Sperzel
locking
tuners
ceramic magnets. The kind of bone-cold,
sharp tone that embodied the intro for
Metallica’s searing epic “...And Justice for
All” was easy to imitate in all its foreboding glory—with stoic lows, scooped mids,
and an unrelenting high end.
Ebony fretboard
Hetfield’s sound has always been pri-
marily about power—leaving comrade
Kirk Hammett with the effects and
extreme guitar-wizardry duties—and the
Snakebyte definitely reflects his focus.
The Verdict
The ESP Snakebyte is a guitar fit for one
of metal’s reigning rhythm kings. But it’ll
get along with any player with thrashier
tendencies in their music and playing
style. The neck and fretboard couldn’t get
any more comfortable, and the weight
is perfect for those long gigs that put
demands on your hands, shoulders, and
stamina. Make no mistake, it’s wholeheartedly a metal-oriented instrument, and
won’t replace your favorite Tele or Les
Paul during those classic-rock or blues
moments. But for straight-up aggression
and power, it’s one of the finest ways the
ride the lightning.
comfortable doing so for extended gigging
and recording sessions.
What struck me initially was how compact the neck felt in my fretting hand.
When I first saw the Snakebyte, my first
impression was that I would probably have
an easier time hanging out from the 5th fret
up than I would at the lower reaches of the
neck. I was proven wrong when I plugged
the guitar directly into a 2011 Mesa/Boogie
Multiwatt Dual Rectifier and Emperor
4x12 cabinet, and laid down the meanest
rendition of Ride The Lightning’s title track
I could muster. With 22 “XJ” jumbo-sized frets set into a deep ebony fretboard,
the neck’s 24. 75" scale length and thin,
U-shape felt super-comfortable—putting
every single note within easy reach.
Playing in a seated position resulted in
the neck jutting out a little further when
I placed my knee in the middle of the
lower body-carve. When standing though,
the guitar sat perfectly square against my
waist. The entire fretboard felt accessible
and perfectly placed, ready for the taking at a moment’s notice. And since the
weight is only 7 1/2 pounds, there wasn’t
a major strain on my shoulder, making
the Snakebyte one of the most comfortable, effortless, metal-oriented guitars that
I’ve ever played.
In terms of brutal tone, the Snakebyte
comes as you’d expect. Metalheads have
long known about the magical pairing of
EMG’s 81 bridge pickup and a healthy
Dual Rectifier. The Snakebyte delivered
handily on that promise with solid, percussive lows and razor-sharp highs as I
laid down a flurry of palm-muted triplets
with interspersed pull-offs and hammer-ons. This is the tone realm in which the
Snakebyte truly excels.
After plugging into an Orange Dark
Terror head with the gain set around
10: 30, a juicy midrange became more
prominent, bellowing along with the EMG
81’s stinging high-end. Typically, I’ve found
the best way to tame excessive mid-range
presence with the 81 is to drop the tone
control on the guitar. Unfortunately, the
Snakebyte has no tone controls, which
forced me to walk over to the amp and
drop the treble. I’m definitely one for simplicity, but this is an irritation that could
have easily been avoided with the addition
of a master tone knob.
On the other end of the spectrum,
cleans from the Snakebyte’s EMG 60 neck
pickup are quite stunning. The tone from
the Mesa’s clean channel was smooth and
crisp, with bright attack characteristics
that likely come from the humbucker’s
Rating:
Buy If...
you need a guitar that can muster
the muscle for the heaviest riffs and
remain comfortable over extended-
playing sessions.
Skip If...
tones with a vintage, warm vibe
are essential to your music.
ESP Guitars
Street $3499
espguitars.com
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