ESP LTD Brian "Head" Welch SH-207 FM Review

So Good

After 20+ years I finally decided to get a 7 string. I went with this model based on the price point - not expecting much. However, I couldn't have been more impressed. The tone from these pickups is sublime. Gritty when you want it and yet clear and crunchy on command. The neck and action are super smooth and effortless all across the fretboard. I would dare to say that as far… read more as playability goes, the SH207 is right up there with my more boutique guitars. Once again, as always, Sweetwater also came through with the setup of this guitar. Intonation, action, truss rod - everything, was on point right out of the box.

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There's a reason why this guitar is constantly out of stock

I've always wanted an artist signature guitar and most of them can be a tad pricy so it came as a nice surprise when I saw that Brian "Head" Welch had a more affordable version of his ESP coming out and jumped at the chance as soon as I saw it was available. The color is a tad different than in the pictures and the guitar looks much darker than stock photos, but that doesn't affect… read more anything. I noticed a slight metallic sound when chugging and palm muting, but later determined that was caused by the vibration of the strings from the extra long headstock. I fixed this with a couple hair ties and I no longer have any issues with playing. I like the look of the covered ceramic pickups which are actually passive whereas most pickups with this appearance are typically active. The pickups sound extremely crunching and brutal through my Boss Katana 50 MKII. I like that so I don't have to change batteries (due to the pickups being passive) and the insides of the guitar at the pickups like wiring doesn't get exposed to dust (since they are the ceramic covered pickups). The neck is thin enough for shredding although not the thinnest neck, but is still extremely smooth. I love the fretboard too. It's pretty much my ideal as far as appearances go. My only tiny gripe is the location of the knobs and the 3 way toggle switch. I personally would have the switch closer and move the knobs further back, but Head may have his own reasoning for this. Other than that, this is a perfect guitar for any metalhead who wants a signature guitar for a lower price.

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