LTD F-50

Got it from www.musicstore.com and I paid 245€ for it.

I like both sound and looks. Also, it's easy to setup, something i definitely wanted since my previous axe had a floyd rose, which was great but I didn't like the fact i had to set it up each time i changed gauge/tuning.

The stock pickups are ok, no complaints, but there are definitely people who'll want to put in some dimarzio or emg or something else. But that's all matter of preference of course. Only thing that's a bit of a pain is the fact that the volume control doesn't give you as much control as you'll want. I'm the kind of person that likes to use the controls on my guitar instead of a lot of other stuff, so that was a bit of a pity. The volume control does work, but you really have to give it a serious turn if you want it to get real quiet. That's about it.

I only just got it last month, but up till now i'm pleased a lot. It's good quality, no flaws and good setup. It's like i could throw it around and it'll still work. No loose controls or input or tuning pegs or anything like that. For the low end model from the f-serie, it's built like a rock and you wouldn't even notice if you didn't know it was the f-50.

Been playing for two years. This is my second guitar, I sold my other one which was a charvelle. I liked the floyd rose, but i never ever used the trem, so i just reckoned i should go for a easy-to-setup bridge with the same security of not losing my tuning every five seconds. So I'm glad I chose for this one with the tune-o-matic.
I was a bit afraid concerning the stock pickups, but I really like them, and they'll probably last quite a while before I want to replace them. If it was lost or something like that, I'd definitely buy it again. I love the looks, the sound you can get from it, it's also very easy to play, easy to setup, everything I need. I compared it too other guitars, like Ibanez and Jackson. I really feel as if I made the right choice. I think this is one of the better guitars in it's price range.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Being into a variety of music styles from Jazz to Hard Rock I wanted an amplifier that is versatile. I have always relied upon digital processors, until my ears began hearing the huge difference between emulation and the real deal.

Despite being a fan of the Mesa Boogie sound I remained open-minded. After all Boogies are expensive, so if I could purchase something a little cheaper I could get more gear - right! So I travelled around a number of music shops, trying out the Marshalls, Fenders, Mesas etc.

With budget, tone and versatility as my driving factors. I purchased the F-50, because to my ears it had everything I was looking for in an amp.

I am one of these annoying shoppers that will make a nuisance of himself in all the guitar shops in order to get the right information. Then go somewhere else in order to get the best deal e.g. the internet.

This amp was purchased in Peter Cooks Guitar World, Hanwell London. Simply because they offered the best deal - by far! The cost was £1050 (UK pounds). No one else who claimed price matching ability would even go near this price. They offered some poor excuse about not being allowed to work outside a fixed price bracket.

Two words - versatility and tone.

I believe this amp sounds fantastic. When I first opened up the box, I was amazed at the attention to detail. Looking behind the amp, all the cables are neatly tied and contained in a soft pouch. Its as solid as a rock and weighs a ton. The documentation is well written and informative, neatly contained in a plastic wallet. A slip cover is provided, which may be handy for transporting the amp or keeping the dust away when you're not playing.

Features: Rhythm Channel (Clean), Lead Channel (Drive), Lead w/Contour & Reverb. All fairly basic. Oh, and not to forget the hard bias.

Clean Channel:
Wow! Comparible to the Fender amps. Has the sweetest break-up as you crank the drive up. This is a great channel for jazz & mellow stuff. Works well with my piezo pick-ups and sounds great with my out-of-phase in-between two humbuckers guitar setting. You have to hear it to believe it. No other amp I tried even came close when comparing the available clean sounds. Shimmering and punchy might be two descriptive words, but seriously you have to try it out for yourself.

Drive Channel:
Ok this comes in two flavours - classic and contour, which is a modern sound.

The classic without contour mode is typical of a Santana sound. Sounds great playing the blues and has been compared to the Mark I on steroids. Great sound / tone - just bend one of the higher strings, add a little vibrato and you'll see what I mean.

Contour mode approaches the rectifier sound. There is more drive then you're likely to need. Once again, you get great tone that doesnt take over the sound of your guitar but really compliments it well. I personally enjoy playing the heavy palm muted riffs on this channel ala. Metallica.

On both channels the drive sounds natural. Not over-compressed or wish-washy like a number of other amps on the market. Please note, as this is a tube amp the best sounds come when the volume is turned up. Believe me this thing is loud though. It does sound pretty good at low volumes, unlike many other amps but it does get smoother as the volume increases.

Reverb:
Sounds fine to my ears. In all honesty though, I am more likely to use the reverb as part of an effects chain.

Summary:
I am pleasantly suprised in that the longer I have this amp and more I get used to it, the better it sounds.

It's difficult trying to think about what I don't like simply because this amp is marketed as a basic amp with no bells and whistles, but just tone. It doesnt pretend to be anything it isnt.

Regardless of what it's marketed as if I were to compare it to other amps including Mesa Boogies, my criticisms/feature wish list would be as follows:

1) A solo button for pre-defined volume boosts.
2) Clearer foot controls. The layout is fine, but when I am on the clean channel no status LEDs display to tell me what drive setting I'll be on when I change the channel.
3) Options to use either EL34 or 6L6 valves.
4) Better stock valves.

Points 1 and 3 are mute points really as these features are found in the Nomad range at a slightly higher cost. Anyway, for a volume boost I just need to get a booster pedal and problem solved. Point 2 is what I feel most strongly about.

Apart from these points it is a real struggle to come up with criticisms on such a great amp.

As mentioned earlier, it's built like a rock and weighs like one to.

Mesa is well renound for it's top quality construction and attention to detail. Every detail has been taken care of even down to keeping the cables tidy.

Before I even switched the amp on after first unpacking it, I couldnt help but notice the care that has gone into this product. This is my first Mesa Boogie product and I can honstly say that I am sold for life. I have read reviews from people trusting Boogie products to the extent where they dont have to hear/test them before they make a purchase. I am not quite up there and will always try before I buy, probably more as a matter of course - the products aren't cheap after all. But from my experience I can understand where this confidence comes from.

Clearly the Mesa Boogie sound isn't for everyone. Our ears and tastes are different and we have to go along with what sounds good to us.

If you appreciate the Boogie sound or are at least curious. Check out some artists e.g. Santana, Dream Theater etc. that use Boogies and see what you think. Give them a demo at a local music shop. Compare them to other amps and see what delivers the sound you are looking for. If possible, turn the amp up loud to get an idea of its potential (not just for the volume but tone).

From my experience, Mesa Boogie deliver top quality products that far surpass other manufacturers in tone, quality and detail.

If my amp was lost or stolen. I would definitely stay with Mesa Boogie.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Basswood Body
Bolt-on Maple Neck
25.5" Scale
Rosewood Fingerboard
42mm Standard Nut
Thin U Neck Contour
24 XJ Frets
ESP LH-150 Pickups
Master Volume, Tone and 3-way Toggle
Chrome Hardware
ESP Tuners
Floyd Rose Special Bridge

UTILIZATION

I am not a fan of this axe. Sorry - this guitar is just too cheaply made. The finish had some small runs in it, the neck would shift if I tugged on it slightly, and the tremolo would not keep in tune- I'm sure the quality of the tuners and locking nut are suspect as well. The fretwork was shoddy, with the ends of the frets still sharp and poking out of the side of the fretboard. The knobs even seem cheap. This guitar just wasn't made well.

SOUNDS

The acoustic tone of the F-50 was very plinky, with not much resonance. The pot-metal tremolo block does not help matters, and the pickups are just anemic. I realize that metalheads need a good first guitar or budget shred axe to jam on, but this one should not be it. Thin pickups with no clarity are the name of the game here, unfortunately, so I wouldn't recommend this guitar for its sounds. Some guitars have bad features, but make up for them with good tone - this is not one of those guitars.

OVERALL OPINION

This guitar is not very good, to be blunt. I'd recommend to anyone considering it to think about a step up from this - with the type of precision that metal and shred deserve, this guitar will not offer it. For just $50-100 more, some better offerings exist from Ibanez, and if one is set on the F series body from LTD, the next best one currently is at $599. I'd like to see LTD make a leap up in quality akin to the Ibanez level for $50-100 more.

The F50 is part of the ESP LTD F series. These guitars are aimed at people who are looking for a guitar on a budget, and the F series appeals to those who are more into the whole Japanese Visual Kei thing. Along with its extreme looks, it features a basswood body, maple neck with a rosewood fretboard, 24 extra jumbo frets, two humbuckers, a hardtail bridge setup, one volume, one tone and a three way switch.

UTILIZATION

The guitar feels pretty haggard, to be honest. The frets are fairly sharp and aren't fully crowned. This is always a big issue with the super low LTD line. The fretwork on these is really off putting. The actual body and routes are clean as all the bodies are CNC'd, so there are no issues there. The neck joint has some play in it, and this is also a common issue with the low end LTDs. The tolerances aren't nearly as tight as the higher end line, and I feel that can hinder tone. The body shape is, of course, purely in the eye of the beholder, so I won't comment on that. The rest of the guitar is fairly typical.

SOUNDS

The guitar sounds pretty dull, and the stock pickups aren't helping. The bridge humbucker is pretty thin sounding, and the neck is pretty muddy. Replacing these with some real electronics can help, but it really depends on the specific guitar you happen to own. If the guitar sounds dull and lifeless, like a lot of these do, you're not really going to be able to fix it by a simple pickup swap. If it were me, I'd probably slap some EMGs or Blackouts in it to help allow for the pickups' internal preamps to add some character to the guitar.

OVERALL OPINION

These guitars are obviously geared towards beginner players who are on an extremely tight budget. If you're looking for that somewhat Visual Kei guitar body shape, your choices are pretty limited, so you're probably going to be looking at this. I recommend at least getting one a few models up, if you can. You'll have a better chance at getting a nicer sounding guitar that's more consistent with its fretwork and tolerances.