ESP LTD EXP-200 Lefty

1999 made LEFTY old-style explorer. made in good ole korea. 22 frets, 1 vol, 1 tone, 3-way switch. 2 duncan designed hums (passive). The body is mahogany and the bolt-on (i hate that f_kin word!) neck is maple. Finish is black, really deep black, but it likes to get alot of scuff marks. as i said, explorer body style, exept w/o the pickguard like gibson likes to rape their explorers with. Tune-o-matic bridge and no-name tuners which really arent that good at all. relativly thin neck, really good for lead playing, and what suprised me is its good for fast rhythm too. Got a gig-bag and a bunch of other cool shit from drumcityguitarland. Its a good guitar but it wasnt made for a bunch of stuff to tweak, one of the reasons i bought it.

Im going to give a two part review here. first part is with stock pickups. second is with new ones.

with the stock pickups, this guitar sounded really thin and cheesy. i couldnt believe this is what a ltd would sound like stock. the highs were harsh as hell, noisy, lots of feedback. im using a peavey revolution 112 with only a dod stereo chorus in the fx loop. it sounded really good clean though, but i wouldnt buy a guitar like this to play strictly clean shit on.

BUT, i switched out the stock pickups with EMGs, 85b and used 60n. major improvement. now its got a really fat, full, crunchy yet smooth, killer tone to it. it sounds very much like Slayer's Seasons in the Abyss. It suits my style well (old thrash metal, mixed with some other influences). not noisy at all. not only does it have a good dist sound with the new pu's, the clean sound is un-beatable. you can really play anything on this guitar now. i would give it a 9 or maybe a 10 with the new pu's, but the rating im giving it reflects how it came stock, how someone else would get it if they bought it new.

As far as how the guitar was set up from the factory- I dont know. It was shipped to me in Austin from Colorado. As far as how it was built- very well. the bridge is good, cant complain about the frets, the finish isnt the best but this guitar didnt cost that much either. One thing i do have to comment on is the tuners. they suck. I cant play through half of a song without going out of tune.

i think this guitar is pretty solid. seems like it would do live playing pretty well. the finish may wear off, but i will just get a new one by then. the strap buttons have been replaced with strap locks, so no problem there. i could depend on it pretty well.

Ive never dealt with them, but ive heard they are quite slow. but its not like their big assholes like ed roman.

Ive been playing for 2 1/2 years, and besides this axe i use a heavily modded lefty epi paul standard. If stolden or lost- well thats not going to happen: 1. i have the serial number --and-- 2. really how many people do you know have a Lefty ltd exp-200? i dont think i would have a hard time finding it again. I love how this guitar plays, and sounds with the new pickups. I only wish it were set or neck-thru and had better tuners. my favorite feature is the shape, not only does it look killer, but it fits me well meaning its the best feeling guitar ive played. I didnt really compare this guitar with any others cause of the gibbo/ESP lawsuit, i just wanted an old style explorer before i was screwed.

overall this guitar is pretty good. its not the best in the world though, some reviewers need to realize just cause its the guitar James uses its not the best out there. i really would have expected more from esp or ltd, but with the mods ive made im pretty satisfied with it. now all i need is a lefty bc rich kkv!