A streamlined but luxurious and classy and fast shred machine at a price that’s easy to stomach.
Excellent metal sounds in a no-frills package that feels fancy.
Some guitarists might need more sonic variety than what you can get from a single bridge pickup.
$1,399
ESP M-1001
espguitars.com
Whether it’s George Lynch’s tiger-striped guitar, James Hetfield’s Truckster and Snakebyte signature models, or Kirk Hammett’s Mummy andV-shaped axes, ESP has never shied away from making bold visual statements. That style helped make the company among the most visible and important guitar brands in the metal landscape. But ESP’s ongoing relevance is also about building guitars that make players feel like their fingers are flying and detonating sticks of dynamite.
So chasing big sounds is every bit as much a priority as taking cosmetic risks. Visually speaking, relative restraint is on display in the new LTD M-1001, a streamlined and fast affair with a single Fishman Fluence humbucker and Floyd Rose 1000 that keeps things elemental and understated, at least by ESP standards.
Speed Racer
The Korea-made M-1001 is part of ESP’s LTD line, an affordable series that puts luxurious ESPs in the reach of regular-people players. At $1,399, the LTD M-1001 isn’t exactly a bargain-rack affair. But it’s also not especially expensive for a guitar built this well. Fancy gold appointments are everywhere, from the strap buttons and input jack to the Floyd Rose 1000 double-locking tremolo, Grover tuners, and Fishman Fluence Modern humbucking pickup in the bridge. Against the alder body’s charcoal metallic satin finish, the gold bling is captivating but not too flashy. It’s an attractive and sleek guitar, though I noticed that the satin finish can be prone to catching fingerprints. The guitar also ships with a hardshell case, which is not an inclusion you can take for granted these days.
ESP makes much of the M-1001’s speedy feel, and the guitar’s specs certainly reflect emphasis on the fast-fretting ethos. The bolt-on, 3-piece maple neck has an extra thin U profile and is built around a 25 1/2" scale. The Macassar ebony fretboard is shaped in a very-flattish, bend-friendly 12"–16" compound radius and is home to 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets. I love the durability of stainless steel frets and I’m happy to see more manufacturers including them as standard equipment—particularly because a lot of luthiers and techs are still reluctant to work with the harder metal and wider adoption could change that trend.
The M-1001’s quality is easy to perceive, which makes the guitar’s price tag seem especially fair. It feels lively and as fast as advertised, the neck is free from dead spots, and it’s virtually impossible to fret out a big bend. I was also impressed that, even with very low action, the guitar doesn’t sound plinky, floppy, or thin like some low-action/light string setups can. The Floyd Rose bridge is set at the factory to pitch up as well as dive, and I was easily able to pitch up a major 3rd on the G string and stayed in tune. Nor did it mind a lot of very vigorous whammy work.
The Beast Unleashed
The M-1001 uses a single active Fishman Modern bridge pickup and one volume knob. There’s no tone knob. Despite this sparse layout, the guitar offers more tonal possibilities than you’d expect. The volume knob has a push-pull function that lets you select from one of the two Fishman Fluence voices. Voice 1 is razor sharp and articulate with immediate response that makes low, chunky metal riffs pop, and muted power chords have a defined chunk that I could physically feel. True story: I was powering through some Metallica riffs on the M-1001 when my son walked into my studio and asked if I felt the earthquake. I didn’t. I was completely oblivious that a rare New York Metro-area earthquake (the last to rival it in magnitude occurred in 1783) rocked my house because the M-1001 had been rocking me while the earth shook.
Played clean, voice 1’s bright, warm, and full bodied with clarity that brings the pop and detail in tapped phrases to life. Voice 2 is slightly less midrange-y and more responsive to picking nuance. It’s a great voice for solos, and I really got into coaxing overtones by attacking and bending the strings with varying degrees of intensity. For a fairly potent pickup, the Fishman is still dynamic.
If you’ve come to associate ESP guitars with EMG pickups and worry about the inclusion of a Fishman Fluence instead, fear not. The Fishman is equally hellacious. With lots of amp gain slathered on, the M-1001 sustains forever with a very natural sense of bloom. Because the pickups are dead quiet and less prone to squeal and hum, the sustained tones sound prettier too. And even though the M-1001 is marketed as a metal machine, with the guitar volume rolled down a bit I easily tapped into lighter rock and blues tones that sounded rich rather than thin.
The Verdict
One thing I’ve always admired about ESP is that they make the guitars they want to make, rather than trying to create “jack of all trades, master of none” axes. The M-1001 is made specifically for aggressive styles of music, and ESP makes no bones about that. If you need single-coil-type flavors or a neck-pickup sound, ESP has other models that fit the bill. Still, there is sonic versatility lurking beneath the tough exterior. And if you need a simple, lethal metal machine you’re unlikely to find a better axe in this price range.
A new made-in-Japan series inspires that blends aerodynamic lines, modern hardware, and custom-voiced pickups.
The Aerodyne series features sleek Stratocasterguitars, a futuristic Telecasterguitar and two new basses, all available in a range of never-before-seen finishes. Distinctive aerodynamic lines, custom-voiced pickups, state-of-the-art hardware, finishes and unmistakable silhouettes combine to create instruments that are pure, purposeful, instantly familiar and radically new.
Aerodyne Special Stratocaster Electric Guitar - Bright White
The Aerodyne Special Stratocaster features a sleek new look with vibrant colors adorning the elegantly bound basswood body and matching headcap. A modern “C” shape satin-finished neck with 12” radius fingerboard ensures effortless playability, while newly designed vintage-voiced Stratocasterguitar pickups and a Babicz Z-Series FCH-2 Point Tremolo deliver a perfect balance of high-performance and classic Fendertone. Available in Bright White, Chocolate Burst or California Blue.
Aerodyne Special Stratocaster HSS - Dolphin Gray Metallic
The Aerodyne Special Stratocaster HSS features a sleek new look with vibrant colors adorning the elegantly bound basswood body and matching headcap. A modern “C” shape satin-finished neck with 12” radius fingerboard ensures effortless playability, while newly designed vintage-voiced Stratocasterguitar pickups mated to a specially voiced humbucking bridge pickup and a Babicz Z-Series FCH-2 Point Tremolo deliver a perfect balance of high-performance and classic Fender tone. Available in Dolphin Gray Metallic, Hot Rod Burst or Speed Green Metallic.
Aerodyne Special Telecaster Electric Guitar - California Blue
The Aerodyne Special Telecaster’s neck is loaded with high-performance appointments that will appease even the most demanding of guitarists! Starting off with the classic combo of a maple neck and a rosewood fingerboard, this guitar’s flat 12-inch radius and medium-jumbo frets are quite a departure from the standard Fender formula, yet they deliver a seriously smooth and effortless feel that facilitates light-speed licks and massive multi-step bends. Additionally, the Modern “C” shape offers a quick, fast-playing base when laying out your licks, and the headstock is loaded with Deluxe Cast/Sealed Locking tuners for maximum stability.
Aerodyne Special Precision Bass - Hot Rod Burst
The Aerodyne Special Precision Bass features a sleek new look with vibrant colors adorning the elegantly bound basswood body and matching headcap. A modern “C” shape satin-finished neck with 12” radius fingerboard ensures effortless playability, while newly designed vintage-voiced Precision Bass pickups and a Babicz Z-Series FCH-4 bridge deliver a perfect balance of high-performance and classic Fendertone. Available in Bright White, Hot Rod Burst or Speed Green Metallic.
Aerodyne Special Jazz Bass - Dolphin Gray Metallic
The Aerodyne Special Jazz Bass features a sleek new look with vibrant colors adorning the elegantly bound basswood body and the matching headcap. A modern “C” shape satin-finished neck with 12” radius fingerboard ensures effortless playability, while newly designed vintage-voiced Jazz Bass pickups and a Babicz Z-Series FCH-4 bridge deliver a perfect balance of high-performance and classic Fender tone. Available in Chocolate Burst, Dolphin Gray or California Blue.
For more information, please visit fender.com.
A supreme shredder’s signature 6-string dazzles with versatility.
This immaculately built guitar sounds great and can do it all.
The more affordable price is still out of reach for many guitarists
$2,799
Charvel MJ San Dimas SD24 CM
charvel.com
Charvel’s first Guthrie Govan signature model was released in 2014, after an arduous two-year effort to get the design just right. Since then, the guitar—now in its second edition—has become one of Charvel’s most coveted models. Unfortunately, its $3,699 price keeps the U.S.-made axe out of reach for many.
This year, though, the company released the Made-in-Japan signature MJ San Dimas SD24 CM, which sells for a slightly more manageable $2,799. Needless to say, that’s not cheap. But depending on your priorities, it’s a fair price for a very high quality, pro-level instrument.
Made for the Road Warrior
Govan is a seasoned touring and recording musician, to say the least, and real-world experience and practicality informs the SD24 CM’s design down to the smallest details. The knurled chrome knobs, for instance, are dressed up with glow-in-the-dark Luminlay numbers, which together with recessed position indicators on the body help you recall volume and tone settings fast and with precision. Crème-colored inlays and more glow-in-the-dark Luminlay side dots help you find your place on the neck on dark stages. The heel-mounted truss rod adjustment wheel, meanwhile, makes neck relief adjustments convenient.
The proprietary tremolo system is unique to the SD24 CM. It functions a bit like a conventional locking tremolo setup, but there’s no locking nut like you find on a Floyd Rose-type system. Instead, the SD24 CM uses Gotoh diecast locking tuning pegs and a Graph Tech TUSQ XL nut. The bridge does require an Allen wrench for string changes, but it’s not encumbered by fine-tuning knobs like a Floyd Rose. So, if you want to change tunings, you can do so quickly using just the tuning pegs
To facilitate pitch-up maneuvers on the whammy bar, the bridge is recessed into a body cavity. The resulting range of motion is considerable, and I was able to get the bar to go up a major 3rd on the G string. Needless to say, I was also able to dive-bomb to oblivion. Tuning stability is quite good—even when the guitar is subjected to excessive whammy bar abuse. By the way, at Govan’s suggestion, there’s also a foam strip situated between the springs and the spring cavity to eliminate sympathetic vibrations. Such issues probably wouldn’t cross the minds of casual guitarists, but they are peace of mind for players that like to eliminate all possibilities of weird vibrations or overtones from unwanted sources.
Another interesting design detail: The recessed input jack is located adjacent to the endpin. This uncommon placement was one of Govan’s ideas. It prevents accidental unplugging. But because most players wind their cables over the endpin, it also situates the jack closer to that point.
The SD24 CM comes with a hybrid gigbag/hardshell case, which is a nice upgrade from just a standard gigbag (or no case, which is an unfortunate new trend, even with pricey guitars). Needless to say, the guitar looks great, with a satin, 3-tone sunburst finish over a figured ash veneer that is mated to a basswood body. With wood-colored pickups and chrome hardware, it makes up an understated and classy instrument.
Sonic Flexibility
At the heart of the SD24 CM’s sound are pickups designed by guru Michael Frank-Braun (the mastermind behind Eric Johnson’s signature pickups). They are set in an H-S-H configuration and a 5-way selector switch activates either the bridge humbucker, the bridge’s slug coil and middle pickup, the bridge and neck’s outer coils, the neck outer coil and middle pickup, or the neck humbucker. Note that even though the middle pickup is a single-coil pickup, there are no single-coil-only settings available via the 5-way switch. There is, however, a 2-way, mini-toggle switch that splits the neck and bridge humbuckers and filters the output in what Charvel calls a single-coil “simulation.”
The bridge pickup has a modern, high-output signature that will make speed demons drool. Legato runs sound natural and feel easy to execute, and fast alternate picking lines sound alive and clear, especially in the single-coil simulation setting, which often sounds more articulate, more responsive, and makes single notes pop.
As hot and articulate as it can be, the SD24 CM isn’t merely a shred monster.
Interestingly, the neck pickup with the simulated split-coil setting is similar in volume to the full humbucker, which makes real-time changes sound more organic. I especially liked this setting for clean, funky 9th chord strums and Motown chordal stabs. Pickup positions 2 and 4 are slightly lower in volume, and both cleaner and leaner sounding than the simulated split bridge and neck pickups. This option offered some nice faux-Telecaster sounds. All of these settings benefit from a treble bleed circuit that retains high-end even as you reduce guitar volume.
As hot and articulate as it can be, the SD24 CM isn't merely a shred monster. With the neck pickup engaged and tone knob rolled back, the SD24 CM is a convincing jazz machine that invites fingerstyle walking bass lines, chord comping, or blistering flatpicked bebop. Add a little overdrive and the neck pickup delivers a very creamy and rich lead sound.
Appropriately for a Guthrie Govan signature model, the SD24 CM is built around specs that facilitate fluid play. It features a 25.5" scale, caramelized maple neck with 24 jumbo frets, rolled fingerboard edges, and a 12-16" compound radius fretboard. The satin finish on the back of the neck adds to the guitar’s quick feel, and the contoured heel enables easy access to the highest regions of the fretboard. Playability is excellent and there are no dead spots anywhere along the neck.
The Verdict
Many people think of Guthrie Govan as a super shredder with phenomenal chops. While that’s true, Govan is also a multi-dimensional guitarist fluent in a staggering number of styles. His signature Charvel guitar reflects the breadth of his talent. It’s an amazingly versatile instrument that can cover virtually any genre. And while it doesn’t come cheap, it may be one of the closest things to a desert island guitar you’ll find.
Charvel Guthrie Govan MJ San Dimas SD24
Harkening back to the late '80s when Charvel guitars were manufactured exclusively in Japan, we proudly introduce the all-new Guthrie Govan Signature MJ San Dimas SD24 CM. Exquisite in style, this MJ signature model blends Charvel’s unparalleled legacy of designing high-performance instruments with an assortment of Govan’s preferred top-end features.
A modern take on Fullerton shapes and a blend of Fender and Gibson attributes strikes a sweet middle ground.
A stylish alternative to classic Fender profiles that delivers sonic versatility. Great playability.
Split-coil sounds are a little on the thin side. Be sure to place it on the stand carefully!
$1,149
Fender Player Plus Meteora HH
fender.com
After many decades of sticking with flagship body shapes, Fender spent the last several years getting more playful via their Parallel Universe collection. The Meteora, however, is one of the more significant departures from those vintage profiles. The offset, more-angular profile was created by Fender designer Josh Hurst and first saw light of day as part of the Parallel Universe Collection in 2018. Since then, it has headed in both upscale and affordable directions within the Fender lineup—reaching the heights of master-built Custom Shop quality in the hands of Ron Thorn, and now in this much more egalitarian guise as the Player Plus Meteora HH.
Body profile and humbuckers aside, the Meteora is very much a Fender, with a bolt-on neck, 25.5" scale length, and that iconic headstock profile with spaghetti logo. Even closer examination reveals an impressive array of features that make it an extra-impressive instrument for the price, and a cool alternative to traditional Fender offerings.
Comet Club
The Mexico-built Player Plus Meteora HH comes in three finishes—cosmic jade, Belair blue, or silverburst (as seen on our review sample)—all of which help the guitar cut a dashing figure on stage.The body is made from solid alder, a go-to Fender tonewood since the late ’50s. Lightweight stocks of this timber have been getting harder to come by in bulk, and perhaps as a result the review guitar tips a little toward the heavy side at around 8.4 pounds. Then again, the Meteora’s body is bigger than, say, a Stratocaster, which adds a bit to the weight. Forearm and ribcage contours enhance playing comfort significantly, and the guitar balances surprisingly well on the lap (almost certainly one of Hurst’s design mandates). The sharply sloped lower bout, however, makes it tricky to lean against an amp safely. Keep that in mind before you turn your back on it.
The neck is fashioned from a single piece of maple and 22 medium-jumbo frets are arrayed across the 12" radius fretboard, which measures 1.685" at the synthetic-bone nut (Belair blue and cosmic jade versions feature a pau ferro fretboard). The neck is carved in Fender’s popular “Modern C” profile, which feels great in hand, and the overall ergonomics are aided by a nicely rolled fretboard edge. The single-action truss rod can be adjusted at the headstock, which is home to Fender’s deluxe sealed locking tuners and a modern roller string tree for the first and second strings—all of which means you can use the two-post synchronized tremolo with a little more peace of mind. The return-to-pitch capabilities are impressive.
Though the fresh body profile may be the initial draw for many, the electronics—and the possibilities they enable—will probably seal the deal for a lot of prospective customers. They certainly make the guitar a lot of fun to explore. The relatively new Fireball humbuckers look a lot like smaller Fender Wide Range pickups. Under the covers, though, they are pretty standard PAF-style humbuckers, with adjustable pole pieces in all six positions of each coil, though half of these are inaccessible with the cover on.
This pickup recipe makes the Meteora a world’s-your-oyster kind of performer.
And while the name implies that the Fireballs are hot, the specs are similar to medium-wind alnico humbuckers, with the neck reading around 7.24k ohms DC resistance and 4.0 henries inductance, and the bridge measuring 7.68k ohms and 4.5 henries. The pickups are wired through a 3-way toggle switch on the upper horn, with a master volume and dedicated tone controls for each pickup below. The volume knob also functions as a push-button switch to split the coils of both pickups.
Silver Stars
Tested through a Friedman Dirty Shirley Mini and 2x12, a tweed Deluxe-style 1x12 combo, and a Neural DSP Quad Cortex into the studio monitors, the Player Plus Meteora HH reveals a fairly traditional and even vintage-leaning sonic range that contrasts with its moon-shot looks. The not-too-hot humbuckers sound clear and open and generate relatively little amp breakup at modest volumes, which I’d say is a good thing, as it enables a wider range of touch sensitivity than high-gain humbuckers usually allow.
This pickup recipe makes the Meteora a world’s-your-oyster kind of performer. With a cranked amp, lead channel, or overdrive (in this case a Tsakalis Six and Wampler Tumnus Deluxe), the Meteora produces sizzling power-chord and rhythm sounds and singing lead tones with ease, with rich, articulate cleans at the ready when I backed the guitar volume down. It’s hard to gauge how much effect the maple neck and alder body have on the humbucker voicings. But expect the Meteora to sound better balanced and crisper compared with the average PAF-equipped instrument. There’s very little mud and the coil-split tones are nice and jangly—although, as with many split humbuckers, they’re a little on the thin side without a booster or compressor engaged. Still, they do the trick, and add another useful arrow to the Meteora HH’s already packed quiver.
The Verdict
Players in love with unconventional looks who enjoy a twist on traditional PAF-style sounds will find a lot to like in the Player Plus Meteora HH. The guitar packs a wide range of clean-to-mean tones, offers easy playability, and is made super versatile by tone controls and coil-splitting options that dramatically expand its tone palette. Dual humbuckers mated to a 25.5" scale is always a cool proposition, and the Meteora’s marriage of Fender and Gibson attributes is a great way to split the difference.
Fender Player Plus Meteora HH Demo | First Look
New bracing and pickups make this mid-priced take on a Gretsch classic a lively and engaging inspiration machine.
Smooth playability on par with much more expensive instruments. Airy, open pickup sounds with lots of clean-to-mean latitude.
Blue finish is pretty but thick in spots. Vintage sticklers might miss some old-school Filter’Tron bite.
$799
Gretsch G5420T
gretschguitars.com
Though big hollowbodies like the Gretsch G6120 are beautiful and an essential ingredient in countless classic records, they can be a tricky playing experience for the uninitiated. Navigable fretboard space is limited by solidbody standards. Big bodies can feel bulky. They’re sometimes feedback prone in high-volume situations, too. Consequently, I’ve watched many solidbody-oriented chums who rarely play hollowbodies handle a big Gretsch with the baffled look of a spacefarer deciphering an alien tongue.
This latest affordable, mid-line evolution of Gretsch’s classic 6120, the re-designed Electromatic G5420T, smooths navigation of those intrinsic challenges. A new approach to trestle block bracing and FT-5E Filter’Tron pickups give the guitar a zingy, lively, and surprisingly feedback-resistant resonance. And the ultra-smooth playability makes it relatable for the average solidbody player. Together, the improvements make the G5420 a welcoming and intuitive-feeling vehicle for the less-orthodox modes of guitar expression that big Gretsch’s enable.
New Shoes in Blue
Trestle bracing, as a name and design concept, graced Gretschs beginning in the ’50s. That system utilized a bridge-like pair of laterally oriented braces. Trestle block bracing is different. It situates a slim, light center bock that is shaped like a bridge arch at a 90-degree angle between two straight, lateral braces. In one sense, the construction is akin to a center-block semihollow body. But the Gretsch trestle block has much less mass and a smaller footprint than the center block in, say, a Gibson 335, making the design a great compromise between rigidity, stability, and resonance. The effects, at least to my ears, are audible. And one thing every staffer that touched this guitar agreed upon was that this was the liveliest affordable Gretsch that any of us remembered playing.
The G5420T also feels like a dream underneath the fingers. The 12" radius makes string bends extra easy. Hammer-ons, pull-offs, and, yes, fleet-fingered Chet Atkins picking feel effortless. And in general the playability is so nice you often forget that notes much past the 17th or 18th fret are a pretty uncomfortable reach. The control layout is a familiar take on Gretsch convention. The master volume control on the treble-side horn is always a blast to use for volume swells. And while the bridge volume is situated pretty far aft on the body, it’s easy enough to reach for fine tuning adjustments and corrections to the neck/bridge blend. The Bigsby, meanwhile, is both fluid, smooth, and, in relative terms, pretty tuning-stable if you’re not too aggressive.
You don’t achieve playability and intonation like that on our review model without sweating the details, and the 5420’s neck, nut, fretboard, and frets all feel very much of a piece.
Construction quality is typically very good in Gretsch’s more affordable Streamliner and Electromatic series, and the G5420T does its part to hold up the family reputation. You don’t achieve playability and intonation like that on our review model without sweating the details, and the 5420’s neck, nut, fretboard, and frets all feel very much of a piece. Little details like the binding around the f-holes are also flawlessly executed. One of the only overt signs of the G5420T’s mid-priced status is the polyester-azure-blue finish, which, while dazzling, looks a bit ripply and thick in spots. Even so, in sunlight, it reveals traces of pearlescent turquoise and lake placid blue, depending on the angle from which you view it.
Balance and Brawn
As Gretsch tells it, the new Filter’Trons are designed for stronger bass output and more articulate high end. I don’t know if I would call the low-end exceptionally robust. But 6th-string notes exhibit a concise, classy punchiness that resonates with just-right complexity and gracefully adds balance and ballast to chords. Some players expect low notes on a Gretsch hollowbody to explode with the heft of a grand piano. But the chiming low notes of a Fender Rhodes electric piano are a more apt analogy for the 5420’s present, overtone-rich-but-understated bottom-string output. This same knack for balance translates to awesome, articulate overdrive and fuzz tones (though, needless to say, it is important to mind the feedback when messing with the latter).
High-end output, meanwhile, is beautiful. First- and 2nd-string notes ring presently and in graceful balance with the rest of the strings, lending a kinetic but not-too-hot edge to leads and chords. And anyone with an affinity for vintage rockabilly or late-’60s West Coast psychedelia will love the way these high notes hop, quaver, and sing with a waggle of the Bigsby. For this author, anyway, it’s a visceral, addictive thrill—particularly with a big Fender amp and a heap of spring reverb and slapback echo.
The Verdict
Any player well versed and at ease with the idiosyncrasies of a Gretsch hollowbody will love the way the 5420 sounds and feels. And on the latter count, certainly, the 5420T is the equal of many much more pricey guitars. It’s very easy to imagine an upmarket or vintage Gretsch owner who sweats gigging with an expensive axe taking this guitar out instead and feeling right at home. The pickups are very well balanced, present, and detailed. And the Bigsby is smooth and invites all manner of twitchy or surfy vibrato moves. Most important is how these factors conspire to offer an uncommon playing experience with an upmarket feel. “Riff machine” may be a term that you could apply to many guitars, but the combination of the 5420T’s playabililty and open, detailed, and balanced pickups add up to a deep well of habit-smashing inspiration—all at a very nice price, to boot.