The ESP LTD EC-1000 Vintage Black represents one of the most popular designs of the guitar company from Tokyo and proves to be a true workhorse for rock and metal sounds. Based on the chic Eclipse singlecut design, it features a mahogany body with an arched top and a set three-piece mahogany neck that offers great playability up to the 24th fret of the Macassar ebony fretboard thanks to the seamless neck joint and "Thin U" profile. With the proven pickup setup consisting of active EMG 60 and EMG 81 humbuckers, the ESP LTD EC-1000 Vintage Black builds up quite a bit of steam and delivers precisely articulated sounds even at maximum gain settings, which, thanks to sharply focused mids, assert themselves perfectly in the band mix. Last but not least, the ESP LTD EC-1000 Vintage Black comes with high-quality hardware in the form of a TonePros locking bridge and stop bar and precise LTD locking tuners.
Out of the box, the EC-1000 strikes with the quality of the finish. The fretwork, the body and neck binding, the factory setup (a very low action) are really impressive, considering the price. I had an EC-256 and the finish was correct but far from perfect. This EC-1000 comes from the Korean factories, you definitely notice the difference. The tuners feel sturdy and are very precise. The guitar stays in tune.
The sound is fantastic. The EMG pickups are of course very punchy, but the sustain is also very good. The satin finish gives the neck a very comfortable feeling as well. I've alternated my Gibson LP Tribute and the EC-1000, apart from the fact that the pickups are very different, from a lutherie quality perspective I would say that in terms of finish and feel, the Ltd EC-100 is as good, if not better than a Gibson Studio/Tribute.
This is a great guitar!
These SD pickups are so versatile, you can certainly play from jazz to metal, which was one of the main reasons why I bought this instrument and because it looks great and I fell in love with it.
Playability is great, great low action, thin but very fast and confortable neck, good fretwork, easy accessible high frets, stable tuning and great intonation.
Played it live a fair amount of times and had no problems. After some use the strap button came a little loose but just a bit of wood glue did the job and never had a problem again.
It is simply an excellent instrument. Highly recommend it.
My first LTD guitar and I am mightily impressed.
Amazing sound and tone, comfortable to play, quality hardware, fairly priced and beautifully finished.
I'm struggling to say anything negative about it. If you are considering this guitar I can highly recommend it.
I can also highly recommend dv247 who shipped the guitar to me in just a few days - even in these difficult times of lockdown
Really happy with this guitar. Finish, bindings etc are flawless. The binding colour is more orange than the yellow in the product pictures. I prefer the orange. It’s a really effortless guitar to play. Neck is quick, but feels substantial. Guitar is noticeably lighter than other Les Paul types that I’ve previously played.
Arrived in perfect condition needing only a little tuning. As it has the Evertune bridge there are limitations to how high the string action can be, but this is not a problem unless you play very hard and want no acoustic string noise. The guitar comes with nines. Take care if you want lower tuning than E standard that the string gauges and tunings you want to use are appropriate for this guitar. The Evertune website has a calculator that tells you what tension bridge you will need. Higher / lower tension bridges can be ordered from Evertune.
The guitar looks great, feels great and sounds great. The Seymour Duncan pickups offer a great sound for distortion and a nice change form the EMGs that I had in my EC 401.