like: okay that thing sounds CHUNKY, less attack and more push in the lower mids than my other (all bolt on) guitars.
I had to back off both the JB and the 59 as the previous owner had them set super close to the strings and the tone was too woolly for me. I did a full restring and conditioned and cleaned the fretboard, once the pickups were set lower the thing came to life. Still big and chunky but waaay more definition and string clarity.
The craftmanship on this guitar is flawless. This particular specimen was built in the World Musical Instruments Factory in Korea in 2011, let me tell you from my experience of owning several ESPs from the Standard Series over the Edwards line to the E2 models (still own one) that this guitar is built equally as good. It's one of the older series ones, ESP re-released the Phoenix shape in 2019 or 2020, but this is as much bang for the buck as you can get, especially when you buy them used.
Pitch black ebony board, 3 piece maple neck through construction with mahogany wings, locking tuners, tone pros locking bridge and tailpiece, Seymour Duncan JB and 59 with chrome covers and an original ESP hardcase. All for 670 Euros shipped to my door.
How does she sound? Tone has become my number one factor in keeping or selling a guitar. This thing is staying. I sold more expensive instruments again because they didn't have "it". The Phoenix sounds like a proper LP, yet has it's own thing going on. There's the chunky low end without being flubby, a BIG push in the midrange that makes it sit perfectly in the mix and present highs that don't get harsh.
Unplugged the thing is LOUD and you feel the whole 3 piece maple strip resonating.
I regret nothing
Are there downsides? Yes, but negligible ones, at least for me.
First of all: this thing is BIG. My Teles and Strats feel like toys in comparison. You have to be aware of your surroundings on stage or you'll knock something over or hit someone in the face. The case is big as well, so I put the guitar on my backseat instead of in the trunk when driving to rehearsal.
The upper frets need a bit of attention, so I'll bring her to my luthier for a fret dress. Nothing major, the action is still super low but I don't think this guitar has ever had the frets dressed since it left the factory. No biggie here.
I would not recommend this to someone small or fragile. This feels like a bass in length and I'm average in size (5 foot 11)
So yeah, what more can I tell you? I never laid hands on a Firebird style guitar before. I heard you either love or you hate them. This was a total blind purchase and I got lucky that I seem to be a bird lover.
From Blues to Metal to big and full cleans the guitar covers it all.
I will be shielding the electronic cavity and replacing the Alpha pots with some CTS ones, also right now it has a dual Master Volume setup for each pickup, I'll change that to a traditional MV/MT configuration.
Probably will replace the JB in the bridge as well with something less honky. The pickup works and sounds ok, but I have others I enjoy more. For now it's just fine as it is
Now enough talking, time for pictures:
Also here's a rough recording from us playing "Nobody wants to die" by the Rival Sons last rehearsal.
It was our first time trying the song so excuse the mistakes. You can hear me playing the Phoenix on the higher lead parts and the solo:
Dropbox
www.dropbox.com
Time to sell my E2 Eclipse. This is just as much ESP I'll ever need and it sounds better!
Cheers guys and keep rocking!
Last edited:
