The ESP Guitar Company

Here some other small things which are not that nice to have on a new 800-1000 € guitar:

ALL my ltd guitars show that wear pattern, my F50, h1001 deluxe, m1000 and hammet purple sparkle. Maybe its normal, then again maybe it's shitty soft fret wire to cut on cost, I'm cool with the F50 having soft fret wire but not on the rest... I might try Ibanez next.

Please remember you are buying an LTD, which has cheaper hardware than a traditional ESP. Do not expect the finish on cheaper made hardware to last. I have several LTDs and 4 ESP (2 signature and 2 custom shop). You get what you pay for. There is nothing wrong with an LTD, but still, you can't expect it to have $200 bridges with a great finish for an $800 guitar. Expectations need to be in line with what you are spending.

likelinus wrote:

Please remember you are buying an LTD, which has cheaper hardware than a traditional ESP. Do not expect the finish on cheaper made hardware to last... You get what you pay for. There is nothing wrong with an LTD, but still, you can't expect it to have $200 bridges with a great finish for an $800 guitar. Expectations need to be in line with what you are spending.

Likelinus, the point of the LTD 1000 series is that they are supposed to be professional-level guitars for the price conscience consumer and a gateway to the ESP line. These are supposed to be OEM parts that add value to the product. Georg and I both bought these because they were advertised as having TonePros bridges.

I bought a EC-1000 VB during Christmas and I, too, have been very disappointed in the quality of the build.  I have had problems with a bad tuning key and a bad bridge. I had to exchange it for another one. I have been having tuning issues with that one.

This is very different from the high end quality of my MH-1001 (made in Korea), where that product far surpassed my expectations. 

I might try Ibanez next.

I was thinking about buying an RGAIX6FM-TGF but I really dislike the extremely thin and flat Ibanez necks.

likelinus wrote:

Please remember you are buying an LTD, which has cheaper hardware than a traditional ESP.

Well, my 3 years old Squier Affinity Strat is a quite cheap guitar ($150-200?) and it doesn't have any issues with (chrome-like) hardware paint at all.

I definitely haven't paid for the real gold plated hardware on my Ltd, but it's quite annoying to see the lesser quality hardware on a guitar, which costs like three or four Squiers, isn't it?

Btw. there is actually a "TonePros" logo at the bottom of the bridge.

Same thing with the fret fire: I've got first dents on the frets of my Strat after more than a year (!) of daily playing. There is no dents on the frets of my EC-1000 at the moment, but it seems like it will get them quite soon (I'm using same Ernie Ball nickel plated strings on both my guitars).

Probably I just had too much luck with my Affinity, so at the moment I'm rather underwhelmed with my EC-1000 "Deluxe".

If you look around the web, or have experience with any other gold plated hardware, it wears easily. It's not an ESP/LTD thing, it's a gold hardware thing.

Yeah, I probably should lower my expectations a bit, so the small things like this would not annoy me that much.

ESP/LTD still uses nickel alloy frets that are what I consider soft. They should still last you a decent amount of time, but I would much rather see them adopt stainless steel on higher tier guitars like some other brands are doing. 

To keep frets lasting longer, just make sure you clean/polish them really well each string change. Clean frets will last much longer. 
EDIT: Also, when you use a case, you can use a fret protector to keep the strings from pressing against the frets. ESP guitars ship with them, but LTD do not. You can buy them online or just use a cleaning cloth or something. Anything to stop the strings from pressing into the frets during storage. 

In terms of the finish of the bridge, that's just how gold plated hardware seems to be. Hands are oily/sweaty which quickly wears off that coating. The saddles should have been slotted correctly though. That looks like it was missed from the factory. 

All of my 3 way toggle switches do that too. I think it's normal unless I've been unlucky with 3 brands and 5 switches. 

It's a lot of money, but I think these are all 'normal' for the price range. It's a mass produced guitar, so tiny imperfections in the binding/finish are going to happen. The difference between a high end LTD and something like a ESP USA Shop guitar would be the lack of those tiny imperfections. 

I had a Korean built version VB for 5 years. My gold hardware also wore out over time and I'm pretty sure it's just a part of the gold hardware gig. The satin finish on the neck was also pretty much gloss by the time I sold it off (still regret it). It didn't bug me too much. Wear and tear just kind of happens. Wash the grease off your hands before you play and clean the strings/hardware whenever you sweat on it and that should help it last longer.

I'm still trying to find a good used Korean one to buy again worn hardware or not.

I've decided to sell my EC-1000 and sold it today. I've lost around 34% of the retail price, but the new owner will be much happier with this guitar than I was, so it's ok.

Lesson learned: never ever "Vintage Black" finish and "gold" hardware again!

Although in this case country of mfg probably isn't the culprit I don't like Indonesian made guitars and refuse to pay close to or more than 1k for one. The 3 times I tried to purchase one it took multiple times to get one that was issue free and in the end I only ended up keeping one and that was my H-401M. I only own Korean, Japanese and American. I'm not a gear snob by any means I just want the best I can get at the price I'm paying. I'm not saying Indonesia doesn't make a decent guitar but it seems to be one to every three or four made. There's just not enough consistency. 

I would say compare the prices of the E-II and LTD guitars and you'll most probably will have the answer. Lower price always means lower production costs.

I know this thread is old.  All the EC 1000s now have stainless steel frets.  Is this a guitar that was purchased before stainless steel was standard?

I just ordered an EC-401 and forgot those don’t have stainless steel frets.  I’m kind of disappointed I forgot.  If my frets wear, so be it.