ESP LTD AS-1FR, Black Aqua Sunburst

Few guitar players of the world merit as much respect as Alex Skolnick. Originally gaining fame as the teenage phenomenon holding down guitar duties for Bay Area thrashers Testament, Alex has gone on to tackle multiple musical genres, including sophisticated jazz playing in his Alex Skolnick Trio. The AS-1FR takes Alex’s original design and adds a Floyd Rose bridge for expressive performances.

This traditional shape belies its contemporary set of tools that include a set-thru, U-shaped mahogany neck for smooth access all the way up and down the fingerboard. Its sound is powered with an excellent set of Seymour Duncan ’59 (neck) and JB (bridge) pickups. Its flexible controls include individual volume knobs for each pickup, a tone control with push-pull access to split the neck pickup coil, and a pickup selector toggle. Other high-end components include Dunlop straplok and Grover tuners. The Alex Skolnick LTD AS-1 comes in Black Aqua Sunburst translucent finish over its figured flamed maple top.