ESP Phoenix 1004
Has this Phoenix truly risen again? Joe Daly finds out
ESP
www.espguitars.com
$999 MAP
Founded in Tokyo by Hisatake Shibuya in 1975, Electric Sound Products (ESP) began as a small repair shop that made replacement parts for guitars. Rather than chase margins by making cheap replicas, ESP focused on improving quality and design, delivering high-end parts and instruments at competitive prices. By the mid-Eighties, ESP had attracted a luminous roster of guitarists, including Ronnie Wood, George Lynch, Bruce Kulick (Kiss), and Vernon Reid (Living Colour), earning a reputation as a go-to brand for heavy music. It’s hardly a surprise, then, that their basses have followed suit, with ESP counting Tom Araya (Slayer), John Campbell (Lamb Of God), and Marco Mendoza (ex-Whitesnake) among its endorsements.