ESP LTD EC-256 BLK

This guitar needs no introduction. But the one I got came with few unpleasant issues.

First let me say i am from the UK therefore between Thomann and me the UK customs opened the box. And it is them i blame for the state of the guitar i received. It is important to review this experience and the impact it had on the item, as this puts Thomann on the clear but surely paint a hard reality for UK customs and the mess we have found ourselves with Brexit, although Thomann has done a great job to save us.

Right out of the box left to the neck on the body a crack/mark. There is no way an LTD left the factory this way, and it was obvious the guitar had been opened at the customs from the re-stapling and the sad way they packed the guitar back in the protective foam, which was half done.

Next i noticed something going around in the guitar. It was obviously a piece of something, at best wood, at worst… and then i tried the knobs and more bad new on the way.

The tone knob (pull/push) had a more than reasonable play, and i mean the potentiometer not being screwed in place and the dial doing a dead dial for almost a quarter!

Without a doubt, someone opened the guitar and messed it up one way or the other. I hate to sound like a broken record, but a guitar of such condition would have never made it out of the factory or even Thomann had it been opened.

Thomann offered a return promptly and solved the problem straight away. But the next day i decided to keep it, why? Because i had an issue a couple of years ago and send a guitar back and here i am two years after knowing nothing bout guitars still. If i was to send it back again i would have lost interest again until i get a refund and a new one.

I decided to keep it and pay for a repair on the finish and knob, and at least appreciate the rest of its beauty. I still dont know what is inside that goes around and i hope will not regret it but i am taking my chances.

5 stars to Thomann,
0 stars to British Customs! But Us Britons are musically “ accustomed” to get zero marks for music when we get to Europe (Eurovision).

So there.

My first real guitar. After upgrading from an Encore strat, I was blown away with how easy it was to play the EC-256, and was always ready to recommend this to fellow beginners.

However, years later after becoming more familiar with guitars and trying other brands and models, I noticed some flaws that the EC-256 had.

The frets were not great, and will require a level and crown before I sell this on. The pickup toggle switch stopped working (you can search the video of James Hetfield having this issue on stage for some nightmare fuel), although I was able to fix this myself after dismantling it, it seems some dust or grit manage to get in there somehow.

It also feels quite heavy, and is still the heaviest guitar I've owned. The binding around the body had some flaws, and the nut's width was different enough from the neck to feel sharp when running my hand along it.

Most of this is nitpicking, but the frets are something I would definitely not forgive.

Still, there's only so much you would expect at this tier of instrument, it's a nice guitar, but I believe Schecter has the upper hand these days in this price range.

I got this guitar on sale to use as a backup and overall I am happy with the purchase. I also own an ESP LTD Deluxe EC-1000 and the finish differences are quite notable, although that is obviously expected for a guitar that costs twice the price. In terms of playability, I didn't feel a whole lot of difference, frets came very well polished, no sharp edges or anything and the neck profile is just the same.
I replaced the tuners with a spare set of Sperzels I had for a different project, not because the stock ones aren't good but I prefer locking tuners. My favourite feature is the coil tap, it makes it incredibly versatile for playing different genres. For me, it's perfect for rehearsals if I don't want to carry around more expensive stuff. All in all, good quality for the price, pretty much what I expected from an ESP LTD.