LTD EC-1000 VB (2008)

Guitar made in Korea.
Mahogany body
3-piece Mahogany neck with ebony fingerboard, ESP Locking Tuners (based on Schaller M6) and Earvana compensated nut for better intonation
Abalone "flags" inlays
24 frets
2 humbuckers: 1xEMG81 bridge and 1xEMG60 in the neck
Gold hardware with TonePros bridge and T3B-T TonePros T1Z tailpiece
3 positions switch , 2 volumes and a common tone


BUILT QUALITY

The neck is a very playable, pretty flat and rather wide but not too thin. Diapason is 24 3/4, and the guitar has 24 frets. I do not have huge hands, but with the cutaway, it's easy to get to the last frets. The action is very low (if the guitar is properly set up!).
Also it's not too heavy, but it is not light either.The body is comfortable in a sitting position and overall the guitar is relatively well balanced.
The two volume knobs and the tone knob are easy to reach. Note that the volume knob of the bridge pickup is set before the one of the neck pickup (since we supposedly use it more often!). The tone control is shared by both pickups.
These knobs are very progressive and of very good quality, just like the 3 positions pickup selector.
When you do not play, the EMGs are dead quiet, which is a nice change from the DiMarzio and Seymour Duncan I have mounted on my other guitars!

TONE

I tried this guitar on quite a few amps, not to convince myself of its built quality, because if you play it unplugged you'll hear it has a very good sustain, but to test the versatility of the EMG 60/81. So I played it alternatively through a Fender Twin, a Vox AC30, a Marshall JCM900 and finally a Dual Rectifier . Honestly, to my great surprise, it sounded better than I expected ... So to all those who say that EMG is only making pickups for metalheads, then perhaps they should get their head round the use of volume and tone on a guitar!
ESP did a great job in that respect in the sense that the knobs truly react to minute adjustements and allow players to make these very subtle variations that make all the difference.

Obviously on a Rectifier with the distortion crancked, even a muppet chas no problem unleashing the sonic violence of the uni-finger power-chord of death!
If you play clean tones, backing up the volume on the EMG 60 a little will somewhat bring you back into the passive pickup territory, though tone wise it's going to remains way more "articulate" or clinical, in the typical fashion of active pickups. Honestly fiddling with the tone, and two volume controls, and of course the EQ on the amp, one can really get almost any type of tone! you can go from a single coilish type of sound (a mix of the 2 pickups) that is good for funk or soft passages to a jazzy type of sound, and I even managed to get tones quite reminiscent of a folk guitar!
When I played on the Vox, again, using the volume and tone, I got very good crunch tones that were quite vintage sounding, while maintaining a clear attack (EMG inside!).
To put it in a nutshell, plug into the proper amp (that certainly does help a lot!), and it's really not that difficult to get the tone you're after!
For the sake of clarity though, the guitar is mouted with EMGs, so it is obvious that it will never sound as vintage as guitars that were made for that purpose. And yes, EMGs excels on distorted tones. That being said, given the built quality, just mount a pair of Alnico II pro on it and you'll get a very different type of beast at home!

OVERALL OPINION

When I walked in the shop, it was initially to buy a Gibson Les Paul Custom or Tokai Premium. I had the budget for it, and was looking for intrumentsa in the 3000 to 4000 euros range ... but like any other guitarist out there whenever I see a cool looking guitar, I juts can't help but trying it!
I have been playing for almost 20 years now and I have owned many good to excellent guitars (to name but a few: Fender U.S. and Mex, Jackson Soloist, Gibson SG Standard, Godin LGX and Artisan STVI, Lag Roxanne and Hardmaster etc.). All this to say that I expect a certain level of craftsmanship and quality. Through the years I've also learned to see beyond the famous names in the industry. Actually on that day, I played two Fujigen/Japanese FGN that sounded absolutely awesome [one was a strat and the other a les paul type guitar] ... but they were a little too heavy for me unfortunately.
I had never ever paid any attention to LTD before playing that EC-1000. Actually I assumed LTD was on par with Squier, Epiphone and the likes, meaning instruments of rather poor built quality. Well, what a surprise, I had it all wrong!

So for those of you who are wondering, no offense intended to all Gibson fanboys , I have spent some time comparing the LTD and a Gibson Standard side by side and my verdict is that quality-wise, they are in all respects comparable. The chief difference is that the LTD is nearly half the price of a Standard! And even if we were to compared it to her bigger sister, the ESP Eclipse, it's still very, very close (some slight "embellishments").
Tone-wise, the EC1000VB sounds a bit less "fat" that a Gibson mounted with EMGs but on the other hand it offers a clearer and more articulated tone, which is good thing if you down-tune your guitar. The Eclipse still refines this feeling a tad further (probably due to quality of the woods used), but in the end it's rather subtle and if we leave the aesthetics aside, tone-wise I don't think it's worth an extra 500 euros for it ... unless you have bat ears maybe ...or if you spend a lot of time recording in studio!

So to sum it up, the LTD EC1000VB is a "weapon of choice", and it proved very versatile too. It's a tad lighter than a Les Paul (and it feels so after a few hours playing it). It has 24 frets and a simple but excellent built quality. Mine is flawless. All this for 900 euros (or 600ish if you get it second-hand)! With my initial budget I would certainly have been able to buy a nicer looking guitar (but not necessarily with a better finish) but I like to keep my feet on the ground. For what I had in mind, unless I had decided to go down the luthier route, there was no justifying spending that much more on an industrially made guitar!
It seems that these days Korea & Japan offers similar deals to Japan & U.S. a few years ago.
To put it simply, with this EC1000VB, ESP/LTD brings you a (nearly) high -end guitar, when competitors only get you one in the mid-range ... Hey! For once we're not being taken for fools!
So unless you buy a guitar thinking about its resale value or to hang it to a wall and watch it illuminate the room , in which case you should clearly get your hands on a Gibson Custom or something equivalent, if you're like me and need a flawless instrument that will be played and carried around, this LTD is a super deal!
And when your budget is well above its price tag like it was for me, with what you have saved, you can just splurge on a few pedals or even a nice new amp! ... And you have absolutely no excuse to skimp on a flight case! Thank you Mr. ESP!

Made in Korea...Here's the specs..

Its mahogany body is perfectly joined to a 3-piece mahogany neck, with an ebony fretboard, that features flag-shaped inlays and an ESP insignia on the 12th fret.

Features:
•Construction / Scale: Set-Neck / 24.75"
•Body: Mahogany (VB)
•Neck / Fingerboard: 3-Pc. Mahogany / Ebony (VB)
•Nut Type / Width: Earvana Compensated / 42mm
•Neck Shape: Thin U
•Inlays: Flags (VB)
•Frets: 24 XJ
•Binding: Aged Triple White (B/H), Aged White (N) (VB)
•Hardware: Gold (VB)
•Tuners: Schaller Locking
•Bridge / Tailpiece: Tonepros T3B-T & T1Z Locking
•Pickups: EMG 81 (B) / 60 (N) Active (VB)
•Electronics: Vol / Vol / Tone / Toggle



UTILIZATION

This guitar plays very well. It arrived needing a setup and calibration but once that was done - every fret is accessible and no buzz...PLays like a dream as I like to keep my action low...

The EMGs really crank out a hot signal and I'd be careful with sensitive amps as it can clip a clean signal at hot levels...
The sound for hi gain apps is sick! The EMGs just rip right through the mix...High end bite is crisp, lows and mids are well defined...The clarity of the notes is surprisingly clear...

The design is great, typical Les Paul type guitar...It's thin and light but solid...

SOUNDS

I use this guitar as my jazzy clean and my heavy gain beast...It cuts through a mix very nicely with or without distortion...It takes a clean or gain boost nicely too with little noise...That one beautiful thing about this guitar, lots of signal but not much noise..Don't forget to keep a fresh battery nearby as that can affect the tone greatly...Lithium is recommended...

This thing is built for Metallica but can deliver pop, rock, jazz, blues, etc...SHape the tone with the knobs and roll off a bit of volume to get a nice crunch...

OVERALL OPINION

This guitar rounded out my collection as I needed a hot EMG monster...This thing more than fits the bill...It surprised me with how well it can do jazz cleans...

The value is good...Sure there's better in this price range if you are looking for something different...But overall, it's worth it and no where near a bad price...It's held its value pretty well over the years although I have no intention of selling her...

I would buy it again but would insist on a good hardshell case...

Made in Korea I believe. 24 frets. 2 volume 1 tone. Rosewood fingerboard. Ebony inlays. Mahogany body. Tonepros bridge. Locking tuners. EMG 81 and 60 active pickups. The neck is a lot like a cross between an Ibanez Wizard and a les paul classic neck if you have played one of those. These are pretty simple LP style rockers.

UTILIZATION

I used to play rhythm in a prog band and we were sponsored by LTD so I went through a bunch of these. First off, they hold up really well. Reliability is killer for this price range. I almost never have a problem with them. The simplicity of this guitar = less possibility for issues. The fret access is really good for a les paul style guitar and these weigh a lot less than a les paul. If you find a les paul heavy then this is what you need. It doesn't quite have the look down, but it gets that vibe.

SOUNDS

When I had this particular model I played it through a couple of pedals and a Bogner uberschall half stack. That was the first Uberschall not the newer ones. My pedals were just an analog delay for ambient stuff and an overdrive. Nothing fancy. Because I play mostly rhythm I stick with the EMG 81 in the bridge which might be my favorite pickup ever for "chugging". The 60 is more for solos and cleans. I like it a lot but hardly get to use it.

My only quip about this guitar is that the body wood and shape aren't really translated to the EMG's which don't carry the tone of the guitar well. That's the pickup's fault though. If you don't like it, get some non active pickups.

OVERALL OPINION

I think my favorite thing about this guitar and all LTD's is how well they stand up on the road. The playability isn't bad either. If you're a touring guy, these are by far the best bang for the buck. I still have my first one (really banged up) from a 2006 tour. If you want a more "hot rodded" les paul then you can't do better than the Ec1000.