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tjon901 « EC-1000 with a more traditional feel »
Published on 12/20/11 at 09:16Everyone knows the EC-1000 ESP model. It is their primary single cut guitar. It is like a mix of a single cut design with a super strat design. Some people wanted ESP to make a single cut that has a more traditional feel in the body. This is that guitar. The EC-1000 CTM. The CTM model has a more traditionally shaped body. While the normal EC-1000 has a lot of bevels in the body the CTM has a traditional Gibson style body with just the carved top. The body is double bound as well like a Les Paul Custom. The cutaway isnt as big and it only has 22 frets as well. The guitar has a mahogany body. The set in neck is mahogany as well with the 24.75 inch scale. The fretboard is ebony with 22 jumbo frets. The hardware is all gold with ESP locking tuners up top and a Tonepros locking bridge down at the bottom. It has the traditional pickup setup for an EC1000 with an 81 in the bridge and a 60 in the neck. The controls are 2 volumes and a master tone with a 3 way switch on the upper bout.
UTILIZATION
Every mid to high end ESP guitar plays well. This is an LTD model so it isnt made in Japan but it is made to pretty much the same specs with the same hardware. This guitar comes from the factory with all the upgrades I would do to a singlecut guitar. The ESP locking tuners do the job and hold tuning well. The Tonepros locking bridge makes changing strings and working on the guitar easy because the bridge doesnt fall off every time you have the strings off. The locking bridge also increases sustain a bit. Since the pickups in this guitar are active they include a battery compartment. This is nice but the compartment uses screws to open it. If you have to unscrew the compartment you are not saving any time from just having the battery in the control cavity. I dont know why some ESP's have screw in compartments and some have flip out compartments. The flip out compartments make more sense to me.
SOUNDS
This is a metal guitar so it is armed as such. The pickups in this guitar are full of metal pickups. They are so metal that they need batteries to operate. The 81 gives you great high end crunch and clarity even in the lowest of tunings. With the 81 harmonics pop right out and you get a nice searing high end tone. This high end is what keeps the sound nice and clear. The 60 in the neck is a pretty much neck only pickup. It is not super high output and is best used for clean tones. You can get good bluesy low gain tones as well with the neck pickup 60. If you want a more organic and passive like tone from the pickups you can do the 18v mod which has you running the pickups on 2 batteries instead of one. This gives the pickups more headroom and a more organic tone overall.
OVERALL OPINION
If you are looking to get into a more modern style Singlecut guitar but dont like all the bevels in the body and whatnot this is the guitar for you. it has a traditional style body construction that gives you the same feel as your old school singel cut but combines that feel with the modern neck and playability of a modern guitar. With the locking tuners and locking bridge it has all the mods you should do anyway from the factory so it is pretty much ready to gig right out of the box. This ESP is great if you are looking for a guitar with a thick body and thick tone with upgraded hardware and modern playability.
UTILIZATION
Every mid to high end ESP guitar plays well. This is an LTD model so it isnt made in Japan but it is made to pretty much the same specs with the same hardware. This guitar comes from the factory with all the upgrades I would do to a singlecut guitar. The ESP locking tuners do the job and hold tuning well. The Tonepros locking bridge makes changing strings and working on the guitar easy because the bridge doesnt fall off every time you have the strings off. The locking bridge also increases sustain a bit. Since the pickups in this guitar are active they include a battery compartment. This is nice but the compartment uses screws to open it. If you have to unscrew the compartment you are not saving any time from just having the battery in the control cavity. I dont know why some ESP's have screw in compartments and some have flip out compartments. The flip out compartments make more sense to me.
SOUNDS
This is a metal guitar so it is armed as such. The pickups in this guitar are full of metal pickups. They are so metal that they need batteries to operate. The 81 gives you great high end crunch and clarity even in the lowest of tunings. With the 81 harmonics pop right out and you get a nice searing high end tone. This high end is what keeps the sound nice and clear. The 60 in the neck is a pretty much neck only pickup. It is not super high output and is best used for clean tones. You can get good bluesy low gain tones as well with the neck pickup 60. If you want a more organic and passive like tone from the pickups you can do the 18v mod which has you running the pickups on 2 batteries instead of one. This gives the pickups more headroom and a more organic tone overall.
OVERALL OPINION
If you are looking to get into a more modern style Singlecut guitar but dont like all the bevels in the body and whatnot this is the guitar for you. it has a traditional style body construction that gives you the same feel as your old school singel cut but combines that feel with the modern neck and playability of a modern guitar. With the locking tuners and locking bridge it has all the mods you should do anyway from the factory so it is pretty much ready to gig right out of the box. This ESP is great if you are looking for a guitar with a thick body and thick tone with upgraded hardware and modern playability.