As lead guitarist for legendary thrash metal band Testament, Alex Skolnick has high standards for his instruments. So, it's no surprise that the result of his collaboration with ESP has produced some incredible instruments that are equal parts shred-happy, great-sounding, easy to play and durable.

The AS-1 is the stripped-down, entry-level model of Skolnick's signature models, but it's still an instrument capable of greatness. It offers a mahogany body with a maple top finished in silverburst, set mahogany neck, 24.75" scale and 22 extra-jumbo frets on a rosewood fingerboard on a U-shaped neck. And a pair of Seymour Duncan SH-4 (B) & SH-1 (N) pickups pushes killer tone down your signal path. A TonePros tune-o-matic bridge and tailpiece anchor the strings to the body while Gotoh tuners keep everything cinched down and in-tune through heavy crunches and string-stretching leads.