cobrahead1030
Well-known member
These caught my eye when they were released a few years ago, but the price tag for an LTD lost my interest quickly. This one showed up locally on FB marketplace, I was able to make a very reasonable deal, & the seller offered to meet me right across the street from where I work. The overall quality is impressive. I'm not entirely sure it justifies the nearly $2k price tag for a Korean LTD, but it's certainly a few steps above their other guitars I've owned over the years (which I thought were all quite nice for that $300-500 range)
The previous owner had what felt like 8's on it, with the action way too low for my liking. I wasn't in love with the fishman pickups right off the bat. They had a lot of the single coil-djent type of tone, which is why I sold another 7 string I had (BKP aftermaths in that one) It's not a sound I hate when I hear other players pull it off, but it's not for me. As quickly as I could, I raised the action & put some heavier strings on it. I went with NYXL 10, 13, 17, 26, 36, 46, 59; tuned to standard with the low string down to A. I wasn't sure which gauge to go with, with this being listed as a baritone (27" scale) and me having no intentions of tuning it very low, but this set feels pretty good all around. I have a Holcomb seven which is a 26.5" scale, so this isn't really a huge jump from that.
The higher action & beefier strings improved the tone tremendously. Actually, I was pleasantly shocked at how much better it sounded. It still kinda does that single note djenty thing if I attack the strings just right, but it has the tone I want from a proper riff machine now. The fretwork is really nice, and it plays very well across the neck. It definitely checks the box for something you can chug away or shred on. Upper access isn't great though, I can get up around fret 22 decently but it's clunky past the 19-20 range. The sparkle green finish fantastic in person. If I'm nit-picking, there are some imperfections in the binding and the fit of the pick guard around the neck could be a little cleaner.
As for the middle pickup; I actually like it ok. I did have to lower it a bit, to get it out of the way of my picking hand. It sounded a tiny bit better with it raised closer to where the bridge pickup is, but it's not a huge difference. Playing leads using just that center position has a very cool & unique sound; smooth, but still has a bit of bite, and a hint of that quackiness you'd get from a Strat middle pickup. 80's style clean tones with a generous amount of chorus & delay sound fantastic there as well, much better than I'd have thought. This isn't a guitar you play for it's versatility, but it's not completely useless outside the metal realm.
I wouldn't drop $2k on a new one. I got this used in great shape for around half that, and I think it's a solid buy at that price point.
Here's a minute of caveman chugging, through the Splawn I got from Wayne sometime back, and my old Framus Cobra that I hadn't fired up in a while.
The previous owner had what felt like 8's on it, with the action way too low for my liking. I wasn't in love with the fishman pickups right off the bat. They had a lot of the single coil-djent type of tone, which is why I sold another 7 string I had (BKP aftermaths in that one) It's not a sound I hate when I hear other players pull it off, but it's not for me. As quickly as I could, I raised the action & put some heavier strings on it. I went with NYXL 10, 13, 17, 26, 36, 46, 59; tuned to standard with the low string down to A. I wasn't sure which gauge to go with, with this being listed as a baritone (27" scale) and me having no intentions of tuning it very low, but this set feels pretty good all around. I have a Holcomb seven which is a 26.5" scale, so this isn't really a huge jump from that.
The higher action & beefier strings improved the tone tremendously. Actually, I was pleasantly shocked at how much better it sounded. It still kinda does that single note djenty thing if I attack the strings just right, but it has the tone I want from a proper riff machine now. The fretwork is really nice, and it plays very well across the neck. It definitely checks the box for something you can chug away or shred on. Upper access isn't great though, I can get up around fret 22 decently but it's clunky past the 19-20 range. The sparkle green finish fantastic in person. If I'm nit-picking, there are some imperfections in the binding and the fit of the pick guard around the neck could be a little cleaner.
As for the middle pickup; I actually like it ok. I did have to lower it a bit, to get it out of the way of my picking hand. It sounded a tiny bit better with it raised closer to where the bridge pickup is, but it's not a huge difference. Playing leads using just that center position has a very cool & unique sound; smooth, but still has a bit of bite, and a hint of that quackiness you'd get from a Strat middle pickup. 80's style clean tones with a generous amount of chorus & delay sound fantastic there as well, much better than I'd have thought. This isn't a guitar you play for it's versatility, but it's not completely useless outside the metal realm.
I wouldn't drop $2k on a new one. I got this used in great shape for around half that, and I think it's a solid buy at that price point.
Here's a minute of caveman chugging, through the Splawn I got from Wayne sometime back, and my old Framus Cobra that I hadn't fired up in a while.
