"How I discovered my LTD"

DeliDeli
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    Deli
    I would like to hear everyone's story on how they came to be an LTD player, what you played before, what you like about LTDs vs other guitars, that sort of thing. If this sort of of thread was posted before, sorry. But it's a slow day in the office so there it is. I was a Gibson Les Paul and SG user for about 6 years recently and a Fender Stratocaster devotee 15 years prior to playing a Gibson. I never really gave much thought to other brands (aside from a brief dalliance with an Ibanez back in 1989) much less ESP/LTDs. But after playing my Gibsons for so long, I was starting to get rather bored playing them, especially with my big ass LP Studio Baritone which is almost as heavy as a damn Custom. Plus, I just wanted to try something different for me, change it up a bit. I found myself randomly playing a used LTD Viper-401FM at Motor City Guitar a few months ago, just to see what everyone liked about LTDs. It felt just like the day when I picked up a Stratocaster when I was 13 and it instantly made me excited about playing again. It felt much more comfortable to play than my LP and SG and I was undoubtedly hooked by it's playability and sound through my Peavey. I've tried a few other LTD models (can't afford ESPs at this point, especially with the shitty Detroit economy) but the Vipers felt just right to me. Needless to say, I bought that Viper right there and then. My wife almost gave me a right earful for buying more gear but this guitar was definitely worth it. Since that day, my Les Paul has now been officially retired, my SG and Explorer have been sold and I am the proud owner and avid user of two awesome Vipers (Deluxe 1000 FM and 401 FM).
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    Trendkill
    Trendkill wrote

    just to get this straight? you sold a Gibson... (not an Epiphone?) SG and Gibson Explorer.... retired your Les Paul ..... for a LTD?

    1996 - Fender Squier
    1997 - Epiphone explorer
    2004 - Gave up playing for four years.
    2008 - Friend gave me his new Epiphone Les Paul for being his best man at his wedding-- loved it and started playing again.
    2009 - Bought a LTD Ex, black with red lightning from EBay, EMG actives etc --- Loved it. Picked up a Marshall Half stack as a result of that purchase :D
    2011 - Bought an ESP Kamikaze ---- almost as good as sex!.

    All I want now is an MX-250 and I can die happy.

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      Deli
      Deli wrote

      just to get this straight? you sold a Gibson... (not an Epiphone?) SG and Gibson Explorer.... retired your Les Paul ..... for a LTD?

      Yeah, but it was for more than just getting the Vipers. I also had to get some extra money for repairs on my Jeep and to help the missus out with bills, too. The SG (Faded Special) and Explorer were Gibsons (NOT Epis) but weren't in great shape to begin with anyway. I bought them both second hand years ago and were beat to shit when I acquired them. As far as retiring the LP, she's already had the neck broken twice and plus, she's also starting to get pretty banged up so I am going to get her restored. That was my first LP and will never get rid of her.

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        Justinschut
        Justinschut wrote

        hmm, I don't really know how I discovered ESP/LTD. When I started playing electric guitar, I first had a Samick semi-electric hollow body jazz type guitar which was really big. A while later I had some unknown brand strat which was alright. Then I had a Squier Tele for a while..

        When I had been playing for a while I always wanted a Jackson Kelly cuz I liked the shape, so I bought one but then hardly played it cuz I didn't like the neck (Ke3). I also had an Ibanez RG550 and later a JEM55 and some other stuff. Eventually in late 2004, I bought a blue LTD EX351 from Ebay, which was my first LTD. Since then I've had a load of different LTD's en ESP's.

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          xZYRYABx
          xZYRYABx wrote

          grew up with a jackson kelly...put down the guitar when i turned 18 for some reason....turned into a rap/techno poser for a few years....found my roots again and decided to start a band....the guitarist I ended up with had just gotten an alexi-600 and it just blew me away...starting getting fetishes for an MX or KH-2 which I stared at for years in all the metallica posters/pics....got an m-1000.... 23 esps/ltds and counting have come and gone...and the rest is history

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            deus ex machina
            deus ex machina wrote

            The guitarist in my first band had an LTD Viper-301. I liked it. I got myself an LTD F-205 because of that. I like it.

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              Explorer45
              Explorer45 wrote

              My first guitar was a strat copy which I got from my parents when I was about 13-14 I think. I discovered ESP/LTD through Metallica (no shit). Bought my first LTD, which was a EX-400BD back in 2005 and added a EC-1000BLK in 2008. Next up is all ESPs.
              That pretty much sums it up really.

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                Gfunk
                Gfunk wrote

                I don't have an LTD.

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                  IceSlicer
                  IceSlicer wrote

                  ^ then why are you posting on this LTD thread, you fucking douchebaggus!

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                    IceSlicer
                    IceSlicer wrote

                    ^ then why are you posting on this LTD thread. Were you struck dumb or did you fall out of the turnip wagon?

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                      brandono61cr
                      brandono61cr wrote

                      ^ then why are you posting on this LTD thread. Were you struck dumb or did you fall out of the turnip wagon?
                      please go on ...

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                        Justinschut
                        Justinschut wrote

                        this should be good

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                          Deli
                          Deli wrote

                          One thing for sure, my LTDs are quite honestly more fun to play than my Gibbys were. Sounds like a crazy thing to say but I sincerely enjoy playing my Vipers more.

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                            Borked Bob
                            Borked Bob wrote

                            My first electric was an M-10 from the beginner pack, I picked it because it looked cool, I then by pure coincidence tried an Ec-400at, loved everything about it and got an Ec-400vf Now Im about to purchase another eclipse body because it suits me the best.

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                              inauremdicere
                              inauremdicere wrote

                              I started out on Ibanez. Before then, ESP/LTD had been a guitar company that I had never been able to play let alone own one. There were maybe two or three instances where I almost owned one, but it wound up never happening at the last minute. My wife and I got married this past winter and decided to gift ourselves. Been checking out the eclipse series, so I picked up a vintage black EC-1000. It's been my favorite guitar, by far. Now I have the ESP bug, I'm constantly hoping for a 24 fret EX that I won't have to sell a kidney to get from the custom shop(if they even do it for that matter).

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