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Hatsubai « Budget 7 string model »
Published on 05/30/11 at 18:23The ESP LTD M-307 is built for those who are just getting into the 7 string market and don't want to shell out a ton of cash. Before we get any further, I'll just go ahead and suggest looking into another guitar because this didn't impress me at all. The guitar has a mahogany body with a maple neck and rosewood fretboard, 24 extra jumbo frets, some arrow inlays with the name at the 12th fret, a licensed floyd rose bridge, two humbuckers, one volume knob, one tone knob and a three way switch.
UTILIZATION
The guitar has an issue with its fretwork more than anything. The neck joint wasn't too bad, but the frets were awful. The edges were sharp, and they kept slicing my hands. The frets were also uneven. I couldn't lower the action where I wanted it, and it would have issues making notes on certain frets. The inlay work wasn't too bad, so that's hard to fault, but the finish itself seemed to be kinda sketchy for whatever reason. It's like they didn't spend enough time on it or something. The 25.5'' scale isn't an issue, and the string spacing wasn't too bad. The neck has a fairly thin U shape going on, and it was comfortable, but the back of the neck felt like the finish was slopped on or something.
SOUNDS
The guitar sounded pretty awful for a 7 string. I normally really like these tone woods, but the thing sounded extremely dull. I think the guitar was a dud due to how bad it sounded. The pickups are meant to be like EMG pickups, but they're super sterile sounding. I wouldn't even waste my time replacing the pickups because of how dull the guitar sounded.
OVERALL OPINION
If you're in the market for a budget 7 string, take a look at the RG7620 or similar models. I find they play a lot better, and they generally sound more resonant than these guitars. On top of that, the fretwork is leaps and bounds beyond what the LTD facility can offer. There will always be an argument between basswood vs mahogany, but I find both woods work out very nicely depending on what you're going for.
UTILIZATION
The guitar has an issue with its fretwork more than anything. The neck joint wasn't too bad, but the frets were awful. The edges were sharp, and they kept slicing my hands. The frets were also uneven. I couldn't lower the action where I wanted it, and it would have issues making notes on certain frets. The inlay work wasn't too bad, so that's hard to fault, but the finish itself seemed to be kinda sketchy for whatever reason. It's like they didn't spend enough time on it or something. The 25.5'' scale isn't an issue, and the string spacing wasn't too bad. The neck has a fairly thin U shape going on, and it was comfortable, but the back of the neck felt like the finish was slopped on or something.
SOUNDS
The guitar sounded pretty awful for a 7 string. I normally really like these tone woods, but the thing sounded extremely dull. I think the guitar was a dud due to how bad it sounded. The pickups are meant to be like EMG pickups, but they're super sterile sounding. I wouldn't even waste my time replacing the pickups because of how dull the guitar sounded.
OVERALL OPINION
If you're in the market for a budget 7 string, take a look at the RG7620 or similar models. I find they play a lot better, and they generally sound more resonant than these guitars. On top of that, the fretwork is leaps and bounds beyond what the LTD facility can offer. There will always be an argument between basswood vs mahogany, but I find both woods work out very nicely depending on what you're going for.