Jackson USA Signature Adrian Smith San Dimas SD vs LTD H3-1000FR
Reasons to Get
Jackson USA Signature Adrian Smith San Dimas SD over LTD H3-1000FR
Reasons to Get
ESP LTD H3-1000FR over Jackson USA Signature Adrian Smith San Dimas SD
Other Key Differences
Jackson USA Signature Adrian Smith San Dimas SD vs LTD H3-1000FR
Shared Features
Jackson USA Signature Adrian Smith San Dimas SD vs LTD H3-1000FR
Common Strengths
- Retainer Bar
- High-Quality Nut
- High-Quality Frets
- Top Pickup Brand
- Expensive Wood
Common Weaknesses
- Weight Relief
- Stays in Tune (Evertune)
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Luminescent Sidedots
- Strap Lock
- 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- Active/Passive Preamp
Table of Contents
Price History Comparison
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Which One is Better Overall?
After going through our comparison algorithm, the results show that the ESP LTD H3-1000FR is probably the better product overall with its final score of 77 compared to the Jackson USA Signature Adrian Smith San Dimas SD's 74 score, although not by a lot.
The ESP LTD H3-1000FR wins when it comes to playability, build quality, value for the money. On the other hand, the Jackson USA Signature Adrian Smith San Dimas SD has the upper hand when it comes to.
If you got small hands, none of these instruments will make a big difference when it comes to comfortability.
Which One is Better for Beginners?
Both meet 4 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players. If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, you can't go wrong with either of them.
New Player Friendliness
Jackson USA Signature Adrian Smith San Dimas SD- Comfortable shape
- Comfortable fretboard
- Tall frets
- Comfortable neck
- Narrow nut
- Short scale
- Locking tuners
- Easy-to-use bridge
New Player Friendliness
ESP LTD H3-1000FR- Comfortable shape
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Short scale
- Locking tuners
- Easy-to-use bridge
Nevertheless, when it comes to choosing an instrument, you should pick the one more compatible with your personal style. Still, below we'll try you to give you our results as objectively as it's possible to help you decide.
Jackson USA Signature Adrian Smith San Dimas SD Overview
- From Jackson's 2020 Artist Signature series
- Adrian Smith Signature
- Made in United States
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 12" to 16" Fretboard Radius
- Alder body
- Quartersawn Maple neck
- Ebony fretboard
- Bridge pickup: DiMarzio Super Distortion DP100 (Humbucker/Passive)
- Middle pickup: Samarium Cobalt Noiseless (SCN) Single-Coil Strat (Single Coil/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Samarium Cobalt Noiseless (SCN) Single-Coil Strat (Single Coil/Passive)
- 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
- 5-way Switch
- Floyd Rose Original Double-Locking Tremolo bridge
- Jackson Thin D Bolt-On neck
- 22 Jumbo frets
- Jackson Sealed Die-Cast tuners
- Compare Specs >
ESP LTD H3-1000FR Overview
- From ESP LTD's 2020 H3 series
- Made in Indonesia
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 13.78" Fretboard Radius
- Flamed Maple top
- Mahogany body
- 3pc Maple neck
- Macassar Ebony fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Seymour Duncan Pegasus (Humbucker/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Seymour Duncan Sentient (Humbucker/Passive)
- 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
- 3-way Switch
- Floyd Rose 1000SE bridge
- Thin U Set neck
- 24 XL Jumbo Stainless Steel frets
- Grover tuners
- Compare Specs >
Sound Quality Comparison
The wood used in an electric guitar or bass is not as important to determine the final tone. However, some people prefer specific wood types, so we'll take a look at those first. Then, we'll take a look at the electronics to determine the versatility and sound quality of each instrument.
Woods Used in Both
Maple is one of the most popular necks for good reasons. It is a strong wood that is relatively cheap to make and looks beautiful. The highest quality maple is the hardest that comes from North America. Find out more about Maple.
Ebony is a high-end wood, so it is not cheap. It's only used for fretboards because it's also very heavy. It does an excellent job as a durable material while looking elegant. Find out more about Ebony.
Woods Used in the Jackson USA Signature Adrian Smith San Dimas SD
Alder is the most popular wood that Fender uses in most of their guitars nowadays. Even though they say it's because of its balanced tone with an emphasis in the upper midrange, it probably is because it isn't too expensive, and it's also pretty lightweight—more than Mahogany. Find out more about Alder.
Woods Used in the ESP LTD H3-1000FR
Mahogany is a fairly rare wood nowadays. It's used mostly for bodies due to its relatively lightweight. Gibson popularized it with their Les Paul guitars during their golden years, so this wood has a lot of good reputation behind it. The most expensive type comes from South America and it's still used by Gibson even today. Find out more about Mahogany.
Winner: ESP LTD H3-1000FR.
Pickup Configuration
The Jackson USA Signature Adrian Smith San Dimas SD has an HSS configuration while the ESP LTD H3-1000FR has HH pickups.
HSS provides a great balance if you like to play with a lot of distortion, but also love to use clean tones. You'll get a lot of output at the bridge position, but you'll be able to play bright clean tones at the other positions.
On the other hand, Double Humbucker (HH) is the choice for people who want a fuller, more round sound with tons of mids and lows. Humbuckers also get rid of the hum noise that plague single-coil pickups. They can work out for almost any genre going from Djent to even Jazz.
Pickups Quality
Both come with very good pickups from at least one of the specialized brands in the market. With pickups like these, you probably won't need an upgrade anytime soon.
However, the Jackson USA Signature Adrian Smith San Dimas SD has a slight sound quality advantage when taking into account other factors like the type of pickups, magnet, position, etc.
You can purchase similar pickups to the Jackson USA Signature Adrian Smith San Dimas SD's and use them on any guitar:
We found the same or similar pickups to the ESP LTD H3-1000FR's online:
Both use Passive pickups. This is what's used for most music genres. They have a regular output and will serve you for both high-gain and clean tones. The alternative (Active pickups) offer a higher output that is mostly used for heavy music.
Winner: Jackson USA Signature Adrian Smith San Dimas SD.
Versatility Comparison
Some instruments offer you more ways to explore your creativity than others. Below you'll find how both compare when it comes to versatility.
Switch Options
The Jackson USA Signature Adrian Smith San Dimas SD gives you 5 switch options while the ESP LTD H3-1000FR gives you 3. This means that the Jackson USA Signature Adrian Smith San Dimas SD gives you more options to find the right pickup combination for the type of sound you want to achieve
Only the ESP LTD H3-1000FR comes with some kind of pickup modification: Coil Split.
Coil Split lets you disconnect one of the pickup coils. When used with humbuckers, it turns them into single-coil with lower output and cleaner tone.
When evaluating versatility, we also take into consideration bridge and neck joint type, number of frets, switch options, amount of pickups and more.
Winner: ESP LTD H3-1000FR.
Final Sound Quality Scores
Build Quality Comparison
When it comes to build quality, we like to take into account everything used to build the instrument. This includes materials, hardware and the quality control expected depending on the country where it was built. Let's see how the Jackson USA Signature Adrian Smith San Dimas SD compares to the ESP LTD H3-1000FR.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Jackson USA Signature Adrian Smith San Dimas SD is built in United States while the ESP LTD H3-1000FR is made in Indonesia.
The United States is considered one of the best electric guitar manufacturers in the world. A guitar made in this country is supposed to have world-class quality control. Nowadays, guitars made in other countries can beat some of the ones made in the US, but most of the time, this country offers the best you can get. Of course, that comes at a price.
Indonesia is becoming the most popular country for guitar building because they can make good instruments for a low price. Some people think that they're 'the new China' when it comes to build quality. But the truth is that Indonesian guitars are more consistent, although Chinese quality has improved a lot in the last few years.
Winner: Jackson USA Signature Adrian Smith San Dimas SD
Nut Material
If you want your guitar to stay in tune and sound good, you need a well cut nut. Nut quality can be inconsistent even when comparing two copies of the same model. The best way to make sure you're nut will be well done is by getting a nut made by an expert company like TUSQ or Micarta.
In this case, both have Locking nuts. Instead of a regular nut, this guitar has a locking system that will lock down the strings at the nut, preventing it from getting out of tune. It removes one of the disadvantages of tremolo bridges, tune stability.
Both models come with a retainer bar, which is helpful when changing the strings on a double-locking tremolo. Without it, the strings would change pitch once you lock down the nut, so you'd have to make more micro-adjustments at the bridge to tune it correctly
Winner: Tie.
Fret Material
Most fret wire is made of nickel silver. This material eventually wears down after a lot of use and most instruments end up needing a complete fret replacement. However, some expensive models come with stainless steel frets. This is what you should aim for if you can afford it.
In this comparison, the ESP LTD H3-1000FR is the only one that has stainless steel frets. These frets will basically last for the entire life of the guitar. They will never need polishing nor replacement. And not only that, but some people also notice that bending and vibratos are much easier to perform when they upgrade to stainless steel.
Winner: ESP LTD H3-1000FR.
Bridge
The perfect bridge for you will depend on your playstyle because they all have advantages and disadvantages. However, some bridges are more expensive—like Floyd Roses and Evertunes—and thus add more value to a guitar.
Both come with a similar bridge: Floyd Rose. This is a double-locking bridge system that allows you to perform techniques like dive bombs and pinch harmonics. The locking nut allows your guitar to stay in tune even after the most intense tremolo usage. The disadvantage is that it takes more work to change the strings and set up everything correctly.
Since we need to be objective, the most expensive type of bridge will be the winner of this section. In the end, this doesn't matter if you're not going to use the bridge for its original purpose, so choose the bridge that fits your playing style better.
Winner: Tie.
Tuners
Both come with regular tuners. The Jackson USA Signature Adrian Smith San Dimas SD's are Jackson Sealed Die-Cast while the ESP LTD H3-1000FR's are Grover
Winner: Tie.
Neck Joint
Contrary to popular belief, the difference in sustain and tone that some neck joints give to a guitar is simply unperceivable—if they're all well built. However, some of them do have advantages over the others.
The Jackson USA Signature Adrian Smith San Dimas SD has a Bolt-On neck joint. This neck is joined to the body by 4 bolts that you can simply unscrew. This allows you to replace the neck or take it off for travel. It's the most common and cheapest way to build a guitar.
On the other hand, the ESP LTD H3-1000FR comes with Set neck joint. This neck is tightly glued to the body. They give you the least versatility because you can't swap them for a neck that fits your hand better if you want to, unlike bolt-on necks. Some people think this gives more resonance and sustain, but there's no real difference if the bolt-on joint is well built.
Winner: Jackson USA Signature Adrian Smith San Dimas SD.
Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:
Jackson USA Signature Adrian Smith San Dimas SD
- Made in United States
- Expensive Wood
- Locking Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Tremolo
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Retainer Bar
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
ESP LTD H3-1000FR
- Stainless Steel Frets
- Expensive Wood
- Locking Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Coil Split Pickups
- Tremolo
- Retainer Bar
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in Indonesia
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Final Build Quality Scores
Playability Comparison
Let's now compare their playability. Bear in mind that the instrument will feel different depending on your hand size and play style. That's why you should always test before buying. But if you can't or want a second opinion on it, we can still take a look at each of the important measurements of the instrument for you. This way, we can predict how easy a guitar might be to play, or how different it will feel compared to the other.
Remember that, even though the difference might seem small, every inch counts when it comes to feeling of the instrument in your hands. Any variation can completely change how comfortable a guitar feels in your hands.
Nut Width
The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, the Jackson USA Signature Adrian Smith San Dimas SD has the wider nut with 42.9mm (1.688'') vs 42mm (1.654''). This is a 0.9mm (0.034'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Jackson USA Signature Adrian Smith San Dimas SD, especially closer to the nut. However, it's also easier to play without muting strings accidently. This favors people with big hands.
Scale Length
The scale length is one of the things that influences playability the most. This is the distance between the nut and the bridge and will affect everything from low action allowance, difficulty to perform bends, fret separation, and even tone.
In this case, both have a scale length of 25.5".
This is the scale used in most Stratocasters. It's slightly longer than the typical 24.75'' size found in Les Pauls, and it's one of the main reasons why Stratocasters have such a bright sound in general. A longer scale also means that the strings will have higher tension. This will help you get lower action without suffering fret buzz, which will also be helpful when playing in lower tunings without having to increase your string gauge.
However, this also means that there will be more separation between frets, which can make it more difficult to play. Also, bending the strings will require more strengths due to the increased tension, but remember that a tremolo guitar will offset this difficulty.
Lastly, remember that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge. You can use a thicker gauge for more tension and a lighter one for less tension.
Neck Profile
No single neck shape is better than others. However, most people tend to prefer a thinner necks because it doesn't get in their way when playing fast and most hand sizes can adapt to it pretty well. However, some people still prefer thicker necks for a better grip, especially if they have big hands.
In this case, both have different neck shapes:
The Jackson USA Signature Adrian Smith San Dimas SD has a D type of neck. This is a thin and flat neck that is made for playing fast. If you prefer a neck that doesn't get in your way when soloing, this is the shape you should use. Guitarists that prefer to have a bit more grip won't like this type of neck.
The ESP LTD H3-1000FR, on the other hand, has a U neck. This is also referred to as ''baseball neck'' because of its shape. It's usually thick, which is why some people with big hands like it. However, they can also be thin, similar to a C shape, but with more shoulders for a better grip.
Fretboard Radius
Most guitar fretboards are not flat; they usually have a curve or arc across their width. A curved fretboard will make it easier to perform chords without muting strings, while a flatter one will make it easier to play single notes, which is good for bending and soloing in general. The best fretboards have a compound radius that varies across the fingerboard, but they're not common since they take a lot more work to build.
In this case, the Jackson USA Signature Adrian Smith San Dimas SD is the only one with a compound radius. This is a huge win because it will give you the best of both worlds: a more curved radius in the first few frets for chords, and flatter as you come closer to the body for soloing.
Hand Size Comfortability
Everyone has a different hand size, and that's why it's recommended to try a guitar before buying, even if others tell you that it's comfortable to play. However, we can know whether a guitar favors small or large hands just by knowing its exact measurements.
After taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that both in this comparison favor small hands .
Jackson USA Signature Adrian Smith San Dimas SD:
ESP LTD H3-1000FR:
Fret Size
The ESP LTD H3-1000FR has XL Jumbo frets, which should be taller than the Jackson USA Signature Adrian Smith San Dimas SD's Jumbo frets.
Some people prefer taller frets because they result in more sustain since the strings get pressed cleanly without interference from the fretboard. However, if they're too tall—like Jumbo frets—, you might change the pitch of the strings accidentally if you press too hard because you won't be touching the fretboard with your fingers. This is also why some guitarists with a heavy grip prefer smaller frets. They like to feel the fingerboard to avoid pressing down too hard and getting out of pitch.
