ESP LTD EC-50

ltd's entry level lp copy. i have the titanium finish...24 frets.

you know, i was really surprised. for a cheap , import, with a bolt on neck, it's really not all that bad. they run about 210 bucks new.

the stock pups are kinda junk, i know i will replace them. they just don't have a lot of tone range...

setup was fine. it's comfortable with the body contours.

i got this slightly used, it just had some scuffing on the back plastic pieces, but otherwise fine. i'll prob. mod some of the stuff, i think it will last...

really good for the price you pay for it. i got a killer deal on this used. i'd say better than epiphones in the same price range, better than a squire, think something similar to ibanez in terms of what you get....it's a good entry/ mid level guitar. it could use some mods(better pups) but certainly worth putting some cash into and certainly gig worthy. it's a good metal/ rock guitar.

It was made 2004(?) in Indonesia. It has a 24 fret rosewood fretboard on a maple neck. It is a solid top, with two volume, one tone, and a 3 way switch. It has a H/H pickup configuration with two ESP LH-100 passive pickups. The body is agathis, and the neck is maple, and both are finished in black. The body shape is similar to a Les Paul shape, but more modern, with nice bevels and chamfers, which make it very comfortable to play. It has got an ordinary stop tailpiece fixed bridge and the tuners are stock, non-locking, ESP. The scale is 25.5 inches with jumbo frets on a pretty thin neck.
It came with an allen wrench for the truss rod, and a pretty much useless cable.

I play mostly rock, metal, and some bluesy stuff, and this guitar works very well for all three, or anything else I wanna do. I play it through an Ibanez tone blaster, with a Cry baby. It is dead silent on all settings. It makes no unwanted noises at all.
It has a nice full sound to it. Clean, it sounds pretty decent with the neck pickup. It has a nice bright tone to it, a lot like a Paul, actually. It is very versitle. It sounds really good whatever you're playing.

The setup from the factory was terrible. The action was extremley high, almost unplayable above the 10th fret. The pickups were poorly adjusted, and it had terrible fret buzz all over the neck, but especially at the 10th fret. I had it properly set up after I bought it and that took care of the majority of it's issues. Now it plays very nice, and the fret buzz is minimal. The finish on it is nearly flawless. It was done very well.
I give the factory setup a 3 at best, but I give the guitar a 9 now after it has been set up properly.

I think it could handle any type of live playing. It is a quality guitar, no doubt about it. The hardware is decent, and it stays in tune fairly well. The finish is really well done, and I think it's pretty tough and will last. The strap buttons... well they're strap buttons... I'll be replacing them with strap-locks.
Overall, I think it is a very solid, dependable guitar, which will last me for years and years. I'd feel comfortable using it at a gig without a backup.

I have not dealt with ESP myself, but I understand that they are very helpful/friendly. The store I ordered the guitar from took care of the problems that it had with it's setup from the factory.

I've been playing off and on for 11 years. I have another ESP, a viper-50, which I really like also. I liked it so much that I bought this one, and I am really happy with both. If it were stolen, I'd buy another for sure. Another reviewer commented on how heavy it is, and I agree, it is heavy. The Viper is also as heavy. It doesn't really bother me, though. All I really dislike on it is the nut, which is plastic. I will replace it along with the tuners eventually.
I really like how the guitar feel's when you play it. It is very comfortable to play standing or sitting. The balance of it is perfect, and the shape of the body is really cool.
I special ordered it, so I hadn't even played one until it arrived. I chose this one because I was so happy with the Viper.
ESP makes really good guitars. You cannot find a better guitar for $200 than this. I plan on buying a few others, and they will all be ESP's.

Standard LP features...

Stock, the EC50 sounds ok. The factory pups were warm and the tone was plesant. I replace the stock pups with a Duncan JB and a '59. Now the guitar screams. The guitar is tight and focused. Chords ring out well and the sustain is great. Clean sounds are warm and have a nice airy tone.

I ordered a Titanium EC50 from music123.com. When the guitar arived it was actually a metallic sage color. I contacted ESP, and they said that there must have been a off color batch of paint and that there may be as few as 100 in this color. I actually like the color so it worked out fine. The action was a bit high from the factory. I shimmed the neck and lowered the bridge- problem solved. If this had been a $1000 guitar I would have been upset, but for $200 I'm not going to complain.

I have gig regularly with the guitar and had no problems. I expect to have no issues in the future.

ESP, in my experience, has been plesant to deal with. When I called them about the color they were very cool... and even offerend to replace the guitar with one in the "right" color.

Overall, I have found the EC50 to be a solid guitar. I had purchased it to be a backup to my 74 LP Custom. In the past year I have found myself taking the EC50 to gigs and leaving my LP at home. It sounds good and plays like a dream. The neck is fast and the tone is warm and round. If it were stolen I would probably go with the EC400 or the ESP Eclipse II. Mainly because these two guitars have mahogany bodies, and not because of any fault in the EC50.

If you want Les Paul tone and features on a budget look into the EC50. With a pickup swap it is a fine rock machine!

Made in indonesia 2000, 24 frets, dual humbuckers, 3 way selector switch, standard tuners. pretty standard stuff but all in pretty good shape

I play all sorts of music and bought this guitar becuase I wanted something that had a different sound than my strat for a decent price. When I bought it I expected it to be just a mainly metal and distortion only guitar but was rather suprized when I plugged it in for the price it had a pretty decent clean tone, not as creamy in tone as a Gibson or PRS or anything like that but alot better than expected from the look and price. It has a nice full sound a little grainy at times but it can handle alot of different styles.

Factory settings weren't too bad, the strings were a little heavy for my taste but the action was set pretty nicely, after switching to some lighter gauge EB Slinky's I was surprised at how well the guitar felt. This is the first guitar I've owned with a rosewood fretboard and it has a nice feel to it. Overall the factory settings weren't too shabby. But everything with this guitar is a definite you get what you pay for if I had a bigger budget when i bought it i would have invested in more

The guitar feels about as solid as a baseball bat, no problems there but the tuners seem a little loose at times and unpleasent. Strap buttons are solid, but the all black finish makes you choose between constantly cleaning off your guitar or dealing with a few fingerprints on it. It seems pretty dependable for the moment but I wouldn't gig with just it and not my strat just because I like the sound of a single coil pickup.

Havent had to deal with it yet.

I've been playing for the better part of two years, I play with this and a Fender Strat. and various acoustics. If it was stolen I would probably rebuy it as a backup guitar for the price it's a very nice guitar and has worked for expanding my range of sound. I tried alot of other guitars in the 200$ category and this one outshined them all. I would say its not bad for a beginner guitar or a backup .

This was made in Indonesia, 2003. 24 frets, jumbo. It is a solid-top, with 2 volume knobs, 1 tone knob, a 3-way selector switch. H/H configuration, LTD passive pickups. The body and neck is agathis, with a Rosewood fretboard. The finish is a gloss black, Les Paul cutaway, and contoured at the neck/body joint for easy access to the higher frets. It has a Tune-O-Matic tailpiece, the tuners are standard ESP, and all hardware is black - nice.

I play metal/rock, and it does a really good job with it. I play through a Johnson J-Station amp modeler to a Marshall MG-10CD amp. So far, no complaints. Actually, quite full sounding, but the tone knob doesn't do much. Also, has a very clean sound, and blues carries well with the body weight of the guitar. Heavy distortion this thing rocks, but has a very nice warmth to it when playing clean. Fits what I do very well.

It arrived in tune, lol. Go figure! Also, I only have to tune it when I first pick it up, but then again I live in a high humidity area of the country. The pickups were setup a little low for my taste, but hey, a simple screw turn and that's handled. I looked this guitar over completely when I got it, and have yet to find a flaw. The tuning pegs could be better, but for the price you can't argue with this point at all. All controls have a very solid feel.

This guitar feels like it will withstand a hurricane! Tuners are ok, but will probably upgrade them, along with the humbuckers. The first all black guitar I've had, though I love the finish on it, I have to clean it all of the time. That's the price you pay for attitude. The strap buttons are solid, and this guitar is very dependable.

It has a lifetime warranty, but I haven't had to call them yet, or see any reason in the future to do so.

I've been playing off and on for about 3 years. I have a Johnson J-Station amp modeler, and a Marshall MG-10CD amplifier. If it was stolen, I would definitely buy this again. For the price I paid, nothing else even came close. I have a shop nearby where I was able to play several ESP's, Ibanez, Squier, and Epiphones (all within my budget), and hands down this guitar was way ahead of the others. Pick one up, it may surprise you.

My ESP LTD EC-50 was made in Indonesia in 2003. She has solid black paint on the body, back of the neck and on the headstock. She features a Les Paul-style agathis body (with a contoured arm rest and cutaway for easier fret access), 24 frets, two passive ESP LTD hubuckers, two volume knobs (one for each pickup), one tone knob, a 3-way switch, a side-placed output jack, standard strap pins, a Tune-O-Matic bridge with a stop tailpiece and standard ESP LTD tuners. She has a pretty thin neck with a rosewood fretboard and jumbo frets. In the package I also got a bad, short cable wich is really useless. All the hardware is black, except the 3-way switch.That's enough for my needs, and I'm really not missing anything too important. Of course the pickups and tuners could be better, but for this price there is no need to complain.

I mainly play metal (thrash, proggresive, death), but I'm not strictly limited to one music style.
She does a great job with metal and rock, and a quite good job at blues, jazz and the likes.
She produces a great variety of sounds - very bright and clean on the bridge pickup, a soft and full on the neck pickup and a very full and dense with both pickups on.
I'm plying her through a Roland Cube 30 modelling amp. With this combination I can get much variety in the sound.
The guitar is pretty much noisless with any pickup selected.
It also has great sustain due to the massive body.

Sometimes I can't get the sound to be clean enough, but that doesn't change my opinion.

Again, for this price, I think the sound is fantastic in variety and quality.

I really have no objections here. The guitar is very solid and well made. The action is very low, the neck is very comfortable. There weren't any productional flaws. Everything is set up perfectly.

The one objection here is, that the guitar itself is very heavy.

Like mencioned before, she is very solid and sturdy. I have had her for about half of a year now, and the electronics and finish are still perfect, although she has lived through many accidents and playing on gigs.

Very durable and reliable.

It has a lifetime warranty, but I have had no problems so far.

I also own a Musima Elektra De Luxe (a rare vintage german-made guitar) and an Ibanez RG570. I like the ESP LTD EC-50 the most. If it were stolen i would surely buy a new one.
The only thing I really dislike about it is the weight.
I love the sound, the action and versatility of this guitar.
I compared it to alot of similar and even higher priced guitars, but she beats even guitars priced almost twice that high.

Absolutely the best value for the money. I'm extremely satisfied with what I got for so little money.