ESP LTD EX-250

(2001 edition)22 fret, 3-way toggle switch, 2 tone controls and a volume. Loaded with 2 Duncan Design humbucker pick-ups, colour black. Has quite a thin neck but plays very smoothly with good access to the high end end the neck for soloing.

I play my ex-250 through a 150 watt amp with a dunlop cry-baby wah and danelectro (black licorise) distortion. Holds a nice tone without too much unwanted feedback/fuzz. If your setup is right you can hold a note forever. I would suggest this guitar as more of a rhythm instument e.g. recrating that Hetfield sound. If you push hard enough you can make this baby screem with quick solos.

The finish was as good as you would expect from ESP (excellent). I did however need to adjust the pick-up height to get rid of excess bass frequency.

Its a fairly relable beast, nothing will just 'fall off', though I did need to reconnect the internal wire to the selector switch after the first year. Performs well live though if I'm playing certain solos I will use a different guitar as my pickups sometimes appear to miss notes when picking/tapping too quickly.

1 year warranty. Only had minor things that I could fix simply. More than they were willing to give support on guitar selection a features avalible.

Good for the step up before professional playing. On replacment I would go for another ESP, maybe one of the Hammett models.

I guess this is the same model that everyone else is talking about... I dunno, I only play 'em! I bought it a couple of years ago and it was brand new boxed when i got it.

Gloss black body finish with tune-o-matic bridge, 1 volume, 1 tone and a 3 way p/u switch, pretty standard looking tuners, 2 duncan designed humbuckers and very heavy frets.

It's got all it needs to be a good looking guitar, and the finish is very hard wearing so it should stay looking that way.

The theoretical ability of the guitar to produce the sound I wanted (Metallica, Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Dio) isn't in question here - the body is heavy enough to give good sustain, the pickups give anything from a fairly blues sound to all out heavy metal lead, and the electronics seem quite well shielded against external interference. The amps i've used vary from 10W bee-in-a-box fenders, Marshall MGs, Marshall AVTs, Peavey Bandit 112 (my main amp at the moment) and a PA system with the help of my Line6 POD2.

Theory is, however, only good to a certain point, and the problem with the sound of this guiatr stems from the action and setup so I won't penalise it here... read on.

The finish is perfect. Absolutely flawless. There, that's out of the way, so now down to business.

The frets had been put on badly, with more glue on the fingerboard than under the fretwire. A few of the frets were loose. The pickups were so high that the magnets were pulling the strings out of tune. The bridge was far too high to make up for the fact that the nut was so badly cut. The action, therefore, was painfull and resulted in pulling the strings out of tune just by fretting a note. The neck relief was too much so the strings rattled from the 12th fret upwards. Back to those frets again - there was a sour point at the 11th that made the guitar unplayable with the action set reasonably.

All in all, 10 marks for potential, but no ime or effort whatsoever had been spent on the manufacture of this instrument.

The physical bits of this guitar are sound. It's all very solid, and apart from some of the black wearing off the screws, seems to be holding up fine. I'd never gig without a backup so don't even ask me to judge on that!

I had all the warranty, but as much as i was within my rights to send this back, i didn't. Therefore, I don't know!

And now for the end of the story... I really like this guitar, and getting it playable has been worth it. In the end, I took it to a local repairer with a good reputation who stuck the frets down and dressed them, sorted the nut, re set the bridge, played with the truss rod and sured up the electronics. To cut a long story short, with a fairly extensive shake-up I now have a guitar that feels worth twice the money I paid.

All I would say to you is this: If you're buying for image, be prepared to go the extra mile for sound and playability when you finally come to your senses and work out you want that too!

Ratings: When i bought it --> 2
Back from the repairer --> 9

Hey, this is quite a new model, bought about 2 years ago, made in taiwan. Cherry black finish, 22 extra jumbo frets, 1 volume, 1 tone, 3 way selector switch!

This guitar suits my music perfectly. I play loads of metallica (Jaymz Hetfield) and it sounds amazing! I stuck an EMG-81 in the bridge coz the pickup that came with it sounded crap and was way too noisy! I run it through a Marshall AVT-275 and it sounds pretty dam amazing! Well worth the money!

This guitar is very reliable. Its been knocked about quite a lot as i gig quite a lot. And it still sounds as good as ever!

I brilliant guitar made by the masters of guitars (ESP), and at an affordable price. I would reccomend it to anyone!

2000 New Xtreme body style. Made in Taiwan 22 Frets Black Cherry Finish which looks pretty damn cool.1 Vol 1 Tone 3-Way Selector Switch.Dual Duncan Designed Humbuckers.Mahogany Body,Maple Neck & Rosewood Fretboard.Stop Tailpiece like Gibson's.All Black Hardware including Locking Sperzel Tuners,Bridge and Saddle.Jumbo Frets,Great Playing Neck Nice Playing C Conture. Came with ESP LTD Case and Allen wrench.

I compete in competitions and have to play many musical styles to be more competive.I play Metal,Alternative,Jazz,& Country.This guitar has great sounding pickups.Pretty quiet which I like.Lots of distortion.Great clarity with no sour or saturated sound.Clean-The pickups sound a little bland.Good sublety and a little noisy unless in neck position.I do play Metallica and these pickups sound good for quite a bit of their music.But can not acheive the deep growl sound that James Hetfield can produce with those EMG's.(Course it also probably help to have all those processors & rack equipment.)Intermediate sounding pickups.

The guitar was setup beautifully right out of the box.Low action,no buzz.Harmonics performed well without dying out.Great sustain.The guitar did not have a good neck to body balance ratio though.I think that is so for most explorer's though.Neck is top heavy and drifts toward the ground.No flaws in the paint.Very well crafted and attention to detail were #1 priorities at ESP when they made this guitar.

I do play live in a few bands here and there along with local and state competions and talent shows and the guitar does seem to handle pretty well.I play mostly though my ESP KH-2 because I've always played a strat-type body and that's what i'm used to.Never had any problems with finish or hardware.I would suggest replacing strap buttons with straplocks.Very dependable.I would never use a guitar without a backup because of obvious occurences(string breaking,tuning problems,etc.)

Never dealt with ESP personally though I heard they are really helpful and informative.Had no problems with it so no reason to repair it though it does come with a lifetime warranty.

Xtremely well made guitar.Decent feel and playing though for me it's hard to get that broken in feel with an explorer.If it were stolen or lost I would not consider getting it again unless it came with an EMG 60/81 configuration.I would definitely get a Black ESP LTD F-200 Those are sweet.This guitar is very good and I would suggest trying it out.Guitar tastes vary from person to person, So what is not so great for me can be your dream guitar.Give it a test drive.Adios!!

First of all, the shape is jus awesome....I bought it cos i live for metallica...Its mainly all i play xcept for sum other stuf...Its got 22 1/2 jumbo sized rosewood frets with a 12th fret inlay of the model of the guitar. a really gothic guitar cos mines in black which gives it a really midnight feel....Mahogany body tune o matic bridge and 2 high put passive seymour duncan humbuckers....

THIS SHT SOUNDS REAL GOOD! With the bridge, it delievers a strong heavy crunchy sound and the neck gives a great saturation sound or an acoustic feel..I have no dislikes other than the guitar came with size 9 strings...!!!! i need sumtin biggeR! Im gona put in Ernieball 10's or dean Markz...they the best, also GHS Boomers are really awesome if u pickslide alot....Im gona change the pickups to get the real Metallica sound i want, Im throwin in EMG 60 and 81's in...IItsa waste to throw the seymours away cos they are really great p.ups so im gona put those in my Ibanez...
**Honestly, u can get n e sound u want from this baby, soloing is a problem...FOr those Metallica fans out there, i tried the nothing else matters solo, and its not really.....perfect for it, i find my 2000 Ibanez GSA 20 better..

Came out perfect, no defects or nicks or nuttin!

It seeems very extremly duarble, because it took a lot of beatings, and didnt even scuf.....I replaced the strap buttons with a strap tha clicks in and out lika seat belt. I never EVER trust those straps tha jus strap on

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I gota say one thing.....If u buy this guitar from SAm ash music....U pay $450.....thas wit no case n whatever....FOr the sound of this guitar, that is an awwwwwesome value man!!!! thas like fkin incredible....and if u want a really good sound throw in a $150 and get a pair of EMGS...and ur axe will sound really awesome if u gota good amp/effects. MY EQuip consists of:
Guitars
1) 1965 Ibanez SG
2) 2000 Ibanez GSA
3) 2000 LTD EX-250 Custom
Effects
1) Boss ME-30
2) Line6 POD
Amps
1) Kustom KLA 40
2) Line6 Flextone

Bought this axe in nov 99 it was made in may of 99
its a bolt-on w/ mahaogany neck/body, black with two duncan designed humbuckers w/ one volume, one tone knob,tune-o-matic bridge and sperezel locking tuners,xtra jumbo frets, this guitar shreds unbeleivably clear perfect for metal, I play it thru a boss mt2 and a crate 2x12 amp, the highs are awesome, and when switched to rhythm it is very smooth and rich in tone,

I love heavy metal and this guitar suits me fine. it screams, moans, and pulsates, kinda takes the place of a good girlfriend.
and as a bonus you can turn it off at anytime!!


love the tone, its great

fast action, the x-tra jumbo frets just add to the possibilities

the paint is deep black and glossy, it almost looks wet, its kinda like the old laquer paint of a 55 buick.
set-up was perfect
no flaws at all, except.......its a bolt-on

This thing could fall ten stories and crack the cement, it weighs a ton. the sound quality seems to get better and better.

5 yr warranty, never had a problem

Ive been playing for 2 years, if this got stolen I'd buy another but only if it had a set-neck because im a picky prick.

I love everything about this guitar, except it doesnt give good h**d

Its got sum cool features....AWESOME NEW DESIGN EXPLORER SHAPE.....22xj frets..seymour duncan humbuckers?? na, im throwin EMG 60 and 81's in there....nice pointy headstock....its pretty basic....jus hasa cool ass body and its pretty light...its awesome

freakin awesome! i played it wit seymours in it....and its great....i play da heavy shit like MetallicA Nirvana Godsmack n sum other rock....I dont dislike it at all, im gona order a custom esp 2morrow
9/18/00...
1) ESP LTD EXlorer in black
2) Dean Markley blue steel .10-.46
3) emg 60(neck) Emg81(bridge) Jaymz hetfield style!

i didnt buyt it yet

hey, if james uses it on stage why cant i??
Self explanitory

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Its great.....the simple model for $449 with the standard 9 size strings and seymours are pretty good fortha price.....but uhh, if ura tru metallica fan, lol throw sum emgs in there and get sum ernie balls or dean marks and bigger strings!

1999/2000 "New Explorer Body". Basically a Explorer with Sharper Edges. Construction: Bolt-on Neck. Mahogany Body. Neck is Maple and the Fingerboard is Rosewood. Those wonderful universal Dot Inlays. Hardware is a Nice Black. 2 Knobs - 1 Volume and 1 tone. 3 way toggle switch. The Bridge is a Tune-O-Matic. 22 Extra Jumbo Frets. The Pickups are a nice 2 Humbucker Duncan Design. Nice Glossy Black Finish.

Sound is Great. This is my second guitar. my first was a eBay Karera STC-33 Stratocrapper. This is one Helluva Upgrade. Can have the nice clean tone with a toggle switch u can change ur tone a harder attack i suppose. Link it up with a pedal and have urself a Orgasm reaching experience. Nice Amp Needed. I dont know if its my Gorilla amp....probably is....but i get a hum or a fuzz sound when playing my clean tone...!?!?!?!? most likely amp but u never know till i get another one

This Baby was Perfect. Come Home and tune it and Ur on your way to Guitar Heaven.

This Sucker can Play with the best of them.....well in my limited experience. Everything is perfect. Everything looks like it will ast u a good while as long as u dont try to surf on it down some stairs.

havent Dealt with them yet.

All i have other than this is a Karera. This LTD makes trying to play the Guitar a dream. Playing it for the first time helped my confidence and it just jams like a dream. No Problems. Other than the Hum/fuzz thing..its a Ten..No Doubt.....but i did Love the Original Explorer Body. Damn u Gibson. Ah well. Buy it and Enjoy.