LTD EC-201 FT: Modern LP at an Affordable Price
The highly successful LTD Eclipse guitar edition, inspired by the ageless Gibson Les Paul, has been expanded to include the more affordable EC-201 FT, a modern alternative to the classic flat-top Les Paul Junior. This is reflected in the flat front of the body without the arched maple top, the shape of the pickguard and, last but not least, the installation of a single pickup with a simple straightforward electronics design. Guitarists with a "less is sometimes more" philosophy will be especially pleased.
The single-cut body is made from time-tested mahogany, while the neck is made from three pieces of the same material, with a glued joint and a comfortable, subtler Thin-U profile. The heat-treated jatoba fingerboard features 22 solid XJ frets, black binding, faux mother-of-pearl block markers, and a flatter 350mm radius, allowing the player to pluck the strings harder without risking loss of tone.
The nut is 43 mm wide like its American predecessor and the similarity to the Gibson is confirmed by the length of the scale measuring the traditional 24.75 inches. The strings are anchored through the body, and the black-tinted hardware consists of the company's tulip tuning keys and a standard, reliable solid tune-o-matic bridge.
The sound of the instrument, fitted with high-quality D'Addario XL110 strings, is transmitted by a single ESP LH-150B bridge humbucker with coils hidden in a metal case. The passive pickup, featuring a ceramic magnet and a more powerful output, is complemented by a simple control in the form of a volume potentiometer with an integrated push/pull switch that disconnects the coils and provides a more brilliant single-coil character usable e.g. for clean or subtly distorted registers.
The LTD EC-201 FT model is available in two finishes – both the variant in Black finish and the version in transparent See Thru Black Cherry finish cost around 480 euros.
The LTD brand has more than enough experience with guitar production, thanks to its parent company ESP, which became popular not only among metal guitarists in the mid-1980s. Therefore, it is not surprising that leading endorsers include Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield of Metallica, Stephen Carpenter of alt-metal Deftones, Alex Skolnick from trash metal Testament, bassist and frontman of Slayer Tom Araya, former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Gus G, George Lynch of Dokken and many others.
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