i have had this guitar for two years and i love it! the red is just beautiful, and i have had so many compliments on it. no complaints at all

I bought my LTD Viper 1000 from Elderly Instrument in Lansing MI. I literally played the thing once and was sold. It sounds amazing for heavy music and/or guitar solos. I have 3 different Peavey Amps/Heads that go with a guitar with EMG's like stink on a monkey. This guitar blows away my Gibson Les Paul Studio, Washburn NX6(TM), and others in terms of feel and tone.

I was shocked by how many of you reviewers stated that this guitar is either heavy or awkward to play when on a strap. I have to seriously question anyone's guitar playing skills or knowledge who cited comfort or weight issues. This is seriously the most comfortable and easy to play guitar I have ever touched. The neck is sleek, fast, smooth, and plays like butter. If you think this is a "heavy" guitar weight-wise, I don't know what you would say about even a Les Paul Studio. Get in the weight room.

The tone of the guitar is incredible. My viper has 2 EMG 81's (which I was not thrilled about at first, I would rather have an 85 in the neck spot). However both pickups sound outstanding, especially paired with a high gain peavey head. Just sick.

My main complaint about this guitar is the location of the toggle switch. I play in a metal band that has a lot of fast transitions and it can be very difficult to reach down in the middle of a fast song to do a pickup change. However this is really not that big of an issue 95% of the time.

Secondly I am honestly not a fan of the guitar's appearance. It is a little too flashy and colorful for my taste but I get a lot of compliments on it. I prefer an all black guitar with very little flash to it. But it's not about the appearance, it's all about the sound and feel, both which are amazing.

I just got myself this about a month ago and I'm impressed. The quality and workmanship are outstanding. Don't let this guitar's Korean-made status deter you, it's a great guitar at a good price, it really nails the metal tone I'm looking for and its durable enough to play with my band.

Now for the bad news, this thing is a bit neck heavy. I don't mind personally, but for some people it might be too off balance.

I've been playing for 9 plus years. This guitar is nice sounding, plays okay in your lap, but LOOKOUT! Put a strap on this thing and the next thing you know it wants to parallel out with the ground!! I don't know about you... but playing a guitar while holding the neck at the correct posture angle is just flat out ANNOYING! Why should I have to, "get used to it"? Good guitars stay balanced and don't go diving to the floor as soon as you strap it on. It may look perty mean but it doesn't mean anything if it you can't correctly posture yourself and be comfortable. VERDICT = TERRIBLE

Sounds great, very responsive. The only problem I had while trying out this guitar was that I found the neck and frets to be slightly too small for my liking, my long fingers kinda got in the way of each other, but if you have smaller fingers, it'll probably be a near perfect guitar for you. Gorgeous too.