I opted for the LTD over the Heafy Epiphone based on other reviews I read, plus the LTD had a longer scale.I almost opted for the $1k version of this 7 string, but decided I didn’t need the evertune, and of these pick ups sucked, I’d come out ahead if I upgraded them.As I suspected, the pick ups are kind of gnarly, and I’ll definitely need to upgrade to use this guitar live. Otherwise, solid guitar and reminds me of the ec-1000 in terms of playability, weight, etc.

Love the satin finish on this guitar. Fret board feels good and the neck is thin enough. Stays in tune well even in lower scales. I’m happy with this guitar.

The guitar is solid and sounds great . Had to have it adjusted some because there was a buzz on the low E but other than that right out of the box it Rocks.

This guitar blew me away. (However I cant really back up the factory pickups because I already had a set I really like. Very smooth, well set up and my favorite part, comfortable

I've been in the market for a Les Paul for quite some time, but the Ltd seemed like a budget friendly alternative. I'm glad I went with it! It plays like a Les Paul should, and has the meaty tone of one as well. The seventh string is great for my primary metal project, while still being usable in my other studio work that uses standard tuning. A nice touch added to this guitar is the coil tap, upping it's versatility in a studio situation. Killer looks, killer playability, and very budget friendly. I highly recommend this guitar!!!

Exactly as advertised

Awesome instrument! First 7 string I've owned and the deal was way below what I expected to pay. These guys get an A+ from me on every metric.

Good value, good buy for hobby musicians

I am decently satisfied with my LTD EC-257 7-String. It plays pretty well and was nicely set up out of the box. I really enjoy the coil tap pick-ups allowing for a single coil sound (which can get pretty gnarly on a 7). I've become quite the fan of LTD for my more affordable mid-price range guitars (I now own 3 LTDs: TE-200, EC-257, and JR-208).I will say the biggest drawback on this guitar is that it is only 22 frets. I'll be completely honest, I may not have bought it had I known (at the time of purchase, there was very little on the Specs Tab), but I'm glad I did get it ultimately as it plays very nicely for a sub-$500 guitar. It's a decent shred guitar (though if you're pure shred, I'd go with a slimmer neck like an Ibanez), but I really enjoy the crunch out ... MoreI am decently satisfied with my LTD EC-257 7-String. It plays pretty well and was nicely set up out of the box. I really enjoy the coil tap pick-ups allowing for a single coil sound (which can get pretty gnarly on a 7). I've become quite the fan of LTD for my more affordable mid-price range guitars (I now own 3 LTDs: TE-200, EC-257, and JR-208).I will say the biggest drawback on this guitar is that it is only 22 frets. I'll be completely honest, I may not have bought it had I known (at the time of purchase, there was very little on the Specs Tab), but I'm glad I did get it ultimately as it plays very nicely for a sub-$500 guitar. It's a decent shred guitar (though if you're pure shred, I'd go with a slimmer neck like an Ibanez), but I really enjoy the crunch out of the stock pick-ups and it is a good all around guitar for multiple styles.The finish is nice and smooth despite being matte. My other matte black guitars tend to have a bit more texture, but this one feels very smooth (almost like my stealth black EBMM JP7 from a few years back). The hardware is pretty standard as far as tuner and bridge. It gets the job done, and work for the price.Overall, this guitar is worth the buy for jamming around the house and doing some at home recordings. If you're a serious gigging musician, I may spend the extra $50/100 and get a little bit nicer guitar that might have a little better hardware to stand up to nightly abuse.

Great basic 7-string.

I've had this guitar for about a year now. This is my first 7 string and I wanted to start off with something basic but good quality. This guitar delivers on all fronts. The pickups are coil-tapped, which was a nice surprise, and the pickups themselves sound decent through most amps. I will eventually replace them with something a little more high-end. Build-wise, the guitar is great quality. The finish is durable, the neck is comfortable for how wide it is, and the fretwork needed no touching up like many guitars in this price point do. The controls are simple and effective. My only real complaint is the tuners: they're terrible. They not only feel cheap but in use they have way too much play, and they often creak while tuning. I'll be replacing them. Playing the ... MoreI've had this guitar for about a year now. This is my first 7 string and I wanted to start off with something basic but good quality. This guitar delivers on all fronts. The pickups are coil-tapped, which was a nice surprise, and the pickups themselves sound decent through most amps. I will eventually replace them with something a little more high-end. Build-wise, the guitar is great quality. The finish is durable, the neck is comfortable for how wide it is, and the fretwork needed no touching up like many guitars in this price point do. The controls are simple and effective. My only real complaint is the tuners: they're terrible. They not only feel cheap but in use they have way too much play, and they often creak while tuning. I'll be replacing them. Playing the guitar is fine; the neck is very flat with a nearly 16" radius. This makes for easy speedy single-note runs. Surprisingly, my boomer bends are just fine on a neck like this. The back of the neck is finished in the same satin as the rest of the guitar and feels comfortable in the hand. I would buy this guitar again. It's a good quality 7-string platform and can easily be improved with some better pickups and tuners.

Well made, solid, and sounds great!

It's a beautiful guitar with no blemishes, which was set up pretty well straight out of the box.