Uploaded November 2019 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Ha-hey. I'm not dead. Imagine that.
So I've decided to go and buy a new guitar, and I was tossing up between an Ormsby HypeGTR fanned fret or an ESP LTD Snakebyte (the James Hetfield signature model). I was thinking the Ormsby would win because I've tried fanned frets before and I liked how they felt when I did, and the fact that the Ormsby has things like coil splitting and stainless frets that the Snakebyte doesn't have, plus it comes with a case and it's ~$400 less than the Snakebyte. When I actually tried it in-store though (Guitar Factory Parramatta), I found that while it definitely sounds, plays and feels good to play, the fanned fret neck causes problems with my thumb-over-the-neck play style, especially if, for example, fretting the low E on the first fret with my thumb while holding a chord like an F, my thumb is close to the second fret, to the point of accidentally playing the second fret instead.
I then wanted to try the Snakebyte, but the only Snakebyte in the store was the baritone Snakebyte. I figured that would at least allow me to see how the guitar sounds and generally feels, so I gave it a try, and while I won't be purchasing this particular model (I'll still be getting the standard Snakebyte in Snow White), it sounds and looks incredible, and it's a shame that ESP/James Hetfield didn't release the standard Snakebyte in this finish, it looks so cool, especially in person. It also feels great to play, which I was pleasantly surprised by, being that I believe this is pretty much the first time I've tried an Explorer-shaped guitar.
If I already had a guitar with EMGs that was a standard scale length I would totally go for the baritone, but since this will be my first EMG loaded guitar I figure it would be most logical to make it a standard scale length so it's able to be used in more places. Baritones just make everything from a standard guitar sound 10x better, especially clean stuff, which I tried to show some of in this video as well.
Expect to see the Snakebyte guitar whenever I get off my ass and start making covers again; I'm working on a couple right now actually, so stay tuned for that.
The guitar is plugged into a Boss Katana 100 Mk II, and video and audio is recorded with my phone (Samsung Galaxy A30).
Ha-hey. I'm not dead. Imagine that.
So I've decided to go and buy a new guitar, and I was tossing up between an Ormsby HypeGTR fanned fret or an ESP LTD Snakebyte (the James Hetfield signature model). I was thinking the Ormsby would win because I've tried fanned frets before and I liked how they felt when I did, and the fact that the Ormsby has things like coil splitting and stainless frets that the Snakebyte doesn't have, plus it comes with a case and it's ~$400 less than the Snakebyte. When I actually tried it in-store though (Guitar Factory Parramatta), I found that while it definitely sounds, plays and feels good to play, the fanned fret neck causes problems with my thumb-over-the-neck play style, especially if, for example, fretting the low E on the first fret with my thumb while holding a chord like an F, my thumb is close to the second fret, to the point of accidentally playing the second fret instead.
I then wanted to try the Snakebyte, but the only Snakebyte in the store was the baritone Snakebyte. I figured that would at least allow me to see how the guitar sounds and generally feels, so I gave it a try, and while I won't be purchasing this particular model (I'll still be getting the standard Snakebyte in Snow White), it sounds and looks incredible, and it's a shame that ESP/James Hetfield didn't release the standard Snakebyte in this finish, it looks so cool, especially in person. It also feels great to play, which I was pleasantly surprised by, being that I believe this is pretty much the first time I've tried an Explorer-shaped guitar.
If I already had a guitar with EMGs that was a standard scale length I would totally go for the baritone, but since this will be my first EMG loaded guitar I figure it would be most logical to make it a standard scale length so it's able to be used in more places. Baritones just make everything from a standard guitar sound 10x better, especially clean stuff, which I tried to show some of in this video as well.
Expect to see the Snakebyte guitar whenever I get off my ass and start making covers again; I'm working on a couple right now actually, so stay tuned for that.
The guitar is plugged into a Boss Katana 100 Mk II, and video and audio is recorded with my phone (Samsung Galaxy A30).
