The ESP Guitar Company

Recently, I was in the market for a new guitar, and I had a list of features I wanted my new instrument to have within a certain budget. My requirements were that the guitar should:

- Be from a brand I was familiar with and trusted;

- Have a reverse headstock;

- Be pointy;

- Not have a trem bridge;

- Be neck-thru;

- Have good pickups;

- Have 24 frets;

- Not be MIC or MII.

I was willing to bend on one or two of these, but I wanted as many of these boxes checked as possible for around $1K - $1200. Based on all those criteria, I decided to go with the LTD Arrow Black Metal NT. I ordered one, but the retailer had an inventory snafu, and I was offered an Arrow-1000NT as a substitute (there was a bit of a price difference, obviously). I was initially kind of frustrated that I wouldn't be getting the Black Metal NT, but once I had the 1000NT in my hands, I was really happy that things turned out the way they did.

The 1000NT is a very well-balanced guitar and has better ergonomics than many other V-style options. It's comfortable to play both standing and sitting, whereas most Vs aren't great for the latter. Neck-dive is also minimal, which is a great relief. The fretting is extremely well-done without any awkward jagged edges. The neck as a whole is very comfortable and works equally well for fast, chord-based riffing as it does for soloing.

As a metal guitarist, I don't typically use neck pickups, so I was ok with the Black Metal version not having one. I've used the EMG 81 that comes with the Black Metal in other guitars, and while it's an adequate bridge pickup, I had fully intended to replace it with something else later on. By contrast, the 1000NT comes with two multi-voice Fishman Fluence pickups and this is the first time I've ever used them. I'd heard about them before, of course, and had watched some demo videos featuring them, but we all know that there's a big difference between hearing something on YouTube and actually hearing it in-person. All I can say is that the hype surrounding these pickups is 100% justified and they help make the 1000NT a much more versatile instrument than most people might imagine. The tones offered by the six different configurations (voice 1 bridge, voice 1 bridge + neck, voice 1 neck, voice 2 bridge, voice 2 bridge + neck, voice 2 neck) are rich, full, and distinct, and are suitable for a good variety of genres and play-styles. The only thing I would change in this regard would be the addition of a second volume control just to give a bit more customization, but I frankly don't even know how much I'd even use such a feature when the options already available manage to sound so different from each other.

Overall, I'm struggling to find anything to complain about with this guitar. In addition to everything I've already mentioned, it's beautiful, and will immediately stand out in your collection. I do wish there were other color/finish choices, but the Metallic Charcoal looks great. If you're looking for a guitar with the criteria I mentioned earlier and you don't want to break the bank, the LTD Arrow-1000NT is probably the best choice on the market at the moment. Highest recommendations!

Absolutely one of the fastest necks on a production guitar. Thin and comfortable with razor low action all the way up to the 24th fret.