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Esoterik Guitars: DR-1 (Gear Review)

By Tyler Crooks, August 3rd 2011, Los Angeles CA: At the 2011 Winter NAMM show in Anaheim, CA, I had the incredible privilege to hang out with the team at Esoterik guitars and test out their newest guitars.

The Esoterik DR-1, the first in the Esoterik guitar line is a force to be reckoned with. With a beautifully contoured mahogany body and a walnut neck, the Esoterik DR-1 is a tone junkie's dream. While sampling this gem of an instrument, I tested many different styles of metal, and I must say, this guitar takes the term "workhorse" to a new level. This guitar can take you from the most brutal black metal tones imaginable, to a nice, solid tone, perfect for blues or hard rock. Of course, I didn't limit myself with just these genres. This guitar is perfect for anything from thrash to jazz.

This guitar gives you a wide array of tone, but what's really great about it, is that it doesn't limit a player to a standard 22-fret neck. Esoterik goes the extra mile to give you 24 jumbo frets so you can really hit those high notes in your solos. Throw a Floyd Rose trem system in there, along with Seymour Duncan Blackout pickups, and you have a guitar worthy of even the most discriminating guitar snob.

One of the really great things about Esoterik guitars is that they're customizable. From the pickups to the body, you can modify it to your specifications. With so many other companies, you get what you get, and usually have no say in what hardware is included in the instrument, so this fact alone sets Esoterik way ahead of the curve.

What I love about Esoterik guitars personally, is that they're handcrafted in the USA by Esoterik owner and founder Ryan Cook; a rarity for instruments these days.

The price-tag is on par with most high-end guitar companies, but instead of a standard factory made guitar, you get your own handcrafted instrument made in the USA, a ton of tone, and an all around beautiful heirloom instrument to pass down to your children.

To put it simply; these guitars rock. You can find the full specifications below.

- a 5 Piece maple, figured maple and walnut neck
- neck through construction
- unique contoured body shape
- figured koa, ebony or rosewood overlay with mother of pearl finish on the headstock
- Gotoh 510 mini tuners
- 16" radius ebony fretboard
- dual spoke wheel truss rods
- Seymour Duncan Blackout pickups or EMG 81 and 85's
- your choice of a Floyd Rose or Kahler tremolo or a Tone Pros Bridge with a Graph-tech and string through design
- Tru oil finish
- 25.5" scale
- ebony tone and volume knobs
- 24 jumbo frets

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