ESP vs LTD (in price)

[Massili]

Does a genuine ESP really worth $1100 more than a High end LTD?
My only complaint is that ESP is Alder wood on the body and LTD is mahogany. What do you guys think about, ESP or LTD?

ESP Horizon NT-7
$1729.00

http://www.samash.com/p/Horizon NT7 7 String Electric Guitar Black_-49954293

ESP LTD MH-417
$649.00

http://www.samash.com/p/LTD MH417 7 String Electric Guitar_-49953192

 

[Lazzari]

The ESP has ebony fretboard...

 

[TheWinterSnow]

Not all Alder is of bad quality. High quality Alder can compete in terms of tone very similar to Mahogany in in some cases can be more balanced. That is unless you just don't like Alder at all, but most people don't like it because they associate Alder with cheap gutiars that use poor grade Alder as imitation Mahogany.

The difference between ESP and LDT is quite substantial. ESP is made of higher quality wood and is usually made in either Japan or the US depending on where you buy it from and what model it is, where LTD is made in Korea or Indonesia. Also LTD from experience doesn't do very much with preventative salt water corrosion and as a result some fo their guitars reach the states with their natural wood finishes showing corrosion and some of the hardware having rust. In terms of actual quality for the higher priced LTD stuff is close to ESP but still ESP guitars both feel and play a little bit better and feel a bit more sturdy.

 

[nwright]

The wood quality and craftmanship will probably be better on the Japanese made ESP. I'm pretty sure the 417 is Indo or Chinese made (Korea stopped making the 400 and lower series stuff a few years back), as will the finish and the hardware.

 

[Harry Hughes]

Honestly, just go to a shop and compare them side by side.
Chances are you'll find the real ESPs are more consistent quality wise than their LTD counterparts.
Not to say there isn't some killer LTDs out there, because there certainly are

 

[nwright]

Not all Alder is of bad quality. High quality Alder can compete in terms of tone very similar to Mahogany in in some cases can be more balanced. That is unless you just don't like Alder at all, but most people don't like it because they associate Alder with cheap gutiars that use poor grade Alder as imitation Mahogany.

The difference between ESP and LDT is quite substantial. ESP is made of higher quality wood and is usually made in either Japan or the US depending on where you buy it from and what model it is, where LTD is made in Korea or Indonesia. Also LTD from experience doesn't do very much with preventative salt water corrosion and as a result some fo their guitars reach the states with their natural wood finishes showing corrosion and some of the hardware having rust. In terms of actual quality for the higher priced LTD stuff is close to ESP but still ESP guitars both feel and play a little bit better and feel a bit more sturdy.

No ESP's are made in the US, and no standard level ESP's have ever been built in the US. The only US made ESP's were custom orders, and the last ESP Custom shop closed around 01.

1000 series and 600 series LTD's are made in Korea. old 400 series were MIK, 401's were made in Indonesia, current 50, 100 and 200 series are made in China, some in Vietnam (as of 09 at least). Even older LTD 100, 200, 300 and 500 sig series were MIK up until around 04 or 05, maybe a year or so later...Then it changed a bit.

for 2010, they got rid of most (if not all) of the 400 series designations and went back to the 300 series designations. All of these guitars are now MIC. I'd wager that the exisitng 400 series, if there are any, are MIC as well.

 

[dfer]

Also LTD from experience doesn't do very much with preventative salt water corrosion and as a result some fo their guitars reach the states with their natural wood finishes showing corrosion and some of the hardware having rust. In terms of actual quality for the higher priced LTD stuff is close to ESP but still ESP guitars both feel and play a little bit better and feel a bit more sturdy.

+ 1

I have first hand experence of this. I have an EC-1000 and the tuneomatic bridge (Mainly from palm mutes, too much metal ) & Tone/Vol knobs have lost a lot of the gold plating, and are now a mix of silver/gold.

But i am happy with my LTD in terms of build quality etc... especially considering the price.

 

[TheWinterSnow]

+ 1

I have first hand experence of this. I have an EC-1000 and the tuneomatic bridge (Mainly from palm mutes, too much metal ) & Tone/Vol knobs have lost a lot of the gold plating, and are now a mix of silver/gold.

But i am happy with my LTD in terms of build quality etc... especially considering the price.

I am a hardcore ESP/LTD fan and that is because for the price nothing can beat them for what they do, and a $1000 LTD plays just as good as any $2000 Ibanez, PRS, Gibson etc.

Its just unfortunate that my next two guitar purchases won't be with the company because they don't have anything on their lines that I am in the market for and that are appealing to my tastes.

 

[Lasse Lammert]

IME the ESPs resonate and sound way better than the LTDs.
the overall quality is great on the LTD though (for the price), and they're built VERY well.
still, I'd choose an ESP over an LTD any day (sound/quality wise)

 

[dfer]

Lasse - While i do agree with you, the ESP being nearly 3 times the price of the LTD, is it 3 times better of a guitar.... i think not. I think it depends on what other equipment the OP already has, the extra money not spent on the ESP could go to other things in the signal chain that would make a difference like Amp, Cab, boost pedals etc.

Massili - What other gear have you got?

 

[amarshism]

I have heaps of 1000 deluxes and esps and struggle to find differences in the playability and tonality that warrant such a price difference between the two.

 

[Lasse Lammert]

Lasse - While i do agree with you, the ESP being nearly 3 times the price of the LTD, is it 3 times better of a guitar.... i think not.

definitely not, but that's true for ANYTHING, the quality/price rise is never linear..always somewhat logarithmic

 

[kev]

Its like the difference between anything great and excellent. That's where the biggest price gap is because once they've got you in their marketing trap they know full well you'll pay it.

Also like the difference between a great Mix and an excellent mix too. A lot of people will do great mixes on here, but if you want yourself an excellent mix, Randy Staub will charge your ass. He took 20 years learning how to go from great to excellent whereas it probably took him 5 years to go from trash to great.

 

[nwright]

I have heaps of 1000 deluxes and esps and struggle to find differences in the playability and tonality that warrant such a price difference between the two.

I think comparing 1000 series LTD's to current ESP standard series models, yes the reason for the price difference becomes smaller.

I'd almost gladly fork over the money for the ESP SS over the 1000 series LTD just to not have the abalone.

 

[Massili]

Massili - What other gear have you got?

I own a shecter blackjack (JB/59), peavey 5150 thru a 4x12 randall cab or thru a 2x12 line6 cab

 

[Massili]

No ESP's are made in the US, and no standard level ESP's have ever been built in the US. The only US made ESP's were custom orders, and the last ESP Custom shop closed around 01.

1000 series and 600 series LTD's are made in Korea. old 400 series were MIK, 401's were made in Indonesia, current 50, 100 and 200 series are made in China, some in Vietnam (as of 09 at least). Even older LTD 100, 200, 300 and 500 sig series were MIK up until around 04 or 05, maybe a year or so later...Then it changed a bit.

for 2010, they got rid of most (if not all) of the 400 series designations and went back to the 300 series designations. All of these guitars are now MIC. I'd wager that the exisitng 400 series, if there are any, are MIC as well.

what do u mean about "MIC" and "MIK"?

 

[dfer]

Made in China & Made in Korea

 

[egan.]

IME the ESPs resonate and sound way better than the LTDs.

I agree with this. IME ESP QC is better start to finish so you get far more consistent wood selection and construction (not just finish).

 

[Scott Horner]

Personally, I much prefer my LTD EC-1000 Deluxe over its ESP equivalent. I like the fact that my LTD Eclipse has 24 frets whereas all of the ESP versions are only 22. I have several LTD models and all of them feel better to me than the ESP versions. I'm sure the quality isn't quite the same but I'm not rough on my guitars so I'm not concerned enough about that to be willing to spend that much more for the ESP. Of course, if I had the money, I would love to have an ESP custom made for me...

 

[Kazrog]

As an owner of both, I can say this much. If you try before you buy, and stick with Korean top-end LTDs only, you can find guitars that will rival their ESP counterparts. The biggest tonal difference is that typically the ESP guitars have far more sustain. The amount of sustain of the ESP flying Vs in particular is mind-blowing.

If you want a sure thing, go with ESP, they are far more consistent and worth the extra change. For that kind of money I'd also consider other top-end Japanese guitars like Caparison as well.