NGD, ESP Ltd. EC-1000 vintage black w/ EMG

[Ænima]

Hey guys, Im about to put ESP's words to the test, i ordered an EC-100 VB with EMG's, im really expecting something that needs as little work as possible when it arrives, i bought a epiphone lp custom for my nephew about 2 years ago.... i needed atleast 8 frets leveled..... anyone with experience with ESP/LTD's please feel free to share

Will arrive today (if im super lucky, its zzounds they're really quick) or Wednesday

PS; i plan on putting on a new bridge, the exact same one (i hear tonepros are great, + a bone nut sometime) does anyone know how id go about finding a black tonepros bridge, something in matte black finish and black tuners too i checked tone pros website but i was alittle lost thanks!



somes pictures i pulled off google

 

[smfcbow]

I love my EC1000, mind you it is not as good as my prestige RG but it's a fine guitar for a Korean built. I have one with a pickup swap and some mods so I can speak on sound, but it plays nicely. And as far as the tone pro goes. Either my nut or my bridge is a bit sharp because I keep breaking high E's. They are not tight at all they just keep getting snapped.

 

[Andromalia]

Don't buy anything yet, LTD hardware has so far been great in my experience. (I've owned a LTD bass for close to 6 years now).
So wait and when you have it you can test and make a decision.

 

[Ænima]

i have another epi lp custom that stays in tune incredibly well, brand new set, stretched in 2-3 times and fine tuned, can play it fora few hours a day for a week and it will still be 99% in tune, weird for a chinese guitar, but i did have it set up by a really good tech

 

[imnotnollynollynolly]

I wouldn't change the hardware colour, the gold matches the binding. As well, wait till you actually get it and play it a bit before you start thinking about changing stuff. I'd say black hardware would work without the binding, but might look weird if you swapped.

 

[warpedsoul]

I have an EC-1000 in Silverburst and I've had no issues so far. The common word for this guitar is workhorse. I think you will be pleased

 

[AkiraSpectrum]

As others have stated, I wouldn't worry about upgrades right now, the stock hardware (bridge, tuners, etc.) is very good. I have a stock EC-1000 and everything is great (no problems). Only thing I'm modding on mine will be the pickups (don't much care for the EMG's).

Korean LTD's are often made very well so odds are you wont need any fret leveling done or anything like that.

If you're looking to do mods purely for aesthetic/looks reasons then that's reasonable. Unfortunately I don't know anything about Tonepros tuners. I'm sure you could go to any online retailer and do a search for the bridge and tuners in the color you are looking for and purchase them there without much problem. For the tuners make sure you get a 3x3 set. Here is a website that you can start with: http://www.allparts.com/

 

[Le Jeff]

You will need your frets leveled. Every new guitar needs a setup, they don't do them at the factory.

I don't really understand what the big deal is over setups. I charge well under a hundie for everything up to and including a full fretboard leveling. Why not just take your new axe for a setup right away? I guarantee the nut is set wrong in the very best case scenario.

 

[Yimmj]

When i got my EC-1000 VB over 3 years ago it came set up very well. Lowered the action a little. incredibly solid guitar. the only thing i would recommend swapping out would be the EMGs! the LTD locking tuners are pretty good and the bridge is very solid as well. you made a good choice my friend

 

[Veritech Zero]

You will need your frets leveled. Every new guitar needs a setup, they don't do them at the factory.

I don't really understand what the big deal is over setups. I charge well under a hundie for everything up to and including a full fretboard leveling. Why not just take your new axe for a setup right away? I guarantee the nut is set wrong in the very best case scenario.

I'm not sure I agree with this, I've had LTDs come out of the box nearly ready to go, all they needed was a little lowering of the action, a pickup height adjustment, and perhaps a little tweak of the intonation due to the lowering of the action. But I have never had to do a fret leveling on a new LTD deluxe guitar. Some others perhaps, like the new charvel pro mods (good guitars, but disasters out of the box) and Epiphones, but never a mid range LTD.

 

[Le Jeff]

I'm not sure I agree with this, I've had LTDs come out of the box nearly ready to go, all they needed was a little lowering of the action, a pickup height adjustment, and perhaps a little tweak of the intonation due to the lowering of the action. But I have never had to do a fret leveling on a new LTD deluxe guitar. Some others perhaps, like the new charvel pro mods (good guitars, but disasters out of the box) and Epiphones, but never a mid range LTD.

That's cool, but I've never picked up a new guitar and been like "wow, this needs nothing." Maybe I should have tried harder to not imply that every new guitar needs its frets leveled, but every new guitar does need a setup. If you need to intonate a brand new guitar because you had to adjust the bridge then you needed to do a setup. Some setups involve files and elbow grease, some take 5 minutes with a screwdriver.

 

[Veritech Zero]

Now that I can agree with haha.

 

[madrigal77]

Congrats!! I've got the ESP version of the same guitar. I was planning on blacking it out as well, but when it arrived, I realized the gold and the "aged" binding just work really well together. It would look kind of weird with black hardware IMO. Black would go well with white binding, but not the yellow. The only thing I would change to black is the knobs. Mine was made in 2005, when they used black knobs instead of gold, and I think it looks a lot better. The gold looks nice, but gold everything is a bit much lol.