I have to say I really appreciate that you play the more affordable guitars through the Katana. It really winds me up when certain youtubers play a budget guitar through a $4000 amp. I mean, whats the point? Who will be in the market for a $200 guitar when they have a $4000 amp? So yeah, appreciate it.
Nobody would want cheap guitars if they're demoed trough the cheapest amps to make them sound crappier than they actually are. And btw, i'm in the market für a 200€ guitar even tho i already have a 2000€ guitar.
@@Zwidawurzn Yeah but you can cut around a lot of the downsides of a budget guitar if you’re putting it through a 5 grand amp setup, plus it’s much more accurate to the experience of the customer. Most people who are buying these guitars have those more budget amps, it would be like doing a budget car review, but throwing in high end suspensions and a nicer transmission. Some of it would be accurate but it’s not very accurate to what the average customer of that product would be.
@@Kieranh4424 Which downsides of the guitar can be cut with an expensive amp setup, and how? I got over half a ton of amps and cabs but that's new to me.
Why not tey an agfordable guitar amp though is what hes saying... you could play a guitar hero guitar through that amp and itd sound killer... use an orange or the prs mt15.. theyre like 600 dollar amps most people use for bedroom use. Its more likely youre a weirdo with a 2000$ guitar looking for a 200$ guitar then that being the average persons scenario. Lolol @Zwidawurzn
Point of fact: A coil tap is when there is a tap in the coil that reduces the number of winds on the coil are being used. A coil split is when you bypass one of the coils on a humbucker.
From my experience, the Goldilocks price for budget guitars is the $200 to $500 USD range. Any guitar with properly finished stainless steel frets for under $500 is a huge win in my opinion.
I own a Korean made M50 with X2N clone, p90 voiced humbucker and a push/push knob. It's a phenomenal guitar that outshines many mid range guitars. Ltd took a big hit to quality when they moved to Indonesia.
I had a Korean F-100 and loved it but gave it to someone. I replaced it, but it's an Indonesian one and, while still a decent guitar, it definitely was not of the same quality as the Korean model. For an even clearer example of your point: I want to get one of the seemingly many purple H3-1000s that both ESP and retailers are selling as B-stock, but there are two versions floating around, a Korean and an Indonesian, and the Korean has better specs (tuners and pickups) and, from what I've seen so far, a much better top. But it's hard to get an answer as to which one I will get, ESP says it's "first in, first out" at the warehouse so it's a crapshoot.
I have a 34 year old Ibanez rg550. It wasn't expensive when I bought it and it still works like it did the first day. I only changed his magnets. Those Japanese really know how to make a good guitar.
Ibanez are fucking deadly, they are so affordable while never comprising quality/playability. Wizard necks are on the same level as a Jackson USA built Axe but around 1/2 the price!! I have a early 80's Road Star that easily sounds/plays with legit comparability to whatever
I purchased a ec256 black and gold made in Indonesia from Sweetwater. It’s a step up from the Chinese ec200 and it’s well worth the $100 extra bucks! Indonesia makes great guitars for the money!
They need to up their game when you see what Firefly, Censtar and Harley Benton have to offer in the $200 area. SS ball end frets and locking tuners for that price and the LTD's still need good setups.
For a little more you could get a used 400 series or 50% more you can get a 1000 series if you hunt around enough and they're studio and touring quality instruments with set necks, premium pickups, etc...i just bought a brand new B stock H1001 FR model for under 550 shipped
I have a LTD M 200 with a Floyd Rose, the guitar is the most crooked I've ever seen, the neck pocket was covered in paint, I had to straighten it myself so that the neck would fit properly. The pickup holes are crooked and the guitar can't be made without plastic rings, even the name of the country of manufacture was written with a mistake - NDONESIA instead of INDONESIA lol, but as soon as I set everything up, I fell in love with this cheapie! I have a Hetfield ESP, I have a Dean ML, I have a Fender, an Alexi ESP, in short, I have something to compare it with. Maybe because I tuned it myself, but there's something in it, and the sound is good.
Love that you are playing entry level guitars. One that isn’t shown often is the Censtar HH tele on Amazon for $169. It’s got a roasted neck, stainless frets and coil split humbucker. At that price I thought it wasn’t a roasted neck. So I sanded the finish off of the heal of the neck. Yup. Definitely roasted. Frets are not tall, but playable. But needed slots cut deeper. No shim needed on neck. Pickups were decent and are not microphonic. Adjustable truss wheel on the front of neck is a plus. Great if you want a guitar to play at slam shows where the crowd might come in contact with you. Oh. There was one paint drop on the back. But it was buffed flat so you can only see it at a specific angle. Thanks for your video. Great to see budget gear becoming so well made for the price. The only ones I stay away from are the super cheap Floyd Rose guitars. They usually have a terrible locking nut and the springs rarely are strong enough for anything above 10s.
The fretwork thing is why I tend to lean towards Schecter for the mid-budget range. I've never gotten a Schecter that didn't play well. I did get one with a bad (working, but bad) output jack, but that was an easy fix and it was a display model from sweetwater so it could have just been w&t.
It's strange with me, I agree the schecters I had played very well and sounded pretty good. On the other hand the low E string would buzz sooooo bad. On all 3 models i had. Even took all 3 to a famous luthier in my state...still did it. I'll never buy schecter again because of that but I'm glad it worked out for you
I have to say I love my Schecter Classic, but ended up selling my Omen Extreme, because of the fret edges. Replaced it with an LTD EC-1000 Deluxe, which is my main axe, above all my other guitars.
They used to have the 10 series but I'm not sure if it's in production anymore. My first guitar was an LTD M-10 retailing at around $175 at the time I believe, and it still rips after about 8 years. The quality also went down unfortunately once they switched from Vietnam to China.
They have them still. They moved them to grassroots. We don't get that brand in the us. We get the schecter instead, but I have not seen the super cheap ones outside of mom and pops for a while
Years back LTD had the M-50 model which was a stripped down MII. These were amazing for $199 new! They had a non locking fender style trem though And two humbuckers.
I looked at this guitar. In Canada, it's 599. They make a version with one pickup, one volume, all black called the m-201. It's 799. It make absolutely no sense.
I have the m201. I got one from eBay for 329$. Great deal. Not the best guitar. But for the price it's worth it. Im not saying it's bad but I had my eye on the LTD SN1 but that's 1100$ or so. That's next though.
@davidaix5771 I did but the interesting models with import fees and shipping are pretty expensive. But i bought a 2x12 Harley benton cabinet with célestin V30 and it was worth the price even with the shipping and import fee. I will buy a guitar someday when I'll think it worth it
These and the new schecters are filling in the niche of entry level with “high end” looks. The QC seems to be variable. The purple one I got had great frets, and the tuners were decent. The finish was fine, the neck is a little fat, and roasted maple seems to be the cool kid of the day. LTD 150 pickups are actually solid for stock… still replaced them with SD Blackouts. 🤷🏻♂️
@@BaritoneGoatStudio that’s super interesting because the neck on this was slimmer than my other LTDs (I think), which was surprising. I wonder if the neck profile changes between models or is just not consistent
@@TaylorDanley That would be weird. Most likely a user problem :D 'Cos I have this guitar too and it IS slim! Perfectly in line with the Ibanez/Jackson necks that I like.
@@TaylorDanleyI think it is the shape. It feels more round in the hand than I expected. The SN-1000 I had was a thin U shape too but it felt much slimmer, so maybe I am a little biased toward that guitar. The one I got feels more like a C shape, but no where near as thin feeling as my Jackson X series or Ibanez RGs. But I also didn’t bust out any calipers to check actual measurements.
My gut tells me roasted maple has become more common because it allows them use young wood. No need to have wood sitting around aging for years when you can just cut it and bake it. I think its also the reason Jackson puts reinforcement rods in even the cheapest of guitars.
I got my ltd v-50 back in the day and I still use it for almost everything, I changed out the bridge pickup for a lace deathbucker but even stock it was mind blowing. That was back before a whole tone of people switched (like 2012) so it was before it became what most people considered the "go to" popular metal brand ESP has become. But honestly their stuff has always just been High quality and I've always spoken highly of it
I bought a tobacco burst EC-256 Les Paul style LTD years ago used for like $200. Man it's been a joy to own and play. I don't know if the previous owner had a set up done but she's perfect.
I got a brand new ESP/LTD M-10, just as a base platform to transform. In my surprise, the pickups sounded very good with no hum at all! So, replaced the tuners with Gotoh SG, a Tusq nut, and did myself a fret level/ bevel and crown. Plays like a charm, in a fraction of a cost. Maybe replace the pickups, but not for now.
ltd does have super cheap guitars, or atleast they used to, there’s a store near where i live that sells a few entry model ltd for 150-200€ and they’re pretty good, maybe they’re just older models but they had them atleast
the ec-10/m-10 dont exist anymore, and havent in 2+ years...the 200 series are the lowest price and quality they offer now and are 399 msrp...their cheapest set neck model is 599
*As far as budget guitar that plays well "out of the box," I recently purchased a Harley Benton Baritone-7 SBK. It is a 7 string neck-through body guitar with a 27" scale length. It has locking tuners and a graph tech nut. The price is only $233.00/ I can't recommend this enough!*
@@BlackWoolStudios05 Just to give you a heads up, the shipping cost from Germany is about $70.00 (if you reside in the US and it is express shipping). With the total just over $300.00, it is still an excellent bargain. Also keep in mind, if you decided to purchase another guitar as well, the shipping cost would be the same.
Schecter damien 6 is like 25 bucks more, and it's my favorite guitar, and it has super sick bat inlays lol. I did put emgs in mine but everyone loves the pickups that come in it I just need an 81 in my guitars
The frets can and will go out after purchasing the guitar depending on how and where it was stored, temperature / humidity. Therefore its no QC. If you expect to buy a cheap OR expensive guitar and expect to never do anything the the frets or the trustrod, i have bad news for you.
Honestly speaking....Im a collector of all things guitar and out of all the budget guitars I've bought and modded over the years, the LTD M series I got is seriously impressive. Like very very impressive. Compared to Yamaha Pacifica, squirt, Ibanez Gio or Jackson JS32 series etc....the LTD blows em out of the water. Yes you do pay a bit more. But that extra money goes a very long way. All I every swapped out are the pickups on the LTD. Nothing else really. And I'm someone who mods the crap out of his guitars.... locking tuners to bridges , nuts, pots and more.
Esp and schecter have the same parent company. They do not sell the ultra low price or vintage style esp stuff in the us, but they do sell the schecter that come from the same factories. They still keep away from Gibson likes, even though most are not valid trademarks, but other than that we get similar to their low end brands under schecter
Just bought my first LTD guitar on Sweetwater. In this case, it was $600. It's a pretty guitar for sure. But when I got it, the frets were really uneven. I actually had to do a fret level before I could get a good setup on it, as I prefer a low action. I don't think the build quality is bad. But I have bought guitars in that $600 to $700 price range from Ibanez and Schecter that were way better out of the box. In fact, the Schecter was brilliant with Tone Pros bridge and tail, quality locking tuners and Duncan Design active pickups. Plus, the fretwork on the Schecter was flawless. I totally get where you are coming from. You want to love the LTD guitars, and you will, but only after you have done some finishing work on them that should have been done in Indonesia at the factory.
I have to agree with you on several things here. I agree, for instance, that ESP/LTD may not have targeted the right price point for that axe. A couple of weeks ago, I took delivery of a guitar from one of those Amazon cheap guitar sellers -- my second from that company, which should tell you something. This thing came in with such high quality that I have yet even to remove the stock strings! When I do, I'm going to put the string that came with it on -- yes, it included a set of strings. It's a super Strat in the mold of the Fender American Ultra Strat: HSS pickups, gold anodized pickguard, alder body, maple neck and fretboard -- both coated, probably with polyurethane at its sub-$300 price point. Yeah, I know -- glossy neck bad, but I myself have always been rather agnostic about the friction of a glossy neck. My original guitar had this same arrangement, so the new one felt like an old friend immediately. When I started playing, though, I got a pleasant surprise, as the axe was eminently playable, despite being strung with 10s and played by a guy who got used to 9s DECADES ago! That a REALLY good setup, I'd say. I straightened the neck a bit and the playability improved! This axe kicks azz for relatively low money! As to that Jackson JS11 you got, I'd say you got lucky on the frets and fretboard, because my experience with my JS22 was much different. The fret job on that puppy was killer, but the fret ends were the worst I've seen to this day. Jackson should probably age or roast their fretboard woods so as to cut down on the amount of fret sprout that happens. Either that or ditch the amaranth and go with something like jatoba or laurel. Even maple would work -- and I'm mostly a dark fretboard wood guy. Anyhow, I hope my exposition here found favor with you. Peace!
For the price it`s sold here in Europe (500 Euros, so 544$), it doesn't make much sense at all. Harley benton Amarok 6 BKNT has: Neck Thru, Stainless steel frets, EMG Retroactive pickups, graphtech nut and locking tuners. Both are made in indonesia so similar construction, but at least you start with a lot better hardware to tinker with.
Something about the reverse head stock on guitars, I just love the look of it a lot. Two humbuckers, a floyd rose, 24 frets and a reverse head. Made in USA looks really nice under the brand on the head too :-).
It’s nice looking aesthetically but for like $100 more you can get a used Ltd EC-1000 made in South Korea to much higher standards and with branded pickups and hardware. They used to have the 10, 50 and 100-series guitars in that $1-300 range but they’ve been discontinued. The closest equivalent to this in Jackson’s catalog is the JS-32 series which retail in the $350-400 range
Love the stabilized maple neck. That's correct, the roasting performs a mechanical function, esp is smart because they understand this. 😊 Dislike very much so : the poplar body 🙁 although it could sound interesting as glue on body wings for a neck thru. Poplar does not belong on a bolt on neck as the body material. On a bolt on , the body is the bell, the neck is the handle . Poplar is bright with scratchy mids that scrape. It does not sustain in, nor does it produce enough lows and low mids. There you go, anyone wondering where the crappy sound is coming from, it is every budget guitar with a poplar body and or inferior fretboard material, they are just too unscientific or stubborn to use richlite fretboard over the stanky jatoba, amaranth, and luarel moldy fretboards. 😊 Have a nice day.
Suggestion for a future tryout video: The Witch from HILS America. They're the importer for South Korean guitar maker Hex Instruments Labs, and The Witch is both their most metal guitar and also tied for cheapest at $349. Like the $399 ESP LTD 200DX, it has dual humbuckers with coil splitting, but it's made in Indonesia with a mahogany body and stainless frets. I'm curious to see how it holds up to your elevated expectations for that higher entry level, and really I'm just curious, since it hasn't been reviewed much.
100% dead on with that guitar. I played all of these $$$ guitars recentlyat ""The Center" me and my friend with 3 Guitar Center employees all thought the price made no f'n sense. It's a 200-250 $ guitar TOPS!!!
Hi, I like the 200dx series. I have the EC200dx and I'm very pleased with it. Mine came set up straight out of the box! The ESP LH-150 pickups scream through my Gen 3 Katana (and the coil tap is nice also). I liked it so much I plan to get the M and TE models also. 😁🤘🎸
You should check out the new 2024 Jackson JS20. They have a similar design to this LTD, but with sharkfin inlays and fret binding with the price of $260 brand new.
You might want to look at the ESP LTD 10 range. EC-10, MH-10, F-10, Viper-10, MH-17 (Technically still a 10, just a 7 string one). That's their beginner range of cheap models.
they dont exist anymore and havent in 2+ years...the 200 series are the lowest price and quality they offer now and are 399 msrp...their cheapest set neck model is 599
@@Shadow0fd3ath24 m series are discontinued and replaced with mh series, what I cant forgive them is removing signiture (esp,ltd) 12 fret model name from m 10 model, its no more on mh10, their cheap guitars now really look just cheap, model name on 12 fret at least gave some of prestige feel to it that its close to popular high end ESP models
I had a 1998 LTD M200 in black. It was $399 at the time it launched and came with a low profile tremolo. The guitar stayed in tune extremely well. I put an EMG 81/85 set in it with a PA-2 preamp booster. It was a really cool guitar to play and it sounded killer. I remember the neck plate and truss rod cover said ESP on it. I sold it 12 years ago and regret it. Then I bought a LTD GH200 three years ago and regret purchasing it. The cheap Floyd Special tremolo it came with was really bad. It did not stay in tune even when decked for dive bomb only. I put a cheap $67 Guitar Fetish fast loader tremolo and locking nut in it and now it stays in tune perfectly. I use the Fender bullet strings with it. Even the low cost stuff from Guitar Fetish is better than the crappy Floyd Special. I own two older EC1000's and one older EC256 and love them. I should have gotten the GH600 instead of the GH200.
I have an LTD Ec201. The stock LTD pickup is actually as good, if not better than the JB I replaced it with (thinking it would be an upgrade). Anyway I left the JB in there and ended up putting that stock pickup in another guitar that needed a bridge pickup. No point letting letting it go to waste 🤷♂️
The top on that guitar reminds me of my fully restored 1989 made in South Korea neck through Squier HSH Super Strat with an OG Floyd Rose. If the price was closer to $249, it could be a cool backup guitar. At $399, I feel that bad fret work is no longer acceptable. You can pick up sub $200 guitars now with rounded stainless steel frets.
Never really thought about looking at ESP/LTD for budget. I always go to Ibanez. My LTD’s aren’t expensive but they’re my more expensive guitars (unless you count the used market on dimebag guitars, then those are my most expensive)
I have an esp Ltd mh-17. The nut is ruined, it is cheap wood, i tried to get a replacement through them and they would not send one, even if i paid. i got another one, not meant for the mh-17, and i cannot get the strings to sit correctly. It was good for 200 dollars but holy crap getting it fixed is a pain.
Was about to say I got a grassroots g-hr-49qm but then I realised you have a ltd guitar haha (since if you were unaware, in Japan esp has two brands grassroots, being the cheapest guitars they sell, and Edwards which is sort of in line with the ltd series worldwide) so yes you can get cheaper guitars from esp but only the ones from Japan for instance you can get a grassroots Les Paul for about $600 aud (close to $400 usd) brand new
I bought this one and the tele equivalent at the same time. I have zero complaints with them. I have added locking tuners and did a very simple setup to lower the action. Sorry, you’re not getting as much for $400 anymore.
For $100 more, you could get a HILS guitar, and I hear The Next is a really nice model. TBH, I’ve never played a “nice” LTD below 800 that didn’t have some issue, whether it be fret end issues or cheap fretboard woods.
I bought my sister in law an H-51 for her birthday when I worked at a local music shop about 6 years ago. $179 and it was actually pretty decent out the box. ESP putting out something unplayable at $399 is ridiculous
There are the 10/50/100 series that are around £200 ish. If you can get one, as they seem to be out of stock or limited to some resellers every time I look.
As someone who is a huge fan of LTD because of their necks I was hoping these would be sweet. I like the look of them, espeicially the T body. Hopefully they get better at quality control as they continue to produce them.
miss my iconic, wish i just splurged for a captor x sooner... this peavey ultra plus i ended up getting is pretty nice, just had to work out the low end being too much there.
for me, jackson and esp (ltd) for sure the lower end models sound great. ibanez like a gio, or fender are kinda meh. never had an issue with esp or jackson
No way for $400. You could pick up an entry level Ibanez RG for a bit less or one of the other options you've gone over, like the Jackson. In this day and age there is no excuse for sharp fret ends.
ESP LTD seems really sloppy these days, I bought the M1000 as my first one ($1500 where I live!) and it had terrible QC on the finish and binding, far worse quality than my other non-ESP guitars that were half the price, I returned it....
A few months ago I bought an Eart (pronounced E Art, I believe) semi-hollow guitar off of Amazon for a little over $300 after tax. Their 325 model...that looks a bit like a semi-hollow ESP Potbelly guitar, not the old one that looked like a 335. Anyways, it has some of the best fretwork I've ever seen on a guitar. Stainless steel frets with ball ends, and perfectly seated frets. I've seen $4k+ Gibsons with worse... The Eart has a roasted mahogany neck, roasted wood body (mahogany I think), the SS frets, compound radius. It's a very nice guitar, despite being inexpensive.
Sounds great, but bad fretwork is a deal breaker regardless the price. Fret sprout out of the box just seems unacceptable imho, unless your buying it at a local shop and they offer free setups with purchase, and will knock those frets down! Also shout out the EVH Iconic 5150! That amp sounded huge!
I still have a 2011 LTD EX-50. And then a M-103FM which I traded for an AX-50. Sold that as well. They were a good entry-level series, better than Ibanez GIO series of that era. These days, LTD cost much more than a regular RG though..
I definitely would pick one up, and the pickups would be the first thing to go! The purple one looks really nice too! Looking at the EC256 in candy apple red, but now the this one in purple has really caught my eye, with a week to decide which one I want…!😂
I’ve had my eye on these. I’m a sucker for modding entry level guitars, and these things are beautiful. I think I’ll just wait til I can get a used one for a couple bills.
@@beefnacos6258 especially if it only has a LITTLE buckle rash and some crappy, Amazon pickup installed in the bridge position. “Killer Ltd shredder! UPGRADED pickups!” 🤣
Yes, some LTDs are good, some are not, some feels like toys and some sounds awesome! I own a number of LTDs in different price ranges but I still use my ESP and never looked back. I was about to get a new LTD when I saw the price tag which was the same as 2 of the ESPs I own, and they still didn't have the same specs or the same quality. So I went to some other brand and tried that out, a smaller brand. Was very happy and didn't buy the LTD, and had money left to get some pedals and a good amp (didn't by it though). 😉 I can mention that I own an LTD 5-string bass and it sounds good but I got it new for a very low prices, it's not on par with the other ESP and old pre-2009 LTDs I have but it's still good and sounds great.
check out gator cableworks here!! 🥳 sweetwater.sjv.io/9gvkj0
I have to say I really appreciate that you play the more affordable guitars through the Katana. It really winds me up when certain youtubers play a budget guitar through a $4000 amp. I mean, whats the point? Who will be in the market for a $200 guitar when they have a $4000 amp? So yeah, appreciate it.
Nobody would want cheap guitars if they're demoed trough the cheapest amps to make them sound crappier than they actually are.
And btw, i'm in the market für a 200€ guitar even tho i already have a 2000€ guitar.
@@Zwidawurzn Yeah but you can cut around a lot of the downsides of a budget guitar if you’re putting it through a 5 grand amp setup, plus it’s much more accurate to the experience of the customer. Most people who are buying these guitars have those more budget amps, it would be like doing a budget car review, but throwing in high end suspensions and a nicer transmission. Some of it would be accurate but it’s not very accurate to what the average customer of that product would be.
@@Kieranh4424 Which downsides of the guitar can be cut with an expensive amp setup, and how? I got over half a ton of amps and cabs but that's new to me.
@@AWMJoeyjoejoe EXACTLY
Why not tey an agfordable guitar amp though is what hes saying... you could play a guitar hero guitar through that amp and itd sound killer... use an orange or the prs mt15.. theyre like 600 dollar amps most people use for bedroom use. Its more likely youre a weirdo with a 2000$ guitar looking for a 200$ guitar then that being the average persons scenario. Lolol @Zwidawurzn
Point of fact: A coil tap is when there is a tap in the coil that reduces the number of winds on the coil are being used. A coil split is when you bypass one of the coils on a humbucker.
@@greevar thanks
Thank you for that.
Nice 👍
From my experience, the Goldilocks price for budget guitars is the $200 to $500 USD range. Any guitar with properly finished stainless steel frets for under $500 is a huge win in my opinion.
@@greevar good point, also check the used market, I nabbed a Korean ltd mirage for $300 last Christmas
I own a Korean made M50 with X2N clone, p90 voiced humbucker and a push/push knob. It's a phenomenal guitar that outshines many mid range guitars.
Ltd took a big hit to quality when they moved to Indonesia.
I had a Korean F-100 and loved it but gave it to someone. I replaced it, but it's an Indonesian one and, while still a decent guitar, it definitely was not of the same quality as the Korean model.
For an even clearer example of your point: I want to get one of the seemingly many purple H3-1000s that both ESP and retailers are selling as B-stock, but there are two versions floating around, a Korean and an Indonesian, and the Korean has better specs (tuners and pickups) and, from what I've seen so far, a much better top. But it's hard to get an answer as to which one I will get, ESP says it's "first in, first out" at the warehouse so it's a crapshoot.
they still make korean guitars, E-II and i think all of the 1000 and Black Metal series are korean made or equivalent quality to those
I got a LTD EC 1000 made in Korea and the quality is like an Esp guitar.
I have a 34 year old Ibanez rg550. It wasn't expensive when I bought it and it still works like it did the first day. I only changed his magnets. Those Japanese really know how to make a good guitar.
i have a 91 and a 93 RG550, couldn't beat them
Ibanez are fucking deadly, they are so affordable while never comprising quality/playability. Wizard necks are on the same level as a Jackson USA built Axe but around 1/2 the price!!
I have a early 80's Road Star that easily sounds/plays with legit comparability to whatever
I purchased a ec256 black and gold made in Indonesia from Sweetwater. It’s a step up from the Chinese ec200 and it’s well worth the $100 extra bucks! Indonesia makes great guitars for the money!
They need to up their game when you see what Firefly, Censtar and Harley Benton have to offer in the $200 area. SS ball end frets and locking tuners for that price and the LTD's still need good setups.
@@R3dbudd don’t forget stainless steel frets and if you buy the floyd version it is the Korean 1000 series, not Special
For a little more you could get a used 400 series or 50% more you can get a 1000 series if you hunt around enough and they're studio and touring quality instruments with set necks, premium pickups, etc...i just bought a brand new B stock H1001 FR model for under 550 shipped
I have a LTD M 200 with a Floyd Rose, the guitar is the most crooked I've ever seen, the neck pocket was covered in paint, I had to straighten it myself so that the neck would fit properly. The pickup holes are crooked and the guitar can't be made without plastic rings, even the name of the country of manufacture was written with a mistake - NDONESIA instead of INDONESIA lol, but as soon as I set everything up, I fell in love with this cheapie! I have a Hetfield ESP, I have a Dean ML, I have a Fender, an Alexi ESP, in short, I have something to compare it with.
Maybe because I tuned it myself, but there's something in it, and the sound is good.
Love that you are playing entry level guitars.
One that isn’t shown often is the Censtar HH tele on Amazon for $169. It’s got a roasted neck, stainless frets and coil split humbucker.
At that price I thought it wasn’t a roasted neck. So I sanded the finish off of the heal of the neck. Yup. Definitely roasted.
Frets are not tall, but playable. But needed slots cut deeper. No shim needed on neck. Pickups were decent and are not microphonic. Adjustable truss wheel on the front of neck is a plus. Great if you want a guitar to play at slam shows where the crowd might come in contact with you.
Oh. There was one paint drop on the back. But it was buffed flat so you can only see it at a specific angle.
Thanks for your video. Great to see budget gear becoming so well made for the price. The only ones I stay away from are the super cheap Floyd Rose guitars. They usually have a terrible locking nut and the springs rarely are strong enough for anything above 10s.
The fretwork thing is why I tend to lean towards Schecter for the mid-budget range. I've never gotten a Schecter that didn't play well. I did get one with a bad (working, but bad) output jack, but that was an easy fix and it was a display model from sweetwater so it could have just been w&t.
It's strange with me, I agree the schecters I had played very well and sounded pretty good. On the other hand the low E string would buzz sooooo bad. On all 3 models i had. Even took all 3 to a famous luthier in my state...still did it. I'll never buy schecter again because of that but I'm glad it worked out for you
I have to say I love my Schecter Classic, but ended up selling my Omen Extreme, because of the fret edges. Replaced it with an LTD EC-1000 Deluxe, which is my main axe, above all my other guitars.
Love the body look. Pickups sound pretty good.
Just got the js22 from jackson,needed some tlc but its great now,i love the jumbo frets and the pickups are screamin!
They used to have the 10 series but I'm not sure if it's in production anymore. My first guitar was an LTD M-10 retailing at around $175 at the time I believe, and it still rips after about 8 years. The quality also went down unfortunately once they switched from Vietnam to China.
Just had a quick look on the ESP website and it does indeed look like the 10 series has been discontinued. Cheapest they have now is the 200 series.
@@rhin0virus03 I remember them! I’m not sure what happened to them
@@TaylorDanley They are up for sale on Thomann still.
Haha I have a Korean M50 and mentioned how the quality went downhill when they moved to Indonesia.
They have them still. They moved them to grassroots. We don't get that brand in the us. We get the schecter instead, but I have not seen the super cheap ones outside of mom and pops for a while
Years back LTD had the M-50 model which was a stripped down MII. These were amazing for $199 new! They had a non locking fender style trem though And two humbuckers.
Mine still rips. Korean M50 with an X2N clone and a p90 voiced humbucker
I looked at this guitar. In Canada, it's 599. They make a version with one pickup, one volume, all black called the m-201. It's 799. It make absolutely no sense.
No offense but that's Canada for ya
I have the m201. I got one from eBay for 329$. Great deal. Not the best guitar. But for the price it's worth it. Im not saying it's bad but I had my eye on the LTD SN1 but that's 1100$ or so. That's next though.
i know im from canada too and its hard to get a good guitar 500$ guitar is 1000 bucks here lol
You should look into a Harley Benton
@davidaix5771 I did but the interesting models with import fees and shipping are pretty expensive. But i bought a 2x12 Harley benton cabinet with célestin V30 and it was worth the price even with the shipping and import fee. I will buy a guitar someday when I'll think it worth it
LTD does have the M-10/MH-10 guitars that are around 200usd. I have always loved LTD.
I appreciate the direct and honest delivery
These and the new schecters are filling in the niche of entry level with “high end” looks. The QC seems to be variable. The purple one I got had great frets, and the tuners were decent. The finish was fine, the neck is a little fat, and roasted maple seems to be the cool kid of the day. LTD 150 pickups are actually solid for stock… still replaced them with SD Blackouts. 🤷🏻♂️
@@BaritoneGoatStudio that’s super interesting because the neck on this was slimmer than my other LTDs (I think), which was surprising. I wonder if the neck profile changes between models or is just not consistent
@@TaylorDanley That would be weird. Most likely a user problem :D 'Cos I have this guitar too and it IS slim! Perfectly in line with the Ibanez/Jackson necks that I like.
@@TaylorDanleyI think it is the shape. It feels more round in the hand than I expected. The SN-1000 I had was a thin U shape too but it felt much slimmer, so maybe I am a little biased toward that guitar. The one I got feels more like a C shape, but no where near as thin feeling as my Jackson X series or Ibanez RGs. But I also didn’t bust out any calipers to check actual measurements.
My gut tells me roasted maple has become more common because it allows them use young wood. No need to have wood sitting around aging for years when you can just cut it and bake it. I think its also the reason Jackson puts reinforcement rods in even the cheapest of guitars.
I just bought this exact one a few weeks ago to be my first guitar so I can start learning finally. I hope I didn't make a mistake! 😬
You'll be fine dude. Take it to a luthier for a setup and you'll be good to go.
I got my ltd v-50 back in the day and I still use it for almost everything, I changed out the bridge pickup for a lace deathbucker but even stock it was mind blowing. That was back before a whole tone of people switched (like 2012) so it was before it became what most people considered the "go to" popular metal brand ESP has become. But honestly their stuff has always just been High quality and I've always spoken highly of it
I bought a tobacco burst EC-256 Les Paul style LTD years ago used for like $200. Man it's been a joy to own and play. I don't know if the previous owner had a set up done but she's perfect.
I got a brand new ESP/LTD M-10, just as a base platform to transform. In my surprise, the pickups sounded very good with no hum at all! So, replaced the tuners with Gotoh SG, a Tusq nut, and did myself a fret level/ bevel and crown. Plays like a charm, in a fraction of a cost. Maybe replace the pickups, but not for now.
ltd does have super cheap guitars, or atleast they used to, there’s a store near where i live that sells a few entry model ltd for 150-200€ and they’re pretty good, maybe they’re just older models but they had them atleast
Older LTD is even better
the ec-10/m-10 dont exist anymore, and havent in 2+ years...the 200 series are the lowest price and quality they offer now and are 399 msrp...their cheapest set neck model is 599
Thank you so much for the Honest review. Been searching for one since months.
I haven't seen a video on it yet either
*As far as budget guitar that plays well "out of the box," I recently purchased a Harley Benton Baritone-7 SBK. It is a 7 string neck-through body guitar with a 27" scale length. It has locking tuners and a graph tech nut. The price is only $233.00/ I can't recommend this enough!*
will remeber this since im in the market for a 7 or 8 string
@@BlackWoolStudios05 Just to give you a heads up, the shipping cost from Germany is about $70.00 (if you reside in the US and it is express shipping). With the total just over $300.00, it is still an excellent bargain. Also keep in mind, if you decided to purchase another guitar as well, the shipping cost would be the same.
Harley Benton is KILLING it lately
@@TheChrispablo They have indeed!
@@crazeyjoe So what you're saying is it's even better to buy three guitars, from them, right? Like to save money!
There's a handy thing on that guitar called the volume knob that might help with clipping.
Schecter damien 6 is like 25 bucks more, and it's my favorite guitar, and it has super sick bat inlays lol. I did put emgs in mine but everyone loves the pickups that come in it I just need an 81 in my guitars
The frets can and will go out after purchasing the guitar depending on how and where it was stored, temperature / humidity. Therefore its no QC. If you expect to buy a cheap OR expensive guitar and expect to never do anything the the frets or the trustrod, i have bad news for you.
Good point for the most part
Schecter sgr is also a great value guitar or the entry level omen/C series
i have LTD M-50 and upgraded with DIMARZIO's pickup... love it.
So in other words, a prettier pig doesn't produce better tasting bacon.
@@Thorgnor 😂 I guess that’s one way to put it
i like the way prettier pigs feel under my fingers more
🐖
Honestly speaking....Im a collector of all things guitar and out of all the budget guitars I've bought and modded over the years, the LTD M series I got is seriously impressive. Like very very impressive. Compared to Yamaha Pacifica, squirt, Ibanez Gio or Jackson JS32 series etc....the LTD blows em out of the water. Yes you do pay a bit more. But that extra money goes a very long way. All I every swapped out are the pickups on the LTD. Nothing else really. And I'm someone who mods the crap out of his guitars.... locking tuners to bridges , nuts, pots and more.
LTD make some great guitars
I bought a used LTD F-50: bottom of the line and it was a monster
Even the standard pickups had enough to keep me chugging
Looks like a fairly decent guitar. 400.00 . Would put. EMGs on it.
Loved your perspective and thoughts. I just get the no bs vibe from you.
Love string through without the stop bar. I hear more sustain and resonance not extra noise lol. That is the first time I’ve ever heard that. Ever.
05:07 Those electronics are somewhat noisy. I like the neck profile on my neck-through LTD M200-FM, upgraded the stock pickups though.
Esp and schecter have the same parent company. They do not sell the ultra low price or vintage style esp stuff in the us, but they do sell the schecter that come from the same factories. They still keep away from Gibson likes, even though most are not valid trademarks, but other than that we get similar to their low end brands under schecter
Just bought my first LTD guitar on Sweetwater. In this case, it was $600. It's a pretty guitar for sure. But when I got it, the frets were really uneven. I actually had to do a fret level before I could get a good setup on it, as I prefer a low action. I don't think the build quality is bad. But I have bought guitars in that $600 to $700 price range from Ibanez and Schecter that were way better out of the box. In fact, the Schecter was brilliant with Tone Pros bridge and tail, quality locking tuners and Duncan Design active pickups. Plus, the fretwork on the Schecter was flawless. I totally get where you are coming from. You want to love the LTD guitars, and you will, but only after you have done some finishing work on them that should have been done in Indonesia at the factory.
I have to agree with you on several things here. I agree, for instance, that ESP/LTD may not have targeted the right price point for that axe. A couple of weeks ago, I took delivery of a guitar from one of those Amazon cheap guitar sellers -- my second from that company, which should tell you something. This thing came in with such high quality that I have yet even to remove the stock strings! When I do, I'm going to put the string that came with it on -- yes, it included a set of strings. It's a super Strat in the mold of the Fender American Ultra Strat: HSS pickups, gold anodized pickguard, alder body, maple neck and fretboard -- both coated, probably with polyurethane at its sub-$300 price point. Yeah, I know -- glossy neck bad, but I myself have always been rather agnostic about the friction of a glossy neck. My original guitar had this same arrangement, so the new one felt like an old friend immediately. When I started playing, though, I got a pleasant surprise, as the axe was eminently playable, despite being strung with 10s and played by a guy who got used to 9s DECADES ago! That a REALLY good setup, I'd say. I straightened the neck a bit and the playability improved! This axe kicks azz for relatively low money!
As to that Jackson JS11 you got, I'd say you got lucky on the frets and fretboard, because my experience with my JS22 was much different. The fret job on that puppy was killer, but the fret ends were the worst I've seen to this day. Jackson should probably age or roast their fretboard woods so as to cut down on the amount of fret sprout that happens. Either that or ditch the amaranth and go with something like jatoba or laurel. Even maple would work -- and I'm mostly a dark fretboard wood guy. Anyhow, I hope my exposition here found favor with you. Peace!
I just bought that guitar a month ago I love it
I'm getting an LTD EC-200DX soon have you had any problems regarding the frets or anything ?
Stoked on the upload! Needed this today.
I'm pretty happy with my $120 98 Yamaha rgx120d with a single emg 81 running 18 volts. Cheap and if it gets beat up, no problem.
For the price it`s sold here in Europe (500 Euros, so 544$), it doesn't make much sense at all. Harley benton Amarok 6 BKNT has: Neck Thru, Stainless steel frets, EMG Retroactive pickups, graphtech nut and locking tuners. Both are made in indonesia so similar construction, but at least you start with a lot better hardware to tinker with.
Something about the reverse head stock on guitars, I just love the look of it a lot. Two humbuckers, a floyd rose, 24 frets and a reverse head. Made in USA looks really nice under the brand on the head too :-).
It’s nice looking aesthetically but for like $100 more you can get a used Ltd EC-1000 made in South Korea to much higher standards and with branded pickups and hardware. They used to have the 10, 50 and 100-series guitars in that $1-300 range but they’ve been discontinued. The closest equivalent to this in Jackson’s catalog is the JS-32 series which retail in the $350-400 range
Love the stabilized maple neck. That's correct, the roasting performs a mechanical function, esp is smart because they understand this. 😊 Dislike very much so : the poplar body 🙁 although it could sound interesting as glue on body wings for a neck thru. Poplar does not belong on a bolt on neck as the body material. On a bolt on , the body is the bell, the neck is the handle . Poplar is bright with scratchy mids that scrape. It does not sustain in, nor does it produce enough lows and low mids. There you go, anyone wondering where the crappy sound is coming from, it is every budget guitar with a poplar body and or inferior fretboard material, they are just too unscientific or stubborn to use richlite fretboard over the stanky jatoba, amaranth, and luarel moldy fretboards. 😊 Have a nice day.
Suggestion for a future tryout video: The Witch from HILS America. They're the importer for South Korean guitar maker Hex Instruments Labs, and The Witch is both their most metal guitar and also tied for cheapest at $349. Like the $399 ESP LTD 200DX, it has dual humbuckers with coil splitting, but it's made in Indonesia with a mahogany body and stainless frets. I'm curious to see how it holds up to your elevated expectations for that higher entry level, and really I'm just curious, since it hasn't been reviewed much.
One of my Guitars I have is the M100, I bought back in 2011. Just under 400.bucks. it's a great guitar. ESP makes great guitars.
Great review. I've been interested in knowing more about these guitars, so this is spot on!
How do you know it's spot on if you've never played it?
@@beefnacos6258 Haha very funny
that is what i would call the high end of the low range. same as a jem jr. from ibanez. still a low end guitar.
100% dead on with that guitar. I played all of these $$$ guitars recentlyat ""The Center" me and my friend with 3 Guitar Center employees all thought the price made no f'n sense. It's a 200-250 $ guitar TOPS!!!
Hi, I like the 200dx series. I have the EC200dx and I'm very pleased with it. Mine came set up straight out of the box! The ESP LH-150 pickups scream through my Gen 3 Katana (and the coil tap is nice also). I liked it so much I plan to get the M and TE models also. 😁🤘🎸
Pay for a really good setup and install better pickups give it a hawk tuah and you're good to go! 😎👍
You should check out the new 2024 Jackson JS20. They have a similar design to this LTD, but with sharkfin inlays and fret binding with the price of $260 brand new.
You might want to look at the ESP LTD 10 range. EC-10, MH-10, F-10, Viper-10, MH-17 (Technically still a 10, just a 7 string one).
That's their beginner range of cheap models.
they dont exist anymore and havent in 2+ years...the 200 series are the lowest price and quality they offer now and are 399 msrp...their cheapest set neck model is 599
@@Shadow0fd3ath24 Eh? I can find them online and in stores.
@@Shadow0fd3ath24 m series are discontinued and replaced with mh series, what I cant forgive them is removing signiture (esp,ltd) 12 fret model name from m 10 model, its no more on mh10, their cheap guitars now really look just cheap, model name on 12 fret at least gave some of prestige feel to it that its close to popular high end ESP models
Looks nice. Not surprised by the q a issues.
I wish they still these in the $750 range. The Korean produced were SLAMMIN!
Great video. Try the new Schecter standard next.
for that price point, if you want a better setup guitar, with the frets at least, schecter is the way to go, did change the tuners though
I had a 1998 LTD M200 in black. It was $399 at the time it launched and came with a low profile tremolo. The guitar stayed in tune extremely well. I put an EMG 81/85 set in it with a PA-2 preamp booster. It was a really cool guitar to play and it sounded killer. I remember the neck plate and truss rod cover said ESP on it. I sold it 12 years ago and regret it. Then I bought a LTD GH200 three years ago and regret purchasing it. The cheap Floyd Special tremolo it came with was really bad. It did not stay in tune even when decked for dive bomb only. I put a cheap $67 Guitar Fetish fast loader tremolo and locking nut in it and now it stays in tune perfectly. I use the Fender bullet strings with it. Even the low cost stuff from Guitar Fetish is better than the crappy Floyd Special. I own two older EC1000's and one older EC256 and love them. I should have gotten the GH600 instead of the GH200.
I have an LTD Ec201. The stock LTD pickup is actually as good, if not better than the JB I replaced it with (thinking it would be an upgrade). Anyway I left the JB in there and ended up putting that stock pickup in another guitar that needed a bridge pickup. No point letting letting it go to waste 🤷♂️
The top on that guitar reminds me of my fully restored 1989 made in South Korea neck through Squier HSH Super Strat with an OG Floyd Rose. If the price was closer to $249, it could be a cool backup guitar. At $399, I feel that bad fret work is no longer acceptable. You can pick up sub $200 guitars now with rounded stainless steel frets.
Never really thought about looking at ESP/LTD for budget. I always go to Ibanez. My LTD’s aren’t expensive but they’re my more expensive guitars (unless you count the used market on dimebag guitars, then those are my most expensive)
I have an esp Ltd mh-17. The nut is ruined, it is cheap wood, i tried to get a replacement through them and they would not send one, even if i paid. i got another one, not meant for the mh-17, and i cannot get the strings to sit correctly. It was good for 200 dollars but holy crap getting it fixed is a pain.
My friend has cheapest ltd in 2010 - 2015. Their bridge saddles corroded badly because of sweat.
Was about to say I got a grassroots g-hr-49qm but then I realised you have a ltd guitar haha (since if you were unaware, in Japan esp has two brands grassroots, being the cheapest guitars they sell, and Edwards which is sort of in line with the ltd series worldwide) so yes you can get cheaper guitars from esp but only the ones from Japan for instance you can get a grassroots Les Paul for about $600 aud (close to $400 usd) brand new
I bought this one and the tele equivalent at the same time. I have zero complaints with them. I have added locking tuners and did a very simple setup to lower the action. Sorry, you’re not getting as much for $400 anymore.
I appreciate these no nonsense reviews of affordable guitars. You're doing a service to new and poor guitarists everywhere!
For $100 more, you could get a HILS guitar, and I hear The Next is a really nice model.
TBH, I’ve never played a “nice” LTD below 800 that didn’t have some issue, whether it be fret end issues or cheap fretboard woods.
There is an esp 7 around €300 on thomann so thats something ig
I bought my sister in law an H-51 for her birthday when I worked at a local music shop about 6 years ago. $179 and it was actually pretty decent out the box. ESP putting out something unplayable at $399 is ridiculous
I own an LTD M-200. After 3 and a half years of ownership, I'm quite pleased with it.
There are the 10/50/100 series that are around £200 ish. If you can get one, as they seem to be out of stock or limited to some resellers every time I look.
As someone who is a huge fan of LTD because of their necks I was hoping these would be sweet. I like the look of them, espeicially the T body. Hopefully they get better at quality control as they continue to produce them.
Nothing a fret dress wouldn't fix.
As i remember ltd mt 130 still available on tomann and price around 200 bucks
I'm looking at the T shape one. Don't remeber model at the moment.
Will you compare it with an ibanez rg for the 400$ price range?
miss my iconic, wish i just splurged for a captor x sooner... this peavey ultra plus i ended up getting is pretty nice, just had to work out the low end being too much there.
Thank you for the great content. Which electric model do you advise for beginners ? ( As a cheap model ) Thank you 🙏🏻
for me, jackson and esp (ltd) for sure the lower end models sound great. ibanez like a gio, or fender are kinda meh. never had an issue with esp or jackson
Bro that Solar though. Damn I like that guitar 🙂
I think my first real metal instrument was a mh- 50 with a Floyd. I picked it up on Craigslist for $125 when I was still a freshman
No way for $400. You could pick up an entry level Ibanez RG for a bit less or one of the other options you've gone over, like the Jackson. In this day and age there is no excuse for sharp fret ends.
ESP LTD seems really sloppy these days, I bought the M1000 as my first one ($1500 where I live!) and it had terrible QC on the finish and binding, far worse quality than my other non-ESP guitars that were half the price, I returned it....
Or one of those Swamp Ash SE CE's from PRS for about $150 more.
A few months ago I bought an Eart (pronounced E Art, I believe) semi-hollow guitar off of Amazon for a little over $300 after tax. Their 325 model...that looks a bit like a semi-hollow ESP Potbelly guitar, not the old one that looked like a 335.
Anyways, it has some of the best fretwork I've ever seen on a guitar. Stainless steel frets with ball ends, and perfectly seated frets. I've seen $4k+ Gibsons with worse...
The Eart has a roasted mahogany neck, roasted wood body (mahogany I think), the SS frets, compound radius. It's a very nice guitar, despite being inexpensive.
yup for 500 you can get a used 1000 series or anew B series H-1001
I really wish they made these left handed. I love the look, so I'd love to give it a setup and some upgrades.
Sounds great, but bad fretwork is a deal breaker regardless the price. Fret sprout out of the box just seems unacceptable imho, unless your buying it at a local shop and they offer free setups with purchase, and will knock those frets down! Also shout out the EVH Iconic 5150! That amp sounded huge!
The Gator cable was the best ad I've ever seen.
I still have a 2011 LTD EX-50. And then a M-103FM which I traded for an AX-50. Sold that as well. They were a good entry-level series, better than Ibanez GIO series of that era. These days, LTD cost much more than a regular RG though..
I definitely would pick one up, and the pickups would be the first thing to go! The purple one looks really nice too! Looking at the EC256 in candy apple red, but now the this one in purple has really caught my eye, with a week to decide which one I want…!😂
Whoa whoa bro, firewood is EXPENSIVE!
With all these budget reviews i think a ranking video would be cool
what happened to to the ltd ec10 its like a guitar starter pack by them. is that not a thing anymore ?
I’ve had my eye on these. I’m a sucker for modding entry level guitars, and these things are beautiful. I think I’ll just wait til I can get a used one for a couple bills.
Lol knowing the market it'll be 350 used 😂
@@beefnacos6258 especially if it only has a LITTLE buckle rash and some crappy, Amazon pickup installed in the bridge position. “Killer Ltd shredder! UPGRADED pickups!” 🤣
Yes, some LTDs are good, some are not, some feels like toys and some sounds awesome! I own a number of LTDs in different price ranges but I still use my ESP and never looked back. I was about to get a new LTD when I saw the price tag which was the same as 2 of the ESPs I own, and they still didn't have the same specs or the same quality. So I went to some other brand and tried that out, a smaller brand. Was very happy and didn't buy the LTD, and had money left to get some pedals and a good amp (didn't by it though). 😉 I can mention that I own an LTD 5-string bass and it sounds good but I got it new for a very low prices, it's not on par with the other ESP and old pre-2009 LTDs I have but it's still good and sounds great.
could you do one on the Schecter Avenger Standard?
doesn't ltd have cheaper m or mh 10?
Isn't there a ESP LTD MH10?
For your next review, you should check out a Kramer Pacer Classic, Jackson JS22, or a Cort G110.
Cort g110 is a piece of garbage. No need to review it
Great vid ! What is tuning please ?