Open Box ESP TE-1000 Electric Guitar Level 1 Silver Blast

Pros : Good Tone, Good Pick Ups, Great tuning stability, Easy to change strings, Light body, Versatile Cons: Fret marker inlays are too light and minimalistic to see There are definitely a lack of reviews and online info about this guitar, in addition to a scarcity of supply. That's why I am writing this review... In "need" of a new guitar to be used differently than my Jackson Soloist (my Floyd Rose guitar), I conducted a serious, months long research, before deciding that the TE-1000 Black Blast was the one. It checked most of the boxes for me: 1. Fixed bridge (this would be the main difference from my Jackson, and would make it easy to decide which instrument to use when) 2. Humbuckers with better clarity (the SDs) 3. Roasted Maple neck 4. Stainless Steel frets 5. Lightweight (6.5 lbs or so) 6. Locking tuners (Changing strings on my Jackson Floyd Rose is quite the chore) 7. Neck? Well the "thin U" was a concern, TBH. I was used to playing a pretty thin flat neck on my Jackson. 8. Push/pull coil split 9. Love the understated T-style and cool black blast body finish, and was tired of pointy, flashy metal guitars As I conducted research, my first challenge was finding some YouTube review of the guitar. I was shocked to discover that there was only one...and not by one of the more popular YouTube guitar influencers. Why? I attributed this lack of demos to a limited production run, although I have no idea If that's the case. Any info on that would be appreciated. Lack of videos aside, I decided to pull the trigger on it. So, finding this guitar was the next challenge. No place had it in stock. That's when I decided to check Reverb...also to see if any indie sellers were discounting it. Luckily, that turned out to be true, and I paid a couple of hundred off the retail list price. It arrived quickly, and didn't need a set up. Just tune and go! I've had the instrument for about a month, now, and what do I think? Well, let me begin by saying I'm a beginner/intermediate player who likes to play 80s era metal (Iron Maiden, Skid Row, Queensryche, the Cult, Kiss, etc.). For this style of music, the guitar is perfect! Great clarity on both pickups, even with high gain and dirt thrown on top. The thin u neck profile was definitely a different experience than my Jackson speed neck, however, not uncomfortable and felt natural in my hand. The neck pick up and coil split (or tap, whatever) push pull tone knob makes the guitar super versatile...and you can get the Fender-y single coil thing happening (sounds great when I play Chic, Michael Jackson, or R.E.M.). The frets are super comfortable, and the fret edges are nicely finished. The craftsmanship is excellent on the guitar. So, any complaints? Well, yeah, if I'm being objective. The inlay fret markers are super light in color, minimal, and blend into the fretboard. The side marker dots are really small, too. As a beginner, I still rely on prominent markers to provide context to improve my understanding of what and where to play. That's where my Jackson has an edge, because of its bold shark fin inlays. However, I tell myself that this is a good challenge for me to force myself to become more familiar with the fretboard with less to guide me. No harm done, I guess. The only other minor thing is that there is a slight neck dive because the instrument is light. It's not huge, however, and easily remedied with proper strap adjustment and holding the guitar properly. So yeah, definitely enjoy playing the guitar and love how it feels to play the Jackson for other tunes that sound cooler with the Floyd Rose.