LTD Viper-50 Review

It offers a biting sound for a great price! Part of the LTD series, the Viper 50 features a bolt-on maple neck, Tune-O-Matic bridge w/stop tailpiece and an ESP LH-100 pickup set.

Features:	9
Sound:	9.2
Action:	8.4
Reliability:	9.2
Impression:	9.2
Overall rating:	9
Users rating:	7.5
Comments:	31

overall: 9.2

Featured review by: flame843, on march 26, 2005

Price paid: $ 200

Purchased from: Pianos 'N' Stuff (Pittsburgh)

Features:
- 24 frets
- Bolt-on neck
- Rosewood fingerboard, rest of neck is maple
- Agathis body
- Black finish
- SG-style double cutaway, but kind of tilted to one side like the other Viper models
- Tune-O-Matic bridge
- One tone, one volume, three-way toggle
- Two ESP LH-100 humbuckers
- Nothing was included.

My only comment is that the knobs have no numbers on them, wihich is kind of annoying. // 8

Sound: I play most kinds of metal and rock, and this guitar fits both styles well. I've never really played much else on it, though, but from screwing around with it I can tell you that it would probably sound good for blues. The humbuckers handle all distortion well, and it also sounds great played clean. I'm using it through a DigiTech RP80 and a Sunn Beta Lead, and there are no problems with this guitar on either of those. The humbuckers give it more of a rich sound, but if you know how to adjust the amp and play with the knobs on the guitar, you can get it sound any way you want. I have no comlaints here. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The action was great when I got it, but after a month or so it got a little buzz. I've since dealt with that. The pickups were fine. Strangely, though, my volume knob doesn't work. That doesn't affect me much, but I thought it was worth noting. Other than that, the guitar is great. // 8

Reliability & Durability: I've never played a gig with this guitar, because I don't have a band, but It hasn't broken yet, so I trust it. THe harware looks great, the finish looks durable, it's good. // 10

Impression: For rock and metal, this guitar fits the bill, looks the part, and takes the cake (as well as other three-word phrases with "the" in the middle). I have been palying it for about six months. I ahve n regrets in buying this guitar. All I can say is that is owns the Ibanez GAX70, the other guitar I was considering. If someone stole it, I'd hunt them down, corner them, and beat the hell out of them with a brick. Or I'd get another one. Either way sounds good. As for what I wish it had, I'd have to go with a $100 bill dispenser, or maybe a built-in home theater system. But as for music-related stuff, it has all I need. // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: stumtk, on january 09, 2006

Purchased from: Mothers Music

Features: This is a great ESP guitar for heavy metal, hard rock, or whatever you really want to play. bolt-on construction; 24.75" scale; agathis body; maple neck; rosewood fingerboard; dot inlays; ESP LH-100 pickups; volume & tone controls w/3-way toggle; black hardware; Tune-O-Matic bridge w/stop. // 10

Sound: This guitar has great sound for metal, rock, clean, acoustic. I use a DigiTech footpedal with about 120 different effects and it sounds great with everyone. It has full sound and great quality sound. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: When I got this guitar everything was in excellent working condition and I hardly had to change any of the origional setting except for tweaking a few things to my likings. // 10

Reliability & Durability: This is a very reliable and sturdy guitar. I have bounced it off walls, chairs, and pretty much anything else that was near me and I dont have a single scratch or chip taken out of it. It is a very heavy guitar which I dont mind cause I like to think that what I'm playing actually has some meat to it not like these other cheap guitars that weigh like 2 pounds and feel like they are hollow. I've had this guitar for almost a year now and I love it. Nothing has gone wrong with it except for breaking a bunch of strings but thats cause I play a lot of heavy songs. // 10

Impression: My overall impression on this is awesome! It is a great guitar for beginners, intermediate and even advanced players. If this guitar was stole or lost I would definitly buy another one like it and if they didn't have one I'd probably go with any other one of the ESP guitars. They are all good reliable guitars that wont fall apart after a week of hard playing. // 10

overall: 8.6

Reviewed by: riflesndaisies, on september 29, 2009

Price paid: £ 239

Purchased from: Academey of Sound

Features: My guitar personally was built in 2007 in Indonesia and was a special guitar with a matching colour headstock instead of the usual black LTD headstock.
It had:

24 jumbo frets
ESP Lh-150 Humbuckers H/H configuration
TOM bridge
1 volume and tone pot
Solid Top in Black Cherry Red
ESP Tuners.

I had this guitar in part of a deal and got a whirlwind cable and case for £35 altogether. // 10

Sound: I play mainly Heavy Metal and Rock, mostle songs by Iron Maiden, Metallica, AC/DC and other simmilar bands.

It will play these songs very well but without a decent set-up or higher end pickups it may struggle on harmonics. Through certain amps it will be very buzzy like through my guitar teachers JVM. I use a Spider iii for practising and a DSL Halfstack for gigging and it plays through them very well. It is a very warm sounding guitar however has a great range of versataltity from great cleans to very harsh grinding distortion. // 8

Action, Fit & Finish: The viper was not set-up from the box and was way out of tune and took a while to have it ready to play. The pickups were about mid height and needed to be as high as possible to get near to decent harmonics. For a bolt on neck it had a lot of sustain. The only flaws I have with this guitar is how quick the bridge has turned Orange from playing it but otherwise this guitar is brilliant // 7

Reliability & Durability: This guitar is very resillient, I have knocked it picking it up and it has not dented or chipped and tuners are very sturdy for stock parts. The strap buttons are very tight and the strap has never fallen off apart from when I first tried to put it on. I would still not go live without a backup because of string breakages and I need another for drop d tunings anyway. // 10

Impression: This guitar is ideal for any people starting to play metal or rock and I have used it for the 2 and a half years I've been playing. I wished before I had bought it however that I had known about Floyd Rose trems or else I would have bout the V or Horison. If this guitar was ever stolen I would definately buy a viper again but probably a more expensive model. Its best feature is that it is a superb version of a metal SG and would recommend it to anyone wanting a G-400 or a Vintage SG.

If I knew anyone who could do it I would definately have it routed just for a FR as SGs are awesome. // 8

overall: 7.8

Reviewed by: billthegeek, on september 29, 2007

Price paid: $ 299

Features: Made in Indonesia. It has the shape of a skewed-version of the Gibson SG, possibly to avoid a lawsuit. The shape feels pretty comfortable to play with and rest on your lap. The rest of the specifications can be found on the ESP website, so I guess I won't bother to list them here. // 8

Sound: It sounds great with high gain settings, just like any other ESP guitars. Perfect for metal, rock or maybe, even blues. This guitar is built primary for heavy metal musicians who are 'high gainers' and 'gain-depraved'. However, that does not mean it sounds terrible clean either. It sounds pretty decent on clean as well. // 8

Action, Fit & Finish: The finish and construction is close to perfect. Couldn't find any flaw with it. I think the glossy finish looks especially good on this guitar shape with the nice curves. The action is low enough to please shred fans, while at the same time, not too low to cause fret buzz. Perfectly nothing wrong with the pickups, switches and knobs. I have no problems with the tuners, despite some guitarist claiming the guitar can't stay in tune. Even in this case, it is nothing a screwdriver can't resolve. Another thing is, high fret access might be rather difficult because of the bolt-on joint. That is not a major concern for me since I hardly uses high frets. // 8

Reliability & Durability: This guitar seems rather sturdy and reliable. I have not played it live before (have been a bedroom musician so far) but I imagine it could 'survive' a live performance. One thing you should know before you purchase this guitar is: it is a heavy guitar. When you wear it on a strap, the neck simply tilts downwards due to its heavy head, which might be a little uncomfortable to play with. // 7

Impression: I play anything from thrash metal to blues. I think it does the job of any rock music perfectly. It makes a great choice if you are considering your first electric guitar or if you want to save yourself some money and get something affordable. If it was stolen, I would hunt down the thief and force he/her to get me another new one. Pros: low action, good stock pick-ups, sounds great with high gain, great shiny finish, visually-appealing, affordable price. Cons: heavy neck, hindrance to higher frets access. // 8

overall: 9.4

Reviewed by: paco12324, on january 08, 2009

Purchased from: C&M Music (Louisiana)

Features: 24 frets, Bolt-on neck, Rosewood fingerboard, rest of neck is maple, Agathis body, Black finish, SG-style double cutaway, but kind of tilted to one side like the other Viper models, Tune-O-Matic bridge, One tone, one volume, three-way toggle, Two ESP LH-100 humbuckers, Nothing was included. Only problem was the black finish-it will always need cleaning. // 9

Sound: I play mostly Punk, Blues, Rock, and Metal, and this is definitly the guitar for these genres. I use it through a Roland MicroCube, Tascam MP-GT1, and Fender Rumble-15, and A Fender BP-15. the microcube and (especially) the Tascam have a broad arrangment of tones. There is a wide variety of tones this guitar can produce, although there is a very rich sound quality from this particular guitar. Overall, no problems. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The finish and construction is so close to perfection. Couldn't find any flaw with it what'soever. Other than the finish, black, which needs through cleaning, the pickups are fine, and the volume knob... could be better. Other than that, the guitar is great. // 9

Reliability & Durability: It has not yet been played Live, although, it seems durable enough. The strap buttons are quite possibly the best I have used yet, durable and will hold for long. would play fine at a gig without a backup. although, the day after I had bought this, half of the strings broke -- probably of use. // 9

Impression: This is a great guitar for any style player. If this guitar was stole or lost I would definitly buy another one like it and if I can't find one, would definitly choose another ESP over any other guitar of that price. I have played for about 6 years now, and this is certainly my favorite in my collection. My other choices for when I bought this were either an Ibanez 7-string, or a Vox 30 watt -- and I definitly do not rue the day. it certainly beats my Fender Strat any day of the week! // 10

Comments

[GibsonBarracuda]

stumtk is my friend play with his viper all the time:nm: and just for people to know IM NOT RETARDED!!!!!

[choii]

GibsonBarracuda wrote:

stumtk is my friend play with his viper all the time:nm: and just for people to know IM NOT RETARDED!!!!!

wtf was that about

[Guglet]

How dose a guitar like this get a better over-all value than a viper 400 the 400s pickups alone make it a far better guitar.

[foxboxes]

dunno maybe they have higher standards or sumthing

[[EspHellRaiser]]

My friend uses this guitar in our band =D awesome guitar, i like my KH-202 better though =P

[Samppa92 [Fin]]

How much better this is than EC-50(ESP Ltd)? I got an EC-50!

[korn56]

Samppa92 [Fin] wrote:

How much better this is than EC-50(ESP Ltd)? I got an EC-50!

is the same thing, except for the 2 vol 1 tone controls, and the shape of the body

[bankrupt]

Should i buy this or an Epiphone G-400???
Someone help me =[

[life 4 a life]

i love my viper-50. im surprised no one mentioned the fret access tho, for me it is the only thing that i noticed. the pickups are great, the feel is great, and if i ever find anyone else complaining about no numbers on the knobs, ill fly kick them in the face. dude, who cares? the viper-50 is my favourite in the viper series.

[willlplaysguita]

bankrupt wrote:

Should i buy this or an Epiphone G-400???
Someone help me =[

buy an esp instead because well....theyre alot better than gibsons

[archangelseren]

willlplaysguita wrote:

bankrupt wrote:

Should i buy this or an Epiphone G-400???
Someone help me =[

buy an esp instead because well....theyre alot better than gibsons

i hope thats true coz i think ile buy one of these if its good

[Hobbestiger]

its a realy good guitar. ive had it for a while and ive seen nothing wrong with it. i love the finish on mine (crimson red) and love the shape.

[billthegeek]

Guglet wrote:

How dose a guitar like this get a better over-all value than a viper 400 the 400s pickups alone make it a far better guitar.

I believe the reviews are wrote keeping in mind that the Viper-50 is a really affordable guitar.

[heartrocks_yogi]

is it better than the standard stratocaster hss?i'm plannin to buy my 1st electric guitar so plz can someone advice me...

[BozoKu]

Hi, I would like to buy this guitar (200$ price) but I don't want to pay 120$ for esp case.. for me it makes no sense to pay 1/2 of the guitar price for this cheep guitar. Is there any other guitar case that'll fit this one? THANKS

[BozoKu]

Also, if someone has this guitar, can you please tell me what is the length width ... so I can compare it to some uni. cases. thanks

[DNC]

bankrupt wrote:

Should i buy this or an Epiphone G-400???
Someone help me =[

definately get the viper. i have a gibson SG special. and im getting the viper as well. ive always loved the look of it.

i played it today in a shop, and i loved it. not MORE than my SG but not dramatically less either. so yeah, im getting it.

sound wasnt quite as chunky as my SG, but still a fantastic one.

[Quicktime09]

I'm stuck for choice. I've the option of either the ltd viper 50 or the m-50

and whats a tune-o-matic bridge?

[nirvanapwns]

probably this fits on any sg case there´s a fit-all case on musiciansfriend.com for like 70 bucks

[mr. BiGG]

i own this guitar and it rocks! there is nothing i dislike about it i love it to bits tiring to clean (gloss finish) but not a chore i love being with it sad i know but it just rocks

[tobuei]

i was thinking of getting one of these and replacing the stock pickups with some emgs i have i was wondering if there is enough room in the back compartment for the battery

[YetAnotherMuso]

Anybody reading this and considering it as a gigging guitar, I wouldn't advise it. Great if you're sitting down, but the playability when you're running around on stage playing it is not so great. It's heavy as f*ck, and not well balanced, so I have found it quite annoying, especially when your playing alot around the lower frets (E.g. Cannibal Corpses "Hammer Smashed Face" is a bitch to play on stage with this thing)

[DrunKid]

does it have a whammy bar?

[DrunKid]

does it have a whammy bar

[ebonystrat]

i played this at the store today but what do some of u meen by fret access

[ZaÐ]

For that price,take something else...

[liam2309]

since i'm on a budget i'm gonna buy this guitar and switch the pick ups for emg 60 and emg 81

[JayLacelle]

willlplaysguita wrote:

bankrupt wrote:

Should i buy this or an Epiphone G-400???
Someone help me =[

buy an esp instead because well....theyre alot better than gibsons

i happen to disagree with that. if you want an all out metal guitar than ESP is the way to go but the gibson/epiphones are made with much more versatile pickups that handle cleans a lot better

[JayLacelle]

DrunKid wrote:

does it have a whammy bar?

no.....u need either a tremolo or a floyd rose bridge buddy and this is tune-o-matic so ur out of luck

[JayLacelle]

tobuei wrote:

i was thinking of getting one of these and replacing the stock pickups with some emgs i have i was wondering if there is enough room in the back compartment for the battery

all the guitars that are factory made with passive electronics are built with a solid body so unless you want to tear a chunk out of the guitar itself your limited to passive humbuckers

[tristan_deity]

JayLacelle wrote:

willlplaysguita wrote:

bankrupt wrote:

Should i buy this or an Epiphone G-400???
Someone help me =[

buy an esp instead because well....theyre alot better than gibsons

i happen to disagree with that. if you want an all out metal guitar than ESP is the way to go but the gibson/epiphones are made with much more versatile pickups that handle cleans a lot better

Now i disagree with you. I own a Gibson SG special and the viper 50. the viper 50 has a such better clean tone, its so full and smooth that is gives me a boner, and it kicks ass for metal. the only instance where the epiphone would be better is for hard rock.