DespoticOrder
Slave Driver
Specifications:
Neck-Thru-Body Construction
25.5 Scale
Mahogany Body
Quilted Maple Top
Maple Neck
Ebony Fingerboard
48mm Standard Nut
Thin U Neck Contour
24 XJ Frets
Black Satin Hardware
ESP Locking Tuners
Tonepros Locking TOM Bridge
EMG 81-7 (B) / 707 (N) Active p.u.
Finish: STBLKS (See Thru Black Satin)
Controls:
Master Volume
Master Tone
3-way Toggle Switch
Made in Korea
Playability:
Right away, the first thing I noticed is how comfortable this guitar is to play. The neck is just awesome. The "Thin U" neck contour fits perfectly to my hands, which are pretty average sized. Its not nearly as flat as Ibanez necks but not as fat as the necks on other guitars. Its a happy medium. The finish on the neck is excellent. The back of the neck is so smooth. I much prefer the satin finish over gloss finishes for this very reason. Its worlds easier to slide your hand around; where you want to, when you want to. The TOM bridge is very comfortable, too. I'm used to lower profile bridges, and I still found this guitar very easy on the picking hand. This guitar is all around extremely comfortable in every fashion.
Sound:
The tone is absolutely huge! It has a very steady/solid type of voice. The difference in sound between this and my old RG1527 and RC7X is astounding. I suppose I've always preferred the sound of mahogany over basswood and alder, but mahogany just seems to do something special with 7's. The EMG's sound way tighter than the 81/85 in my 6'er. I had originally planned on getting them replaced asap, but after playing on them in this guitar, I was completely satisfied. I may end up throwing in some Blackouts in the next couple months purely out of curiosity, but for now that 81-7 in the bridge is kickin plenty enough ass.
Build:
The build quality is superb. From first holding it, you can mostly tell already. Its got a very solid feel to it. Its got a good weight to it but without being overly heavy. The frets are about perfect. Tons of sustain. The highest note on the highest string even sustains a good while. The notes stay in tune all the way up the fret board. The tuners are very steady and smooth turning. Its really easy to get it right on pitch when tuning, without it just hovering around where it needs to be. You hit a note, the tuning needle goes where it needs to be, and it stays there.
Value:
I got this one B-stock and on sale. So it ended up being about 775 USD when it should have been 1000. The blemish in pretty much inside of a little grove and very small. I wouldn't have even noticed it had the seller not pointed it out. I'd say that's a great deal, considering I've had more expensive guitars that I didn't like nearly as much. It is my first LTD, but I'm definitely going to be sticking with them a while.
Other Thoughts:
This guitar begs to be played. I've had quite a few guitars, but none that look quite like this one. The grey finish must be calling me in! In person, its a very dark, smooth looking grey. In sunlight, it almost has a slight deep green tint to it, and in heavy indoor lighting, it has the same very slight purple tint. She's a beautiful, moody bitch.
I'm only giving it a 4 in features, because I guess it could have a tremolo (if that's what you're into) or less 'standard' pickups. But as far as I'm concerned, its got everything I need. Minus the pickups, this is exactly how I would build a custom, given the opportunity, and I ended up being very pleased with the pickups anyways, so hey!
Now Some Pics! (Taken with a phone, I'm sorryyy. The closer ones look good, but the full body shots suck.)
EDIT: To fix the header image
Neck-Thru-Body Construction
25.5 Scale
Mahogany Body
Quilted Maple Top
Maple Neck
Ebony Fingerboard
48mm Standard Nut
Thin U Neck Contour
24 XJ Frets
Black Satin Hardware
ESP Locking Tuners
Tonepros Locking TOM Bridge
EMG 81-7 (B) / 707 (N) Active p.u.
Finish: STBLKS (See Thru Black Satin)
Controls:
Master Volume
Master Tone
3-way Toggle Switch
Made in Korea
Playability:
Right away, the first thing I noticed is how comfortable this guitar is to play. The neck is just awesome. The "Thin U" neck contour fits perfectly to my hands, which are pretty average sized. Its not nearly as flat as Ibanez necks but not as fat as the necks on other guitars. Its a happy medium. The finish on the neck is excellent. The back of the neck is so smooth. I much prefer the satin finish over gloss finishes for this very reason. Its worlds easier to slide your hand around; where you want to, when you want to. The TOM bridge is very comfortable, too. I'm used to lower profile bridges, and I still found this guitar very easy on the picking hand. This guitar is all around extremely comfortable in every fashion.
Sound:
The tone is absolutely huge! It has a very steady/solid type of voice. The difference in sound between this and my old RG1527 and RC7X is astounding. I suppose I've always preferred the sound of mahogany over basswood and alder, but mahogany just seems to do something special with 7's. The EMG's sound way tighter than the 81/85 in my 6'er. I had originally planned on getting them replaced asap, but after playing on them in this guitar, I was completely satisfied. I may end up throwing in some Blackouts in the next couple months purely out of curiosity, but for now that 81-7 in the bridge is kickin plenty enough ass.
Build:
The build quality is superb. From first holding it, you can mostly tell already. Its got a very solid feel to it. Its got a good weight to it but without being overly heavy. The frets are about perfect. Tons of sustain. The highest note on the highest string even sustains a good while. The notes stay in tune all the way up the fret board. The tuners are very steady and smooth turning. Its really easy to get it right on pitch when tuning, without it just hovering around where it needs to be. You hit a note, the tuning needle goes where it needs to be, and it stays there.
Value:
I got this one B-stock and on sale. So it ended up being about 775 USD when it should have been 1000. The blemish in pretty much inside of a little grove and very small. I wouldn't have even noticed it had the seller not pointed it out. I'd say that's a great deal, considering I've had more expensive guitars that I didn't like nearly as much. It is my first LTD, but I'm definitely going to be sticking with them a while.
Other Thoughts:
This guitar begs to be played. I've had quite a few guitars, but none that look quite like this one. The grey finish must be calling me in! In person, its a very dark, smooth looking grey. In sunlight, it almost has a slight deep green tint to it, and in heavy indoor lighting, it has the same very slight purple tint. She's a beautiful, moody bitch.
I'm only giving it a 4 in features, because I guess it could have a tremolo (if that's what you're into) or less 'standard' pickups. But as far as I'm concerned, its got everything I need. Minus the pickups, this is exactly how I would build a custom, given the opportunity, and I ended up being very pleased with the pickups anyways, so hey!
Now Some Pics! (Taken with a phone, I'm sorryyy. The closer ones look good, but the full body shots suck.)
EDIT: To fix the header image
