School me on ESP/LTD EC series

[Steinmetzify]

Every ESP/LTD I've ever played had the same neck. Far as I know they're all somewhat of a thin U shape? granted I haven't played every model, but most of them.

 

[Michi]

Every ESP/LTD I've ever played had the same neck. Far as I know they're all somewhat of a thin U shape? granted I haven't played every model, but most of them.

You know I thought the same thing before last weekend when I played a bunch of different LTD's. There's a slight but noticeable difference in the contour, to my hands it feels like some are a tad wider than others.

The ESP Eclipse with a floyd I tried had a super smooth, just perfect thin U neck I loved!

 

[Pushead]

EC-401VF?

http://fretpoint.com/2009/12/06/esp-ltd ... ar-review/

Yep, that's also full thickness. The EC-1000T is probably what he was talking about, though.

As far as necks, there is a slight difference between the satin finished guitars and gloss finished guitars (the extra coats of clear). At least, that's what I feel between mine.

The EC necks are fairly similar, but larger than the necks on the M guitars. They're rounder at least. The ECs necks are similar to the Horizon necks I've played. But I have more experience with the ESP guitars than the LTDs.

 

[maiden_fan]

The higher end LTD's are great guitars. Used to have an EC1000, played and sounded great.

 

[metalmaniac93]

I played a silver/grey EC-1000 Deluxe (Made in Korea) at a local guitar shop yesterday and it played and sounded killer. Hate EMGs though. It did not have the abalone binding and the VB one also does not have the abalone binding.

 

[Michi]

The higher end LTD's are great guitars. Used to have an EC1000, played and sounded great.

Tony, now that you've got some experience with a Charvel Pro Mod neck and an EC1000, how do they compare?

 

[NinjaRaf]

I had an EC401 for a little while...maybe 5 months or so.

It was a nice playing guitar, but ultimately the shape just didnt fit ME, so I sold it and ended up getting an LTD Elite Horizon III, which I fucking LOVE!!

But yeah, played and sounded great!! I got a "blem" one from AMS for 230 off the list price haha. Came with EMGs. I swapped those out and threw a dimarzio breed and a humbucker from hell in it. Sounded AMAZING with those pickups. Also swapped the hardware to black, put on planet waves auto trim tuners, and sanded the neck to a flat finish. If I was more of a rock kinda player, I mightve kept it, but Im a metal player. Dimarzio dominion sounded great in it, too.

This is the only recording I ever did with it, I guess....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XzXhsWWBB4

The other guitar player in my old band has an EC1000 in black (gold hardware...blech) and an EC500 in white. They both play as you would expect. And, being that I own the horizon and an LTD Ninja, I LOVE their necks.

EDIT: One thing to note about the models that come with EMGs...they DO NOT have a ground wire installed, nor do they have a route from the bridge post to the control cavity to put a ground wire. I had to drill and install that myself.

 

[nwright]

for more of a traditional LP feel, but with the thinner neck, look for used or new EC-400VF's, EC-401VF's or EC-400AT's. They have the body thickness of an LP, 22 fret neck and a more vintage look.

There were some EC-1000's that were full thickness as well, but I can't remember what they were called.

EDIT
Doh, Pushead beat me to it.

 

[Michi]

Thx guys for the information! I think I'll have to just go to the dealer next time I'm in the south and try a bunch of different ones out to make up my mind. I'd love to get the floyd version but it looks like the one without the abalone and bling-bling is for the US market only .

 

[D-Rock]

EDIT: One thing to note about the models that come with EMGs...they DO NOT have a ground wire installed, nor do they have a route from the bridge post to the control cavity to put a ground wire. I had to drill and install that myself.

Maybe this is why my EC-500 w/ EMG's is more susceptible to noise than my other guitars. I thought it was just the high output pups, since I've never used actives before.

 

[Mogwai]

Both of mine did

 

[Romans 1:16]

I own a see-thru green ec-1000 w/ EMGs and a vintage honeyburst EC-1000 with JB59s. Both are really great for the money IMO. The honeyburst was my #1 axe for many years.

I like your Framus as well. See If my PM came through...

 

[nwright]

EDIT: One thing to note about the models that come with EMGs...they DO NOT have a ground wire installed, nor do they have a route from the bridge post to the control cavity to put a ground wire. I had to drill and install that myself.

Maybe this is why my EC-500 w/ EMG's is more susceptible to noise than my other guitars. I thought it was just the high output pups, since I've never used actives before.

Emgs do not need a ground wire because they are internally shielded. Emg even recommends against using ground wires with their pickups.

 

[Bishop5150]

Thx guys for the information! I think I'll have to just go to the dealer next time I'm in the south and try a bunch of different ones out to make up my mind. I'd love to get the floyd version but it looks like the one without the abalone and bling-bling is for the US market only .

That is a great guitar. I have the black cherry version of it. I also have the the vintage black LTD and the Vintage white ESP. All the guitars are great but the vintage white ESP has something special about it over the LTD's. Maybe its just my imagination though.

 

[Michi]

That is a great guitar. I have the black cherry version of it. I also have the the vintage black LTD and the Vintage white ESP. All the guitars are great but the vintage white ESP has something special about it over the LTD's. Maybe its just my imagination though.

Been doing some used price checking over here, and I've found that I could get an ESP Eclipse made in Japan for about $500 more than a used EC-1000. Would you say the ESP is worth the price difference? Mostly the accessories (hardshell case etc.) would be exactly the same.

 

[Bishop5150]

Ya, for $500 more I'd get the ESP but that's just me.

 

[Steinmetzify]

I dunno man....I don't know what your prices are like over there, but here you could actually get another EC for that. Would you rather have two great guitars or one awesome guitar? Either way, you can't lose...too bad about your prices....I've seen ESP's going for under a grand lately.

 

[Michi]

I dunno man....I don't know what your prices are like over there, but here you could actually get another EC for that. Would you rather have two great guitars or one awesome guitar? Either way, you can't lose...too bad about your prices....I've seen ESP's going for under a grand lately.

Heh, that's a valid point. I'm having a hard time deciding that exact issue as well. I'm looking for an LP shaped guitar and a guitar to compliment my Charvel at the same time. The Charvel is an awesome guitar...will be hard to push it off from the numero uno place. So... I don't know .

The used prices in Finland are roughly like this: EC-401 $530, EC-1000 $800, Eclipse I/II $1260 (these are not the lowest I've seen, but very close to the average asking prices). I've found that around Scandinavia ESP's can be found for abt $1150 shipped to my location and this is what makes the situation very tricky and interesting at the same time. So in effect I could get 2 EC-401's I could get 1 Eclipse for roughly the same money.

The biggest problem is that there is no music shop near me I could try the different models out to compare. The local shop had two 401s, one poorly setup 1000 and an awesome Eclipse FR. Out of them the Eclipse FR felt the best hands down, but the difference between the 401s and the 1000 is close to nothing (granted it's hard to tell the whole truth because I've not had a chance to play them through an amp and the setup in the 1000 is hideous).

I have some time off next week and I figured I'll go down to the local and try them all thoroughly out as loud as possible to make up my mind. At the moment I'm leaning towards getting an Eclipse used from Sweden though.

 

[Steinmetzify]

I think it's a good choice...from what I've played and owned the ECs are almost as good as the Eclipses. If you can get one for a steal, I'd do it. The lowest I'd go on an LTD is the 1000 series though, unless I was just looking for a beater for a deal. I haven't been that impressed with the lower models I've played extensively. Good luck and post up what you get!

 

[Bishop5150]

The feel of the ESP and LTD Eclipse's are basically exactly the same. I'm a Charvel guy myself. Hard to put it down. Get the Eclipse I think it will fit your needs.