Best Set Neck ESP Electric Guitars in 2023
Here you'll find the best Set Neck ESP electric guitars. This type of neck joint consists of using different pieces of wood for the neck and the body of the guitar. Both pieces are then glued together. This is more expensive to make than a bolt-on neck, but it's cheaper than a neck-through guitar. Some people believe that this gives more sustain than a bolt-on neck due to both pieces having a 'better connection' than with bolts. Still, it's something difficult to prove.
However, this type of neck joint does have the disadvantage of not allowing you to easily swap the neck for another. This makes this type of neck joint less mod-friendly.
Out of the more than 2000 guitars in our database, these are the best scoring ones. You can use our filters to the left to narrow down these results, or click on "Compare" to get a deep comparison between them. Our automated scoring system takes into account the ratings from ours users who own the guitar, and dozens of parameters to determine the build quality, playability, pickups quality, value for money, and more.
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1. ESP Horizon FR CTM
- From ESP's 2020 Horizon series
- Made in Japan
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 12" Fretboard Radius
- Burled Maple top
- Honduras Mahogany body
- 3pc Maple neck
- Ebony fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Seymour Duncan Custom Shop '59/JB Hybrid Trembucker (Humbucker/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Seymour Duncan Custom Shop '59/Jazz Hybrid (Humbucker/Passive)
- 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
- 3-way Switch
- Floyd Rose Original bridge
- Thin U Set neck
- 24 XL Jumbo frets
- Gotoh Locking tuners
- Compare Specs >
ESP Horizon FR CTM
- Locking Tuners
- Made in Japan
- Expensive Wood
- Locking Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Coil Split Pickups
- Tremolo
- Strap Lock
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Retainer Bar
All Prices
2. ESP FRX CTM

Player Feedback
- Pickups noise: Slightly Noisy (2 votes)
- Pickups power: Hot (2 votes)
- From ESP's 2020 FRX series
- Made in Japan
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 12" Fretboard Radius
- Burled Maple top
- Mahogany body
- 3pc Maple neck
- Ebony fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Seymour Duncan Nazgul (Humbucker/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Seymour Duncan Sentient (Humbucker/Passive)
- 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
- 3-way Switch
- Floyd Rose Original bridge
- Thin U Set neck
- 24 XL Jumbo frets
- Gotoh Locking tuners
- Compare Specs >
ESP FRX CTM
- Locking Tuners
- Made in Japan
- Expensive Wood
- Locking Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Coil Split Pickups
- Tremolo
- Strap Lock
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Retainer Bar
All Prices
3. ESP Horizon NT CTM
- From ESP's 2020 Horizon series
- Made in Japan
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 12" Fretboard Radius
- Burled Maple top
- Honduras Mahogany body
- 3pc Maple neck
- Ebony fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Seymour Duncan Custom Shop '59/JB Hybrid (Humbucker/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Seymour Duncan Custom Shop '59/Jazz Hybrid (Humbucker/Passive)
- 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
- 3-way Switch
- Gotoh TOM & Tailpiece bridge
- Thin U Set neck
- 24 XL Jumbo frets
- Gotoh Locking tuners
- Compare Specs >
ESP Horizon NT CTM
- Locking Tuners
- Made in Japan
- Expensive Wood
- Bone Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Coil Split Pickups
- Strap Lock
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Weight Relief
- No Tremolo
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
All Prices
4. ESP FRX
- From ESP's 2017 FRX series
- Made in Japan
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 12" Fretboard Radius
- Alder body
- 3pc Maple neck
- Ebony fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Bare Knuckle Painkiller (Humbucker/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Bare Knuckle Painkiller (Humbucker/Passive)
- 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
- 3-way Switch
- Floyd Rose Original bridge
- Slim U Set neck
- 24 XL Jumbo frets
- Gotoh Locking tuners
- Compare Specs >
ESP FRX
- Locking Tuners
- Made in Japan
- Expensive Wood
- Locking Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Tremolo
- Strap Lock
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Retainer Bar
All Prices
5. ESP Alex Skolnick FR
- From ESP's 2016 Signature series
- Made in Japan
- 6 strings
- 24.75"'' scale
- 12" Fretboard Radius
- Flamed Maple top
- Mahogany body
- 3pc Maple neck
- Rosewood fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Seymour Duncan AS Signature (Humbucker/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Seymour Duncan AS Signature (Humbucker/Passive)
- 2 volume and 1 tone Speed knobs
- 3-way Switch
- Floyd Rose Original bridge
- Custom U Set neck
- 22 XL Jumbo frets
- Grover tuners
- Compare Specs >
ESP Alex Skolnick FR
- Made in Japan
- Expensive Wood
- Locking Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Coil Split Pickups
- Tremolo
- Strap Lock
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Retainer Bar
All Prices
6. ESP Mystique CTM
- From ESP's 2020 Mystique series
- Made in Japan
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 12" Fretboard Radius
- Burled Maple top
- Honduras Mahogany body
- Honduras Mahogany neck
- Honduras Rosewood fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Seymour Duncan Custom Shop '59/JB Hybrid (Humbucker/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Seymour Duncan Custom Shop '59/Jazz Hybrid (Humbucker/Passive)
- 1 volume and 1 tone Bell knobs
- 3-way Switch
- Tonepros Locking TOM & Gotoh Tailpiece bridge
- Thin U Set neck
- 24 XL Jumbo frets
- Gotoh Locking tuners
- Compare Specs >
ESP Mystique CTM
- Locking Tuners
- Made in Japan
- Expensive Wood
- Bone Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Strap Lock
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Weight Relief
- No Tremolo
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
All Prices
7. ESP Iron Cross

Player Feedback
- Pickups noise: Slightly Noisy (1 vote)
- Pickups power: Hot (1 vote)
- From ESP's 2014 Signature series
- Made in Japan
- 6 strings
- 24.75"'' scale
- 12" Fretboard Radius
- Maple top
- Mahogany body
- 1Pc Mahogany neck
- Ebony fretboard
- Bridge pickup: EMG JH James Hetfield (Humbucker/Active)
- Neck pickup: EMG JH James Hetfield (Humbucker/Active)
- 2 volume and 1 tone Bell knobs
- 3-way Switch
- Tonepros Locking TOM & Tailpiece bridge
- Thin U Set neck
- 22 XL Jumbo frets
- Sperzel Locking tuners
- Compare Specs >
ESP Iron Cross
- Locking Tuners
- Made in Japan
- Expensive Wood
- Bone Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Strap Lock
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Weight Relief
- No Tremolo
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
All Prices
8. ESP Gary Holt EC

Player Feedback
- Pickups noise: Noiseless (7 votes)
- Pickups power: Clean (4 votes)
- From ESP's 2015 Signature series
- Made in Japan
- 6 strings
- 24.75"'' scale
- 12" Fretboard Radius
- Maple top
- Mahogany body
- 1Pc Mahogany neck
- Ebony fretboard
- Bridge pickup: EMG 81 (Humbucker/Active)
- Neck pickup: EMG 89R (Humbucker/Active)
- 2 volume and 0 tone Dome knobs
- 3-way Switch
- Floyd Rose Original bridge
- Thin U Set neck
- 22 XL Jumbo frets
- Gotoh tuners
- Compare Specs >
ESP Gary Holt EC
- Made in Japan
- Expensive Wood
- Locking Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Coil Split Pickups
- Tremolo
- Strap Lock
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Retainer Bar
All Prices
9. ESP Snakebyte Camo

Player Feedback
- Pickups noise: Slightly Noisy (1 vote)
- Pickups power: Hot (1 vote)
- From ESP's 2022 Signature series
- Made in Japan
- 6 strings
- 24.75"'' scale
- 12" Fretboard Radius
- Mahogany body
- 1Pc Mahogany neck
- Ebony fretboard
- Bridge pickup: EMG JH James Hetfield (Humbucker/Active)
- Neck pickup: EMG JH James Hetfield (Humbucker/Active)
- 2 volume and 0 tone Dome knobs
- 3-way Switch
- Tonepros Locking TOM & Tailpiece bridge
- Thin U Set neck
- 22 XL Jumbo frets
- Sperzel Locking tuners
- Compare Specs >
ESP Snakebyte Camo
- Locking Tuners
- Made in Japan
- Expensive Wood
- Bone Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Strap Lock
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Weight Relief
- No Tremolo
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
All Prices
10. ESP Vulture

Player Feedback
- Pickups noise: Slightly Noisy (1 vote)
- Pickups power: Hot (1 vote)
- From ESP's 2016 Signature series
- Made in Japan
- 6 strings
- 24.75"'' scale
- 12" Fretboard Radius
- Mahogany body
- 1Pc Mahogany neck
- Ebony fretboard
- Bridge pickup: EMG JH James Hetfield (Humbucker/Active)
- Neck pickup: EMG JH James Hetfield (Humbucker/Active)
- 2 volume and 0 tone Dome knobs
- 3-way Switch
- Tonepros Locking TOM & Tailpiece bridge
- Thin U Set neck
- 22 XL Jumbo frets
- Gotoh Locking tuners
- Compare Specs >
ESP Vulture
- Locking Tuners
- Made in Japan
- Expensive Wood
- Bone Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Strap Lock
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Weight Relief
- No Tremolo
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio