ESP LTD EC-1000

All the features for this are on the ESP website and have ben gone into great detail here. I have the ASB model with the Duncans and it is fantastic. In terms of hardware and materials its a prefect 10.

Awesome. I play death metal, emo, rock ect and this guitar sounds perfect in all regards for whatever im doing. Great lows and mids, highs aernt too harsh or brittle. I also demo-ed the black model with EMG's, that was also phenominal in the tone dept, abliet different.

This guitar can be setup very well, no complaints. The body is thinner than a Gibson LP, i like it but some players may not.

Ok, this is where we go downhill quick. The alalone that ESP uses it real brittle and is cracking and falling off in spots. I've only had this S.O.B. for 3 weeks and i can already tell that i wont be gigging it.

To the Guys at ESP, kill the abalone on the neck, it looks kinda gaudy anyway.

I havent spoken to them yet, i may just get some abalone from stew-mac, fix it and trade it in on an ESP standard Viper.

Im gonna give this sucker a low rating becasue of the abalone, but it is a really nice axe in all other respects. ESP is a great compant and i plan on buying from them again, and this time gettin what i really want.

2004 Made, See-Through Black Cherry (Which means Dual EMG 81's). The binding is nice, as I have no problems with mine. The flamed maple top is AMAZING. Like others have said, the picture does not describe how great this thing looks! My only gripe is the black hardware. I would have prefered chrome, but thats just me. The rosewood fretboard is a bit grainy, but it still plays great. The neck is also great. Nice and thin. I own a Gibson with a 60's style thin taper neck, and this neck is much faster in my opinion. The abalone inlays were annoying at first, but I've grown to like them. Extremely comfortable to play. Not heavy like a Les Paul, but still sturdy.

I play a wide variety of rock music including things like Metallica, Sabbath, Zeppelin, STP, Hendrix, Van Halen, and some newer mainstream stuff (I know, I know). Some country and blues as well. Great for thrashy metal, which is what I use it for. If I wanted to play country, I'll use my Strat. Its that simple. This IS a metal guitar. No questions asked. I'm running it through a JCM2000 TSL100 /w a Mesa oversized 4x12 and it sounds great! I had to ease back on my treble and put a bit more mid into my EQ at first, but other than that is sounds great. Like I said before, its built for rock, but you can always roll back on the tone, and get some decent jazzy tones out of it. If you don't want a metal sound, don't buy the one with EMG's. It's as simple as that... Still undecided on the 81 in the neck. I've got an extra 85 laying around that I just found that will be in there as soon as I change the strings. The bridge and neck just sound too similar, especially when playing rhythm stuff.

It was set up great from the factory. Action was perfect for my liking. Only thing I had to adjust was the bridge pickup height, which I brought up a bit. Garbage strings, which is completely normal. I changed them immediately. The maple top was match quite well. Better than my Gibson anyways. Nothing else I have noticed yet.

Definately reliable. Harware looks solid. Finish looks nice and thick. It is my main live axe now, but of course I bring a backup. I use all 4 of my current guitars live now, because of the range of sound that I like to have, but this one gets the most use.

Never had to deal with them. Hopefully never will.

I've been playing for 6 years. I own a Gibson Les Paul Classic 1960 reissue, an American Series Strat, an cheap Ibanez /w EMG 81 & 60 (For lower tunings). If it were lost, I would definately buy it agian. To me, it is more comfortable to play than my Gibson, and suits my style a bit better. Gibson-like quality, with the sound I need, for a price of less than half of what I paid for my Les Paul. In a perfect world, it would have came from the factory with an Ebony fretboard, no inlays, chrome hardware, 2 tone knobs, and a EMG 85 or 60 in the neck. Unfortunately, I don't have $6000 for an ESP from the Custom Shop, nor would I spend that much if I could. All in all, an amazing bang for your buck, from a very reputable company, with quality that is comparable to, if not exceeding guitars in the $2000+ price range. This ones a definate keeper.

2004 EC-1000, you know the specs i'm sure. I have the black one, took a chance and ordered it without ever playing one.

It is a little heavier then I expected, I was expecting a cheap light weight feel. So being a little heavy and having EMG 81'S, it has a bright sound. I really needed to mess with my amp to get a decent sound. I have a real Zakk Wylde Les Paul and they really are bright. You will definatley want to add some bass/mids. The 81 in the neck sucks, what the hell were they thinking?!

The guitar came set up well, the action is low and the neck is fast

This is already one of my main guitars. It seems to be built to last, somebody on here said the pictures don't do it justice...they're right! Just awesome to look at.

hopefully wont find out

I have been playing for 15 years and have tried a little of everything. The only thing I know now is that I hate a tremelo systems. I have also bought a Shecter C-1 classic, which is great, but this guitar is better. This EC-1000 is real close quality-wise to my Les Paul, thats staggering and it makes me ill. Its not $2000 nicer, that I promise you. If you decide to get one, you wont be dissapointed.

I just purchased the LTD EC 1000 with the amber sunburst finish and the two Seymour Duncan pickups. When I opened the case my jaw hit the floor. The guitar looks great on the website but when you see this guitar in person it will capture your attention. The paint job is beautiful and the craftmenship makes this guitar look expensive.

I played it for the first time last night in a venue that required lots of sound. I always use my Fender Double Fat at shows. I warmed up in sound check with the LTD just in case I needed to use it. When it came time to play I stayed with the Fender because of comfortability. Sure enough I broke a string after the first song. The LTD came off the bench and Kicked Ass! This guitar sounded amazing. Needless to say it won't be sitting on the bench any longer. I loved it.

The action is perfect for my likiing. The sound from the Seymour Duncan's were fat and warm and yet they cut through the mix. This is a fantastic guitar. I now understand why there is such a wait for these things. If you have to wait to purchase this guitar it is worth it.

Between this and my Fender and my 335 I now have a complete arsenal of tone.

I play rock with a cold play vibe and this guitar handles that type of sound very well. I'm sure I could get a lot more out of it. Haven't had the privilege of moving into other venues of sound yet.

I highly recommend this guitar. It's really not necessary to go out and spend $2000 on a guitar when you can get one like this for under a $1000 and get the same results. Don't pay for the big names. The LTD can hold its own. Even with the big boys.

The set up was perfect when I got the guitar. Great action. The neck is perfect. And the finish is amazing. I haven't seen the cherry finish or the black in person but if they are anything like the sunburst than you are in for a treat.

Feels very solid.

Haven't had to go there yet

I've been playing for 25 years and have owned a lot of guitars. This is definetly in my top 5 of all time.

My only complaint about the guitar has to do with all the abalony. There is a lot of it on the guitar. I wish they would make one without so much abalony. Other than that it is a perfect guitar. This is just a minor thing.

I've had my EC-1000 for about 2 months. Since I'm not a strictly metal player, I got the much less metally-looking sunburst finish; with the Duncan pickups. It's made in Korea, and has nice binding all around its 24 fret neck and body. Apparently, it has a TonePros bridge, no idea what that is. For the pickups, it has a JB in the bridge and a '59 in the neck. It's all mahogany, with a maple top. The Sperzel tuners are really nice, they make changing strings incredibly simple. Unfortunately, it didn't come with a case, but that's ok because you're already getting quite a lot of things for $700. Since it has the Les Paul body shape, it doesn't have the best high fret access, but if you stretch your fingers you'll reach just fine.

I play pretty much everything, from classic rock from the 60s and 70s to country to metal. Unfortunately, the amp I use is a crappy 15 watt combo that can magically make any guitar sound like utter shit. Ocassionaly, i get a chance to play on tube amps, and it sounds great. Sometimes I run my amp from the FX loop to my computer, and then use the Guitar FX Box program for effects. Even with my terrible amp, the guitar sounds nice. It has a fat, full sound that approximates a Les Paul tone. Sustains forever. The JB is too noisy for my tastes and doesn't give enough output for high gain solos, so I'm planning on replacing it soon. For non-metal purposes, it works just fine. The 59 in the neck is good for clean, jazzy playing; with a fat, mellow sound. This guitar can cover a wide spectrum of tones, with some EQ / tone tweaking. Plugging it into a tube Marshall plexi, i got a really awesome sound that's reminiscent of 70's rock tones; with my 15 watter i can get any sort of crazy metal sounds out of it. The 24 fret neck lets you go really high, and it's good for fast, shreddy solos.

The factory setup was good: it was perfectly intonated, though I lowered the action to my taste. Anyway, I'm not going to bitch about the factory setup because I changed it all within a week anyway. The guitar is beautiful, its maple top is better than most Gibsons i tried, although nowhere near a PRS level (not that I'm expecting it to be). When I looked at this guitar in the ESP catalog, I thought the guitar had way too much binding, but it looks a LOT better in person than on photos. The binding and inlays are nice, and i found only 1 minor flaw in the binding. The 16th fret buzzes a bit, but you probably shouldn't set your action that low anyway. I haven't discovered any other flaws yet.

I have not used it live yet, but it seems like it would withstand live playing just fine. It feels solid. I haven't had problems with the finish yet, and it still looks nice and shiny. Strap buttons are OK, i might replace them with locking ones to be safe. Since I've only had this guitar for 2 months, I wont comment on the durability.

No idea. I usually fix guitars myself.

Overall, this guitar is awesome. It is definately one of the best deals i've found in the price range. I like it more than all the $500-$800 instruments i've found so far, and it sounds way better than the faded Gibsons; don't pay for the big name. It can compare to more expensive guitars: it sounds a lot like a Les Paul Classic, at half the cost. It's no LP Custom, but its great. I've been playing for about 3-4 years maybe, and I also own 2 cheap acoustics and a cheap Musicyo.com Kramer guitar which was my first. It feels kind of weird playing the EC, since I'm more used to Strat-style guitars, but I'll probably get used to it. If it was stolen, I would certainly like to replace it, but I'm poor and I doubt I could scrounge up another $700. For those who can't afford a Gibson, this is certainly a good way to go.

ESP LTD Deluxe EC-1000. Had it for about 2-3 months now. 24 extra jumbo frets. Two volume knobs - one for each pickup - and one tone knob with a 3-way selector. It has two EMG 81 active pickups. Mahogany body, 3-piece mahogany/rosewood neck. TonePros bridge. Sperzel Locking Tuners. 24.75" neck scale. I got it in the black and it looks gorgeous.

This guitar really sounds great. I play mostly metal/hard rock, with stuff like Metallica and Dream Theater, and my band's stuff tends to lean in that direction. This guitar fits my style perfectly, and the EMG 81 in the bridge has a great crunch to it and it sounds killer. The 81 in the neck surprised me somewhat, as the clean is very bright and it has a nice, smooth tone for distorted leads. That said, I will most likely be changing the neck pickup to an EMG 60 or 85 soon, since I do want a nicer clean sound and I don't like having two of the same pickups in the bridge and neck.

This guitar, surprisingly, can cover a pretty nice variety of sounds. Obviously, it is intended for pure metal as that is what the 81 does best. But rolling back the guitar volume and using the middle or neck pickup selection can actually give you a fair amount of options with the sound. Still, it does heavy music best and if you play something other than hard rock or metal, you'll want to look elsewhere.

I think this guitar sounds perfect for my tastes. I guess I can't give it a 10, since no guitar is absolutely perfect, but this one fits my playing style. I don't have any big complaints about the sound.

When I received this guitar, the action seemed to be just fine. It plays great and is fast. The pickups were also fine. I didn't find any flaws with the guitar when I received it.

I haven't played this guitar at a live gig yet, but I have played with it at band practices and have had no problems. It seems like a very sturdy guitar and very dependable. One thing that I really like about this guitar is its weight. Most guitars of this body style (Les Paul-style) are very heavy, but the EC-1000 really isn't. It's not super light, but it's nicely in the middle and is comfortable to play standing up.

One problem I noticed with the strap buttons is that, because of the strap I use (PlanetWaves locking strap), they tend to unscrew a little. I guess if I used real straplocks this wouldn't be a problem, as the PlanetWaves strap locks right onto the buttons and turns a lot, so I guess it's easy for the button to get unscrewed a little. But, it's not a big problem and doesn't happen often. Nothing a screwdriver can't fix quickly.

As far as playing a gig without a backup, I probably would have no problem with that. I think it's a very reliable guitar, although playing without a backup is always risky. It's up to the player in the end, but I think this guitar will perform very well live.

Haven't had to deal with them yet.

Overall, this guitar is an excellent deal. It can easily compete with many other guitars in its price range and above it. I've only been playing for a year and a few months and this is my second guitar - first was a starter Ibanez. If this was stolen or lost, I think I would definitely buy it again. I really love it. I pretty much like everything about this guitar. The only problem would be the pickups, I guess. It seems like a lot of people change the 81 in the neck for something else, and I'll probably be doing the same soon.

I spent months searching for the guitar I wanted, and considered a few. The main one that I was thinking of getting before this was the Jackson SLSMG. That's a very good guitar, and its neck is, I think, a little faster than the EC-1000's. But, overall, it just doesn't match up to this guitar. It's very basic, especially because it has two EMG HZ pickups, and it costs around $900. I planned on buying that guitar and switching out BOTH of the pickups for active EMGs, and then I found the EC-1000. I'm glad I did. Not only did I save a lot of money this way ($150 on the guitar alone, then another $150 or so at least on pickups), but I prefer the way this guitar plays and feels to the SLSMG.

If you are interested in this guitar, I would highly recommend it. The price is almost unbeatable for the features and sound you get. As I said, this can easily compete with many similarily-and-higher-priced guitars.

This is an updated review from the one I posted several months ago. The features can clearly be seen all over this page. I have th black LTD EC-1000. Made in Korea, 24 frets, EMG 81's, TonePros bridge, Sperzel tuners, abalone inlays, 3 way toggle switch with 2 independant volumes, but only one tone knob. This was my only grievance with it's features when I first received it. It'd be nice to have two tone knobs, but oh well no big.

Well this guitars sound kills. Active pickups, what more can you say? I am using this along with my Gibson Les Paul Studio and I am playing through a Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier amp through a Mesa Boogie slanted 4x12 cab and I am also playing it through a Line 6 Flextone III amp. As you can expect I play harder stuff, and I must admit this guitar suits my style great. I did replace the neck pick up with an EMG 85 though, because the neck EMG 81 just wasn't doing it for me as far as cleans go and I wasn't into the sound coming from the neck pick up in general. I would highly suggest throwing an EMG 85 in the neck. This guitar is out to do some damage with an EMG 85 in neck.

The action was set pretty nice and low when I got it, but after a oouple days I noticed some buzzing coming from the G string so I raised the action a bit and haven't had any problems since as far as action goes. The finish was beautiful to this day I love the glossy black finish of this guitar. I haven't had any intonation problems so that is holding up pretty well. I did come across another problem about a month after I received this guitar. When I plugged it in, if I moved just a little bit it would cut out and do those annoying pops through my cab. If I stood still no problems, but moving was a problem. I sent it to a local repair shop and was told that when I was plugging into the guitar jack the plug wasn't completely receiving the active pickup signal because one of the parts wasn't tight enough(I forgot all the jargon exactly but this a summary of sorts of what he told me). So he tightened it and all was good. This guitar is pretty well built but as you can see above did not come flawless.

This guitar seems pretty solid now that I have had some work done on it, but in general it is a very dependable guitar. Most guitars come across some problems, but I don't anticipate worrying anytime about this guitar. I did put a Dimarzio screw-in strap system just to play it safe and because they are rock solid.

I haven't dealt with them, but I have heard a mixed bag of good and bad. I hope it never comes to me finding out.

I have been playing guitar for 4 and a 1/2 years now and the guitar gear I own is a Yamaha acoustic, a Gibson Les Paul studio, the LTD EC-1000, a Line 6 Flextone III amplifier, and a Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier. If this guitar were lost or stolen I would definitely buy another one. I think this guitar is great for the price and ya gotta love the inclusion of active pick ups. Like I said the only features I wish it had was another tone knob and how about throwing an EMG 85 in the neck during production so we don't have to spend extra money. This guitar is great nonetheless.

a 24 fret quilt top cherry model... all the rest of the features are listed in other reviews...

this guitar rocks.... I play through a johnson millenium 150 with a cry baby wah.... thats it... I hear this guitar is built mainly for metal, but I have found that to be not true... this guitar can play ANYTHING and do it well... from creamy warm tones to kick you teeth in chops, it does it all... The emg 81 pickups are a little hot, so if your a sloppy player you will have to learn to clean up your riffs....I have played just about every guitar out there, and nothing comes close to this guitar for the price...

UNREAL....gorgous in every respect... the kind of craftsmanship on this guitar would cost you a couple grand on a gibson... all I can say is go check one out for yourself and you will fall in love....

this thing is built like a tank but definentally not as heavy as one... it can withstand just about anything you can throw at it...

never had to deal with them

I personally would take this guitar over a les paul anyday.... same craftmanship but at a price a normal person can afford....

Read below for the specifics. Mine's See-through-Cherry, and the quilt top is not bad. I've seen one's that are REALLY dark, but mine's a little brighter than what ESP shows on their website. As far as Les Paul knockoff's go, this has a lot of features you wouldn't find on a Paul, so I'm going high with my score on this.

I used to have EMG's in all my guitars back in the 80's, but I've gotten away from them for a while. It was refreshing hearing them again. I play mainly hard rock, and this works well in that regard. I was even suprised that it sounds very good clean too. The pickups are very sensitive, and tends to magnify hiss on high gain patches. I'm running mine through a Peavey Triple XXX half stack, and also through a Vamp Pro into my DAW for recording, and this guitar sounds rich, chunky, and pissed through both. I've owned Jacksons, Ibanez, and Les Pauls, and I must say that I'm more pleased with the sound of this guitar to all I've had before.

The action on this guitar is what sold me. When I had first seen this guitar I thought "oh great, just what the world needs, ANOTHER Les Paul copy", but when I picked it up, I noticed a few things. It's neck is longer and thinner than a Les Paul. I hate finished necks, but the more I played it, I really fell in love with the feel and playability of the neck! Strings felt looser and easy to bend. As far as finish, I'm relatively neutral. You should also know that I am EXTREMELY picky about workmanship, so take my opinion as you will. The binding is less than perfect, and in some areas it's easy to see where the stain was sprayed over it. The paint seems durable, but there are a few areas where dust is trapped in the paint. I'm not really crazy about the Abalone all over the guitar,(Although it's starting to grow on me) but it was applied well. Since it's a transparent color, I can see that the Mahogany isn't the highest grade, as you can see nicks and grain flaws that were cleared over. Either the truss cover was cut too long, or the screw hole was drilled a little off, since the cover is not flush with the neck, and is a little wedged against the nut, which leaves a gap. The hardware is top notch and seems very trustworthy. I really like the Shaller locking nuts. The nut was cut okay, but I'm going to need to cut the high E and B to make me a little happier. For the price, I can live with these little "character features".

I've always leaned towards Floyd Rose equipped guitars, so having a fixed bridge gives me a lot more confidence in it for live use. As stated above, ESP didn't skimp in the hardware department, so I think it should last a pretty fair amount of time. I haven't had a chance to run it through it's paces yet, but it seems like it's pretty trustworthy so far. My only beef, is that the battery compartment for the pickups is merely a small plate and 2 screws. It would have been nice for a drop-out battery box, but for the price I can live with it.

Wouln't know about their support. My dealer had no paperwork to give me for the guitar, as they take all new guitars out of the box and throw them up on the wall for display. Their site is a little vague about warranty info, but they do state "The ESP Limited Lifetime Warranty will cover defective parts ONLY within the first year from purchase date. Guitar must be purchased as NEW from an Authorized ESP Dealer and Warranty only applies to Original Owner. To receive Warranty Replacement parts, you must submit Proof of Purchase AND return your completed warranty card to ESP"

Hmmmm...How can you have a limited lifetime warranty that only lasts a year?

I really didn't want this guitar. I went to my local dealer to buy some recording stuff, and I picked the guitar up to mess around with until my salesman was done with his customer. After a few minutes with it I was having bad thoughts of walking out of the store with in fact, I DID leave the store without it, but I drove around the block and went back for it 5 minutes later! I've been playing for about 18 years now, and I have owned just about everything ever made. I've been on the "Ultimate axe" quest for the last 5 years, but I've been dissapointed with what's available. I should also mention that I've never been a big fan of the LTD line. Their stuff always seemed...cheap...somehow. I guess since I knew it was ESP's Korean line, I never gave them a chance. For the money, I feel relatively pleased with this guitar. Great hardware, good pickups, and an awesome neck. It's nice to see manufacturers throwing quality hardware on their guitars at a decent price point. If I had spent over $1500 on this guitar, I would have issues. The fact is, I paid half of that, and got something leauges better than the $2500 priced Gibsons that share similar flaws in quality. For rock, metal or jazz, this gets the job done well.

Read below for the specifics. Mine's See-through-Cherry, and the quilt top is not bad. I've seen one's that are REALLY dark, but mine's a little brighter than what ESP shows on their website. As far as Les Paul knockoff's go, this has a lot of features you wouldn't find on a Paul, so I'm going high with my score on this.

I used to have EMG's in all my guitars back in the 80's, but I've gotten away from them for a while. It was refreshing hearing them again. I play mainly hard rock, and this works well in that regard. I was even suprised that it sounds very good clean too. The pickups are very sensitive, and tends to magnify hiss on high gain patches. I'm running mine through a Peavey Triple XXX half stack, and also through a Vamp Pro into my DAW for recording, and this guitar sounds rich, chunky, and pissed through both. I've owned Jacksons, Ibanez, and Les Pauls, and I must say that I'm more pleased with the sound of this guitar to all I've had before.

The action on this guitar is what sold me. When I had first seen this guitar I thought "oh great, just what the world needs, ANOTHER Les Paul copy", but when I picked it up, I noticed a few things. It's neck is longer and thinner than a Les Paul. I hate finished necks, but the more I played it, I really fell in love with the feel and playability of the neck! Strings felt looser and easy to bend. As far as finish, I'm relatively neutral. You should also know that I am EXTREMELY picky about workmanship, so take my opinion as you will. The binding is less than perfect, and in some areas it's easy to see where the stain was sprayed over it. The paint seems durable, but there are a few areas where dust is trapped in the paint. I'm not really crazy about the Abalone all over the guitar,(Although it's starting to grow on me) but it was applied well. Since it's a transparent color, I can see that the Mahogany isn't the highest grade, as you can see nicks and grain flaws that were cleared over. Either the truss cover was cut too long, or the screw hole was drilled a little off, since the cover is not flush with the neck, and is a little wedged against the nut, which leaves a gap. The hardware is top notch and seems very trustworthy. I really like the Shaller locking nuts. The nut was cut okay, but I'm going to need to cut the high E and B to make me a little happier. For the price, I can live with these little "character features".

I've always leaned towards Floyd Rose equipped guitars, so having a fixed bridge gives me a lot more confidence in it for live use. As stated above, ESP didn't skimp in the hardware department, so I think it should last a pretty fair amount of time. I haven't had a chance to run it through it's paces yet, but it seems like it's pretty trustworthy so far.

Wouln't know about their support. My dealer had no paperwork to give me for the guitar, as they take all new guitars out of the box and throw them up on the wall for display. Their site is a little vague about warranty info, but they do state "The ESP Limited Lifetime Warranty will cover defective parts ONLY within the first year from purchase date. Guitar must be purchased as NEW from an Authorized ESP Dealer and Warranty only applies to Original Owner. To receive Warranty Replacement parts, you must submit Proof of Purchase AND return your completed warranty card to ESP"

Hmmmm...How can you have a limited lifetime warranty that only lasts a year?