LTD Xtone PC-1V review

Hell-raising hollowbody electric

  • £869
  • €1110
  • $1284
The Xtone's finish and gold hardware add a touch of refined class

MusicRadar Verdict

A fine build and design, which leans on the rockier side of the tone tracks.

Pros

  • +

    Exceptional build. Smooth Bigsby action. Great rock 'n' roll tones.

Cons

  • -

    The offset body will no doubt enrage traditionalists.

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An all-solidwood semi, with only a bass-side f-hole, the LTD Xtone PC-1V is a fully hollow guitar with a centre-block that runs from the neck joint to the base of the body.

Its stretched, off-set single-cut outline isn't for the faint-hearted - it's one of those guitars that looks way better in playing position than upright - and it's the heavy for a semi-acoustic, which gives it an almost 'solidbody' feel.

"A nice touch is the roller saddles on the tune-o-matic, which makes the licensed Bigsby smooth-actioned"

It's exceptionally well done, though. The inside of the maple top isn't carved, although wood is removed under the top around the f-hole, so the unbound visible edges don't appear over-thick.

It's bound, very cleanly, around the body edges, the fingerboard and the three-a-side headstock; the subtly metallic off-white finish is applied perfectly and a beautiful base for the gold-plated hardware and gold-sprayed pickguard. The black knobs and switch tip tie in with the purfling around the top edge and the dark rosewood 'board, with its large block abalone-centred inlays.

A nice touch is the roller saddles on the tune-o-matic, which makes the licensed Bigsby smooth-actioned, and although we have just standard - and a little sloppy - Grover tuners, it stays in tune very well.

There is a rear control cavity, although the controls, in playing position, are obscured a little by the Bigsby's arm, not least the three-way toggle, which might have been better placed on the expansive upper shoulder.

Sounds

Weighty on the strap, the Xtone feels great - it looks extremely classy, too. There's a thick, more solidbody humbucker voice that sounds less open than your usual hollowbody, but with a righteous snap, it's more blues than jazz.

"This is a dirty rock 'n' roll guitar with immense attitude, especially if you're partial to sonic manipulation"

It likes a little crunch and would benefit from Wilkinson's Vari-coil (the pickups are four-conductor, so that's an easy DIY mod) found on the recently-reviewed Fret-King Black Label Elise 'JE'.

It's a little thicker in the lower mids, leaning towards rockier/indie styles. It's a tough cookie and loves on-the-edge-of-feedback sounds, where as the feedback emerges you can wave the vibrato arm. We knew we shouldn't have kicked in the delay pedal...

This is a dirty rock 'n' roll guitar with immense attitude, especially if you're partial to sonic manipulation.

Dave Burrluck

Dave Burrluck is one of the world’s most experienced guitar journalists, who started writing back in the '80s for International Musician and Recording World, co-founded The Guitar Magazine and has been the Gear Reviews Editor of Guitarist magazine for the past two decades. Along the way, Dave has been the sole author of The PRS Guitar Book and The Player's Guide to Guitar Maintenance as well as contributing to numerous other books on the electric guitar. Dave is an active gigging and recording musician and still finds time to make, repair and mod guitars, not least for Guitarist’s The Mod Squad.