GJgo
Well-known member
Here's a quick video I put together of the ESP Hanneman through a couple Mesas. This thing has CRUSHING tone. 
Gonna keep it.
https://youtu.be/5t339KHoOt4
Gonna keep it. https://youtu.be/5t339KHoOt4
Chester Nimitz
Banned
New member
Other than the "H" inlays, EMG SPC & Kahler what the difference of this guitar compared to the Kirk Hammett LTD model ?
MetalHeadMike
Well-known member
GJgo":2wzii2af said:Here's a quick video I put together of the ESP Hanneman through a couple Mesas. This thing has CRUSHING tone.
https://youtu.be/5t339KHoOt4
Sweet man!! Nice chops. Sounds like those amps have a fuck ton of gain.
Just saw Slayer Thursday night
thenine
Well-known member
Happy Birthday!
GJgo
Well-known member
Chester- Well, the big difference was in tone. The LTD KH Ouija NTB I had sounded a little dead. This is unfortunate, because it looked sick. My ESP KH bolt on has a killer midrange sweet tone, and both my Hanneman NTBs have a killer scooped crushing tone.
The playability of the LTD KH was fine, better than most you find on the wall, but not epic. It did however have a good feel of note separation compared to the others.
I like palm muting best on Floyds, but you can't set the action as low as you can with a Kahler because the string height changes with dive bombs on the FR, so in the big picture I prefer Kahlers for insane low action.
The Hannemans have between a 41-42mm nut shelf, and the KHs between a 42-43mm nut shelf, depending on the model year & vintage. Ideally I prefer the older KH that came all EMG 81s, they have a 43mm shelf.
Only the older KH bolt-ons came with an extra thin flat neck profile which is my favorite, closest thing I've found to my old Ibanez RG MIJ that I grew up with. All these others have extra thin U. I'm just not interested in a neck any thicker than this. The standard ESP thin U feels like a brick to me.
The playability of the LTD KH was fine, better than most you find on the wall, but not epic. It did however have a good feel of note separation compared to the others.
I like palm muting best on Floyds, but you can't set the action as low as you can with a Kahler because the string height changes with dive bombs on the FR, so in the big picture I prefer Kahlers for insane low action.
The Hannemans have between a 41-42mm nut shelf, and the KHs between a 42-43mm nut shelf, depending on the model year & vintage. Ideally I prefer the older KH that came all EMG 81s, they have a 43mm shelf.
Only the older KH bolt-ons came with an extra thin flat neck profile which is my favorite, closest thing I've found to my old Ibanez RG MIJ that I grew up with. All these others have extra thin U. I'm just not interested in a neck any thicker than this. The standard ESP thin U feels like a brick to me.
Chester Nimitz
Banned
New member
Sounds like a Killer guitar ...
R
riffermadness
Member
I like the sound out of your Mesas ! Afriend of mine had that same Mark 3 combo,but I never heard it sound as good as yours! I don't know Mesas that good but why are they called BLUE STRIPE,and is that Mark 3 stock,was that video with no pedals into the Mark 3 ? I want to get another combo 1-12" AMP AND THAT ONE SOUNDS huge!GJgo":j5kuokey said:Here's a quick video I put together of the ESP Hanneman through a couple Mesas. This thing has CRUSHING tone.
https://youtu.be/5t339KHoOt4
garey77
Well-known member
I had a Mark III Green Stripe for a while; it sounded fantastic with absolutely NO boost in front. Brutal as heck with a lovely clean channel. It was bone stock. It now resides with my singerriffermadness":1d56o3q1 said:I like the sound out of your Mesas ! Afriend of mine had that same Mark 3 combo,but I never heard it sound as good as yours! I don't know Mesas that good but why are they called BLUE STRIPE,and is that Mark 3 stock,was that video with no pedals into the Mark 3 ? I want to get another combo 1-12" AMP AND THAT ONE SOUNDS huge!GJgo":1d56o3q1 said:Here's a quick video I put together of the ESP Hanneman through a couple Mesas. This thing has CRUSHING tone.
https://youtu.be/5t339KHoOt4
needed some cash but was able to keep it in the family. To answer your question, the different revisions of the Mark III series were denoted by different a colored permanent marker stripe on the chassis located next to the power supply.
R
riffermadness
Member
Nice to know about the colored stripe.good info for sure.garey77":2c93ysu7 said:I had a Mark III Green Stripe for a while; it sounded fantastic with absolutely NO boost in front. Brutal as heck with a lovely clean channel. It was bone stock. It now resides with my singerriffermadness":2c93ysu7 said:I like the sound out of your Mesas ! Afriend of mine had that same Mark 3 combo,but I never heard it sound as good as yours! I don't know Mesas that good but why are they called BLUE STRIPE,and is that Mark 3 stock,was that video with no pedals into the Mark 3 ? I want to get another combo 1-12" AMP AND THAT ONE SOUNDS huge!GJgo":2c93ysu7 said:Here's a quick video I put together of the ESP Hanneman through a couple Mesas. This thing has CRUSHING tone.
https://youtu.be/5t339KHoOt4
To answer your question, the different revisions of the Mark III series were denoted by different a colored permanent marker stripe on the chassis located next to the power supply.
GJgo
Well-known member
riffermadness":ki5ekjn9 said:I like the sound out of your Mesas ! Afriend of mine had that same Mark 3 combo,but I never heard it sound as good as yours! I don't know Mesas that good but why are they called BLUE STRIPE,and is that Mark 3 stock,was that video with no pedals into the Mark 3 ? I want to get another combo 1-12" AMP AND THAT ONE SOUNDS huge!GJgo":ki5ekjn9 said:Here's a quick video I put together of the ESP Hanneman through a couple Mesas. This thing has CRUSHING tone.
https://youtu.be/5t339KHoOt4
Thanks.
They don't sound like that out of the open back combo speaker, that sound is more classic rock. You have to run the head into a sealed back V30 cab for real heavy tones. that's what I've done in the vid, into a 1x12 Recto cab. My MKIII is all stock other than Mike B. did the reverb & C30 mod to make it more like a red stripe & tame the fizz. The presence is at 8.
I don't use any pedals, that's just the EMG 81 straight into the amps! I didn't even have the SPC knob on in this clip. The Hannemans really just have a natural fuck ton of gain.
GJgo
Well-known member
Now that I've had this guitar for a while I was thinking today about something I've noticed. Everyone talks about how the ESP custom shop stuff uses their best tone woods. This thing really does have a lot more tone & sustain than most every other solid body electric I've ever played- something you feel when you're playing it not plugged in. The wood just hums & I feel it in my chest. This is actually almost to a fault. What I've experienced is that if you are playing sloppy, there's so much fullness & body coming through the speakers that it can really sound like muddy shit. If you're playing really tight & on point however, the sounds this guitar can put out are crushing & massive. For that reason it is MUCH less forgiving than its LTD counterpart is. That guitar always sounds heavy even when I'm playing sloppy, it's more even keeled. I'd say the LTD is more like a man & the ESP is more like a woman! There is something nice about playing the LTD because I always know what to expect. The ESP OTOH is happy to point out to me when I'm an idiot, but lights on fire when I stroke it just right...