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Published on 05/30/11 at 18:18The ESP LTD SC-207 is a signature model made by LTD to appease those who are Stephen Carpenter fans but don't have the cash to shell out for the more expensive models out there. The guitar features a basswood body, a maple bolt-on neck with a rosewood fretboard, 24 extra jumbo frets, a TOM bridge, two humbuckers, one volume, one tone and a three way switch.
UTILIZATION
The guitar isn't put together that well. While I didn't experience the issues of the neck joints like I did with other LTD models out there, the fretwork was still bad. The edges were sharp and unfinished. The frets weren't properly crowned, and there were issues with the frets being uneven in certain areas which can hinder how low you can set the action before you fret out. I also can't stand the position of the switch and volume knobs, but since it's a Stephen Carpenter signature model, it's kinda hard to fault that.
SOUNDS
The stock pickups in this thing suck. They sound very dull, and the middle pickup is completely useless. I never understood why Stephen likes the middle humbucker pickup. I could never get a good lead tone out of it, and the clean tones were always average at best. It also gets in the way of my picking, and I'm always finding myself hitting it whenever I'm strumming. I usually just slam the thing so I can get some room to strum without hitting it all the time.
OVERALL OPINION
If you're a fan of Stephen Carpenter, you'll probably be checking this model out. Given that I'm not a huge fan of his music, my opinion might be a bit biased, but I just didn't enjoy the guitar at all. The electronics positioning was all wrong, the middle humbucker was useless, the low B and muddy as hell with the stock pickups, the fretwork was iffy at best, and it didn't even contain the tone woods the guy normally uses. I recommend checking out something else.
UTILIZATION
The guitar isn't put together that well. While I didn't experience the issues of the neck joints like I did with other LTD models out there, the fretwork was still bad. The edges were sharp and unfinished. The frets weren't properly crowned, and there were issues with the frets being uneven in certain areas which can hinder how low you can set the action before you fret out. I also can't stand the position of the switch and volume knobs, but since it's a Stephen Carpenter signature model, it's kinda hard to fault that.
SOUNDS
The stock pickups in this thing suck. They sound very dull, and the middle pickup is completely useless. I never understood why Stephen likes the middle humbucker pickup. I could never get a good lead tone out of it, and the clean tones were always average at best. It also gets in the way of my picking, and I'm always finding myself hitting it whenever I'm strumming. I usually just slam the thing so I can get some room to strum without hitting it all the time.
OVERALL OPINION
If you're a fan of Stephen Carpenter, you'll probably be checking this model out. Given that I'm not a huge fan of his music, my opinion might be a bit biased, but I just didn't enjoy the guitar at all. The electronics positioning was all wrong, the middle humbucker was useless, the low B and muddy as hell with the stock pickups, the fretwork was iffy at best, and it didn't even contain the tone woods the guy normally uses. I recommend checking out something else.