Marjor differences between ESP and LTD?

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VC4Ever

VC4Ever

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What justifies that huge price gap? Wood must be the same I mean alder is alder. Ebony is ebony. Does it come down the the time spent on it. Do they play and sound that much better?
 
Dude....they are actually so close it can be hard to tell them apart, and it comes down to which guitar you like/play better...I've had Eclipses and EC1000s, and in one case sold the Eclipse and kept the EC because there wasn't much if any difference that I could tell.

Have had friends with similar experiences that have done the same thing, and one guy that swore he could tell the difference....we bagged a headstock on a NGD and dude was sure it was an ESP. Was an LTD.

Play em all.....especially the LTD 1000s....they're worth it, and available cheap used.
 
An ESP will get you more of your initial investment back on resale. I have owned both and my ESP's were superior to their LTD counterparts. Not perception but fact. of course mine were older and I hear the build quality of the Standard series guitars has become hit or miss.
 
The korean guitars are very good.
i have an old sc200 that is flawless, and plays and sounds as good as anything i have.
 
ltd's are awesome ,really well made but the esp's are just perfect, the woods are definatley different also.you will be happy with a ltd though..
 
ive never played a full-on ESP, but i have 2 LTDs. an Alexi Scythe and an M1000. both guitars were B stock, the Alexi having a few flaws in the finish (small one on front, noticeable one on back, but who cares?), and the M1000 has a nick in the top point of the headstock. its going to happen anyway, and both guitars play amazingly well and sound awesome...i dont care if there are scratches or nicks, all my guitars get used and the finishes get dinged up. so i get some money off up front, and dont worry about how bad im going to beat them up later...win win to me!

im sure a real Japanese ESP will probably have a lot more detail work done, but for me the LTDs work just fine. they play great and sound great, so what more do i need? just play a few and decide yourself what you like better.
 
VC4Ever":3g7wgvwv said:
What justifies that huge price gap? Wood must be the same I mean alder is alder. Ebony is ebony. Does it come down the the time spent on it. Do they play and sound that much better?
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I've thought the same, but although wood is wood, some are probably higher quality blanks to start with, and also LTD bodies are likely 3 pieces and ESP bodies could be 1 piece. That's what I tend to think.

I've jammed on a couple ESP Skull n' Snakes/Haji guitars after playing my 500 series Lynch LTD (alder/maple/rosewood just like the 'Haji') and I personally didn't notice much difference other than pickups. *Granted I don't believe I'm a good enough player to really tell the difference. Much like if you hand me an Epiphone and a Gibson LP loaded the same I may not notice the difference if I was blindfolded. Same with my Sterling AX40 w/Wolfgang pickup vs EBMM Axis. Less sustain on my Sterling but the trem isnt near as good as the real Gotoh.

I'm just glad I'm ignorant enough to save a few bucks lol
 
Marjor differences between ESP and LTD?

Quality and country of manufacture.

ESP = Japan
LTD = Korea

This is going to change this year with ESP going more towards signature guitars, and LTD/ESP becoming LTD Elite, with production folded under the Japanese manufacturing umbrella.

I was selling my MIJ Horizon FR-II. I heard about the corporate restructuring ESP was planning to undertake this year. I pulled my listing and am keeping my guitar. Not sure how this will affect their wares, but to date, ESP have made killer quality and crafted guitars. Absolutely top drawer. I'd have hated to sell my ESP only to find out they're a rarity in the future.

Just my 2 cents
 
I've had LTDs and have ESPs now. The equivalent ESPs are far far better than the LTDs. I didn't keep my EC1000s once I got my Eclipse.
 
I feel it in the neck. Finish, and epecially frets, and nuts. Resonance to a point.

huh, huh,.... nuts...

Re: a prior post, never played an EPI that would trump a Gibbie... Played some shitty Gibbies, but I guess the Epies were even less resonant, and worse finished that the LP's! :gethim: :lol: :LOL:
 
I currently own both. There is no comparison. You just feel the difference in every aspect. The ESP is just a very solid, cohesive, instrument. Tight, solid, heavy. The LTD isn't bad, although I NEVER play it, it just doesn't hang...

Now on that note, when I owned a KL Explorer, it made my ESP custom feel like a toy. Kinda crazy to say the least. Slightly regret selling it. Will probably order one in the next 2-3 years. Yes I hate money :(
 
ESP's will automatically correct your bad notes when soloing, whereas LTD's may actually throw in a bad note or two.

No, seriously, overall I tend to agree with the comments above regarding the higher quality of the ESP's. The feel of the necks and overall playability tend to be noticeable to me, and most definitely fit/finish. And it depends what you are comparing...it is very possible to find a really nice 1000 series LTD that gives your average Standard Series ESP a run for its money, but overall I think you will more consistently find nicer players as you progress up the ESP ladder. And without going too cork snifferous, I would not claim ebony is ebony, quality of materials can certainly make a difference to varying degrees.
 
I think it has to do with the quality of the wood.

I've owned several ESP's and several LTD's.

There was always something different about the LTD's, but just slightly, and the hardware was less quality...kind of like the difference between Gibson and Epiphone.
Yes, wood is wood, but there seems to be different qualities of wood.
I've since sold off all my LTD's, but even ESP's are hit and miss.
I had an ESP Eclipse I didn't like the tone of, and an M-1 I didn't like either, but my main guitar right now IS an ESP M-1 (I've still got 2 of them, and a Viper).

They, like all guitars, are different...and each instrument has to be played to see/feel the differences to see if it will work for you.
 
JerEvil":2g0cy0d5 said:
An ESP will get you more of your initial investment back on resale. I have owned both and my ESP's were superior to their LTD counterparts. Not perception but fact. of course mine were older and I hear the build quality of the Standard series guitars has become hit or miss.
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But is this really the case? I just bought a new Viper 300FM for $379. How much less could it go for used? I'm only speculating but would be surprised if I couldn't get $200 out of it. That's a loss of $179 plus the tax (I don't count shipping, but it was only $15 to ship).

How much do new ESP Vipers go for new vs. used?
 
mightywarlock":2i0cpiu5 said:
I think it has to do with the quality of the wood.

I've owned several ESP's and several LTD's.

There was always something different about the LTD's, but just slightly, and the hardware was less quality...kind of like the difference between Gibson and Epiphone.
Yes, wood is wood, but there seems to be different qualities of wood.
I've since sold off all my LTD's, but even ESP's are hit and miss.
I had an ESP Eclipse I didn't like the tone of, and an M-1 I didn't like either, but my main guitar right now IS an ESP M-1 (I've still got 2 of them, and a Viper).

They, like all guitars, are different...and each instrument has to be played to see/feel the differences to see if it will work for you.
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I'd certainly buy this explanation and would say that "wood is wood" does not hold true and ASS-U-ME ESP is using the choice stock for their higher lines the same I would assume the hardware as well as the fit and finish quality is higher.

But, I just bought my first ESP LTD and have no real experience comparing so again, assumptions but they're made based upon standard industry business practices.
 
I have owned both and the ESP line is just a finer built instrument. LTDs are not bad by any means though, I still have an LTD that is one of the best playing and sounding guitars that I won. I picked it out of several of the same model and it is really nice.

LTDs are not all made in Korea though. They used to be early on but that changed. The Korean ones are generally much nicer than China or Indonesia although the Chinese ones are catching up quick.
 
Bob Savage":1mtpobxf said:
But, I just bought my first ESP LTD and have no real experience comparing so again, assumptions but they're made based upon standard industry business practices.
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I've played several LTDs for long enough to get the understanding of what they are. For a Korean "more affordable" pseudo ESP, they're alright. Things I noticed were fret ends being less polished and finished; inability to get action totally low and perfect without a little buzz here and there; nut wasn't as accurately cut; electronics - this is a given, they're cheaper; finish isn't as meticulous; woods are plied and layered as opposed to solid slabs or what not; fingerboard wood was lesser quality. All these things aside - for the price, they're fantastic guitars. And if one were so inclined, I bet you could get an LTD, spend some time on re-setting it up, some upgraded bits, and it would be ace. Furthermore, MANY of the signature models are finished with just a bit more zeal and care.

Compared to the straight up ESP line, these guitars (the actual "ESP" models) are just "perfect" shredders out of the box. And ya, when you hold one and strum it - it feels sonically connected; and it's finished perfectly. It's obvious that aside from the hardware and cost of materials used, there's simply "more time spent" on these guitars during their manufacturing process from start to end.
 
killertone":1krkh2b6 said:
LTDs are not all made in Korea though. They used to be early on but that changed. The Korean ones are generally much nicer than China or Indonesia although the Chinese ones are catching up quick.
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I may need to find a used Korean Viper too because this Indonesian one I have is very impressive.
 
Ventura":vcz9yyof said:
Compared to the straight up ESP line, these guitars (the actual "ESP" models) are just "perfect" shredders out of the box. And ya, when you hold one and strum it - it feels sonically connected; and it's finished perfectly. It's obvious that aside from the hardware and cost of materials used, there's simply "more time spent" on these guitars during their manufacturing process from start to end.
Click to expand...

Makes total sense to me.
 
satannica":2mx4c3ka said:
I've had LTDs and have ESPs now. The equivalent ESPs are far far better than the LTDs. I didn't keep my EC1000s once I got my Eclipse.
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+1
its not as big of a difference as gibson and epi is, as most epi's i've played, even the higher end ones were a joke by comparison.

I had one edwards V though, that was easily on par, if not better than a standard gibson V, apart from the lack of a nitro finish on the edwards.
 
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