ESP Ltd EC-1000T CTM (Charcoal Burst)

Beautiful instrument that’s versatile & fun to play. Satin finish in tobacco sunburst is art. Fishman Pickups perform - you can move from metal to rock to jazz. Comfortable neck. Stainless steel frets. Lots of high quality details you might expect with custom shop. Don’t 2nd guess yourself on this one.+ Outstanding service from AMS to top it off - Enrique was fantastic getting everything going!

This is my first esp/ltd purchase...and in my particular case, they hit it out of the park.I was a bit scared when the box arrived a bit tattered....but the guitar was in perfect condition and belive me....I went over it top to bottom, full checkup on the factory setup...no adjustments needed.Normally I refrain from buying guitars in the winter time due to the many temperature swings they encounter during their travel. I decided with ams's customer seevice and return policy backing me up that I would cast aside my worries and make the purchase.Just getting to know the guitar still...but so far it is absolutely worth every penny...and then some.

Ticks every box. Size and weight approximating to a GibsonLes Paul. Superb pickups and fretboard (arguably better valuethan a L.P.). Well constructed in Korea. Good balance and appearance.Well set up when received. Sounds good for smooth jazz (wouldn'tknow about metal, thrash, bash and shred - hate that kind of stuffbut then I am pushing 72 ! )

A home run from ESP!

Overall:I received this guitar and it has exceed my expectations. I was a bit concerned about the weight relief. I thought it would make the guitar too light and affect resonance, but believe me it still has a nice hefty weight and resonates as well any Les Paul I've ever played. The neck is definitely on the smaller side, so if you have big paws like me then it will take a bit of adjustment to get used to it. But the neck plays like butter and string bending is a breeze. Exceptional fretwork with not a sharp edge or uneven fret to be found on the one I received. It is the kind of guitar that you hate to stop playing. Oh, and the locking tuners are great. Once the strings stretched, it hasn't gone out of tune even after wild string bending and vibrato The Fishman ... MoreOverall:I received this guitar and it has exceed my expectations. I was a bit concerned about the weight relief. I thought it would make the guitar too light and affect resonance, but believe me it still has a nice hefty weight and resonates as well any Les Paul I've ever played. The neck is definitely on the smaller side, so if you have big paws like me then it will take a bit of adjustment to get used to it. But the neck plays like butter and string bending is a breeze. Exceptional fretwork with not a sharp edge or uneven fret to be found on the one I received. It is the kind of guitar that you hate to stop playing. Oh, and the locking tuners are great. Once the strings stretched, it hasn't gone out of tune even after wild string bending and vibrato The Fishman pickups are another pleasant surprise. They are very toneful. In the "classic PAF" mode, I was able to get a pretty good old school Page-esque tone without much effort. Putting them into "hot" mode can take you quite easily into hard rock and heavier territory. In this mode, they remind me of a Duncan JB but without the annoying mid spike and a powerful, "clear" distortion tone. Putting them into single coil mode, they replicate a strat sound very convincingly. As in, they totally nail it. Overall, I am beyond satisfied that I made this purchase. I know from personal experience that buying gear online without being able to try it first hand is always a risk. I can't see how anyone would be disappointed in this guitar. It is so versatile that it's like buying several guitars in one.

An incredible value

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, ... MoreOut 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.

First Time Buying at Sam Ash

I was hesitant buying at Sam Ash as I have never been there before. I have bee using a different store but when I moved to Indiana, I found the service with the old store NOT up to standards. So I went to Sam Ash and my experience with everything was great. Staff greeted me, eager to help out with my needs and answered my questions with genuine concern. They knew their stuff well enough and on top of that gave expert opinion based on facts and experience. I was looking for another guitar but they don't have it on display. I don't ever buy guitars that I can touch and have a feel. So they suggested the PRS SE and the LTD EC1000. I never had and LTD before but when I plugged the EC1000, oh man it was awesome. Also my hands fit the fretboard shape easy. They offered ... MoreI was hesitant buying at Sam Ash as I have never been there before. I have bee using a different store but when I moved to Indiana, I found the service with the old store NOT up to standards. So I went to Sam Ash and my experience with everything was great. Staff greeted me, eager to help out with my needs and answered my questions with genuine concern. They knew their stuff well enough and on top of that gave expert opinion based on facts and experience. I was looking for another guitar but they don't have it on display. I don't ever buy guitars that I can touch and have a feel. So they suggested the PRS SE and the LTD EC1000. I never had and LTD before but when I plugged the EC1000, oh man it was awesome. Also my hands fit the fretboard shape easy. They offered free set-up in Indianapolis for purchase but I declined because the guitar already has perfect action and intonation but I was offered the $80++ dollars for 2 years which included 3-4 set-up/year and I did sign up for this as I am not confident setting up my guitars. Needless to say, I sold my MIM strat and Ibanez prestige. I plan on buying another guitar from Sam Ash because of the excellent customer service. I also was able to use my Sam Ash Card and able to get the EC1000 and pay it 0% interest-free in 36 months. Pretty cool deal.

High Quality Great Tone

Overall:I just bought one from zZounds and it’s amazing! The Fluence Modern pickups aren't that great but I spent the $250 and bought Fluence open core classic zebra pickups, had them switched out, and now this guitar has the best sound of any guitar I’ve ever owned and I’ve owned quite a few. The guitar itself plays like butter and looks fantastic. The pickup change was easy and well worth it. I knew I was going to change the pickups when I bought it. I bought the guitar for the maple/mahogany/ebony combination. Top quality and great price!

Initial Impressions (and they're Good!)

Overall:When my LTD EC-1000T CTM Tobacco Sunburst arrived, I immediately checked the country of manufacture. Mine was made in Indonesia. Initially I was bummed by this (I think we all want one from S. Korea) but after getting a feel for this guitar I can honestly say I have no QC issues or complaints with my specific guitar. I can't imagine there's any quality difference between mine and one made in Korea. That is to say, the quality and craftsmanship of this guitar are absolutely top notch!First off, this is a beautiful guitar. The color is dark, darker than most of the pictures show. This is a very good thing indeed, perfectly balancing a traditional design with modern flair and finesse. The flamed mahogany top has a decent amount of shimmer and "3D effect." The ... MoreOverall:When my LTD EC-1000T CTM Tobacco Sunburst arrived, I immediately checked the country of manufacture. Mine was made in Indonesia. Initially I was bummed by this (I think we all want one from S. Korea) but after getting a feel for this guitar I can honestly say I have no QC issues or complaints with my specific guitar. I can't imagine there's any quality difference between mine and one made in Korea. That is to say, the quality and craftsmanship of this guitar are absolutely top notch!First off, this is a beautiful guitar. The color is dark, darker than most of the pictures show. This is a very good thing indeed, perfectly balancing a traditional design with modern flair and finesse. The flamed mahogany top has a decent amount of shimmer and "3D effect." The matte finish is gorgeous and feels great to handle. The full thickness body is well, thick! I love this chunky body style but if you're playing live a lot it may be too much. This is completely subjective though. Just know, it's thick! On top of that there's 7-ply binding front, back, and headstock...and it just blows me away how great it looks. 7-ply!The black hardware is nice, and complements the overall design and gives it a modern/brutal kinda look. The nut (molded plastic?) has some sharp corners that took me by surprise. They'll need to be filed down to prevent jabbing myself when returning to the first fret abruptly.But the rest of the neck/frets/fingerboard experience is absolutely glorious! Seriously this is my favorite thing about this guitar. It feels like a Les Paul, but the slightly thinner neck on this Eclipse is way more comfortable, but still has that "beefy" Les Paul feel. Hard to explain, but to me this is perfection. I do not experience wrist pain playing this guitar (every Gibson LP I owned gave me wrist pain). The ebony fingerboard and stainless steel frets simply feel wonderful, a complete joy to play this guitar with the added bonus of knowing you won't need a fret job for a very, very, long time (if ever).The Open Core Classic pups are pretty nice too, different than I'm used to, but it's not hard to pull very good and useable tones out of them. The push/pull tone pot switches between Modern and PAF sounds. While I can kind of see that, it's more of a frequency response shift that actually is quite useful. I find it more useful than switching between the neck and bridge pickups. Modern gives me crystal clear definition for distored metal runs, and I can pull the pot for the PAF sound that adds just the right amount of "hair." I haven't messed with the single-coil voice, so I won't comment on it other than it's cool that it's there.Overall this a serious guitar. I purchased this with the intention of keeping it around the home studio and I have no doubt after spending some time with it I will have this guitar for a very long time to come.

Plays as good as it looks

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.

Silky Venom

This was my first time buying a guitar this way, fully online. Let me tell you I couldn't be happier. I had to wait a few months for it to come in, but it was so worth it. I had it Plek'd and a bone nut installed. It was shipped in the case (I bought an ESP case) and I couldn't find a flaw anywhere. I've owned (and own) a variety of guitars from stupid-expensive to budget. I cannot believe how nice this guitar is for the price. You want to talk about a wolf in sheep's clothing, this is it. The tobacco with the black hardware is simply gorgeous. The sustain is glorious, and the neck is hyper fast. With the Fishmans a few wrist movements can take you from Di Meola to Dimebag. Needless to say, I'm very happy with this guitar and would certainly not hesitate to buy from ... MoreThis was my first time buying a guitar this way, fully online. Let me tell you I couldn't be happier. I had to wait a few months for it to come in, but it was so worth it. I had it Plek'd and a bone nut installed. It was shipped in the case (I bought an ESP case) and I couldn't find a flaw anywhere. I've owned (and own) a variety of guitars from stupid-expensive to budget. I cannot believe how nice this guitar is for the price. You want to talk about a wolf in sheep's clothing, this is it. The tobacco with the black hardware is simply gorgeous. The sustain is glorious, and the neck is hyper fast. With the Fishmans a few wrist movements can take you from Di Meola to Dimebag. Needless to say, I'm very happy with this guitar and would certainly not hesitate to buy from Sweetwater again.