r/espguitars

Got the ESP LTD EC-1000 CARS from Thomann last week and I have not really been able to put it down since. The candy apple red satin finish looks even better in person and reminds me a lot of the ESP Original Series Lava Red, which I have been eyeing for a while. I can live without the lava texture given the relatively lower price of the LTD. The dark fingerboard without inlays is a perfect match for the overall aesthetic. I don't think I have to ramble about the playability of an EC-1000 in this sub ;).

The active voicings of the Seymour Duncan Mortal Coils are a strong contender against the Fishman Moderns. More versatile in my opinion. Having the classic JB/Jazz set available via push/pull is just priceless. I will put them in one of my ESP Standard Series Eclipses as well.
Some minor QC comments, but not warranting a return IMHO: one bridge humbucker screw was loose (10 second fix). A small line-form dent in the finish at the neck joint, about 1 cm. I am taking it as the first cosmetic characteristic of a guitar that is going to be played a lot (plus peace of mind from trying to avoid a first dent). Frets are filed well but I still feel the edges slightly more than on my other ESPs. I will have the fret ends filed at some point, but I forget about it after 5 minutes of playing anyways.

It plays like a dream. Had to bring you guys a few more riffs with it, hope you don’t mind.

Found this listed for $500 on fb market place but this looks fake to me. I checked out serial number and could be legit serial number but im not expert enough to tell. Looks like early 2000 model

I've always been amazed at the quality of the ESP/E2/LTD. I have a Gary Holt LTD. I decided to buy my dream guitar the E2 EX NT. Sadly when it arrived I didn't get along with it. I found it very light although the tone was impeccable and the neck too. I sold this and then this week bought the E2 MH2 with some type of P90s. This is more like what I'm used and the tone is very tight and the guitar is a breeze to play.

About a month ago I decided I wanted a standard scale 6-string with active pickups. Since I've been so happy with my other LTDs and my budget was about $1k USD, I decided to look for an EC-1000. I looked at tons of used ones, probably at least a hundred, across Reverb, eBay, and Craigslist and just couldn't find anything that was the right combination of finish, features, and price.

I eventually popped over the ESP website to take a look at what else was available and the EC-400QM immediately jumped out as an option with the caveat of me being extremely picky about quilted tops. The only ones I like are the ones where the quilting is fairly loose, for lack of a better word, almost looking more like burl poplar than quilted maple. I also wasn't a fan of it having nickel silver frets instead of stainless, but that's far from a deal breaker. The other spec differences (like having 22 frets and not having a locking bridge and tailpiece) aren't things that are super important to me. And I think simpler appointments, like the single-ply binding and cleaner looking headstock, look especially good.

Looking around at new ones, mostly on Reverb, there was indeed quite a lot of variety when it came to the quilting. Some I found outright repulsive. Others were better but still not really to my taste. I found exactly one on that was perfect and bought it without hesitation.

It showed up yesterday and I'm quite happy. There are two relatively minor QC issues I should draw attention to: 1) a small rough spot on the neck binding at the edge of where the finish stops, and 2) the toggle switch intermittently cuts out when I switch to the bridge position. The rough spot took about 5 minutes to smooth out, starting with 600 grid sandpaper and moving up through micro mesh pads until it felt right. For the toggle switch, I checked the solder joints and everything looks fine so I'm assuming it's just a faulty switch. I messaged the seller and asked if he'd give me a small partial refund to cover buying a higher quality switch and he gave it to me without hesitation. I ordered a black Centralab switch which should be here in a few days.

Out-of-the-box playability was pretty darn good. The setup was almost exactly how I usually set things up, I just needed to make two small changes (swap the 10-46 D'Addarios for 9-46 Paradigms and raise the bass side action a smidge), then I set the intonation and now it's good to go. The fret work on this one is particularly good; I couldn't find anything even the slightest bit off. If the seller had told me it had been Plek'ed, I'd have believed it.

Anyway, it sounds great, plays great, and looks great. I'm thrilled.

My LTD-1000 Eclipse, absolute beast

Haven't seen horizons 3s here a lot, so here is my Beauty.

Out of all my guitars (Kramer V, Fender Strat 1958 MIJ and a Harley Benton Max Fusion) this is my go to. Playability and build quality are soooo nice. I love it.

Got this RARE! ESP LTD KH-SE metallic green burst in a trade. (only 300 made in this color) traded a Solar AB2.6ET ROP for it. Let me know what you guys think, has esp designed covered passive pickups - gonna swap em out for the bone breakers soon!

Not sure if we have many Whitechapel fans in here but figured I’d show off these two beauties I bought from Alex Wade himself!

They will need some serious TLC, but I think they’re going to be just fine!

LTD SCT-607B & a LTD AW7 prototype with a 26.25” scale instead of the normal 25.5” scale on the production models!

I’m a Ibanez guy and was scrolling marketplace when this caught my eye love the color of it but haven’t been to deep into esp or ltd’s guitars so idk what I’m supposed to be looking for seemed kinda odd to me any help would be much appreciated

That's them, says it on the headstock

Posted my low/mid end Sterling Music Man John Petrucci signature 7 string on marketplace about a month ago and this guy really needed an extra 7 and had multiple LTD’s he was willing to trade for it. He was aware that there’s about a $500 price difference between the 2 and a big quality difference with the Sterling being the cheaper of the 2 but he was cool with it! I have had my MH400 for like 15 years and I LOVE it so I was all over it. I was between an H3 Deluxe or this EC-1000 Deluxe. Initially I wanted the H3 but thought about how all y’all love the EC’s so figured I’d give it a try and see what all the hype is about lol. It’s a 2015 model W serial number Korean made! Haven’t really got to play it much yet (just got it an hour ago) and it’s pretty nasty just from not being played and sitting in its case but I’m so looking forward to cleaning it up. And it sounds amazing as is! I got so lucky, I feel like I’ve found the deal or a lifetime for what I gave. What do y’all think?!

Spent almost 3 hours cleaning it up today and I’m very impressed and content with the way it plays and sounds. The gold hardware was tarnished (surface) it was very satisfying to wipe that all clean and the frets had rust/corrosion too I spent a lot of time with 0000 steel wool on them and it turned out great. Only thing I personally don’t like is the way the single cut feels on my body when I’m sitting down playing. I only ever play sitting down and I hunch over a lot and the small horn on my leg is-well, kinda small compared to strat style bodies and the top side kinda digs into my ribs. Obviously that’s just the nature of a LP body lol I’m not really complaining just an observation. It will not deter me from playing it at all. I’ve only ever played strat styles so it’s just new to me. I switched to my MH400 after playing this for a while and it honestly felt so much more comfortable sitting down. But it’s an amazing guitar I’m very happy and thankful and looking forward to enjoying it for years to come.

Arrived from Sweetwater yesterday. Feels sort of like a Les Paul Custom but with all the modern LTD stuff going on.

Been eyeing this on market a few days, only thing that has me feeling off is the serial number. Says made in Indonesia, but serial starts with CI. Can’t find any others of these with a serial like that, or been able to find the guitar via serial number search. Haven’t seen in person but it’s a fair price for a Black Metal M LTD if it’s legit. What do you folks think?