Guitar Center is rocking a great Christmas deal on the ESP LTD EC-256 right now, knocking $99 off the list price. With two meaty humbuckers and a slimmer form factor than most other Les Paul-style electric guitars, the EC-256 is one of the best pound-for-pound rock guitars around, especially when it’s available for just $299.
It’s no one-trick-pony though, and is capable of some surprising tonal depth thanks to the coil tapping. But the true strength of the EC/Eclipse range lies in its ability to make those heavy, gain-laden chords and riffs sing. There’s a reason Lamb of God use them, after all.
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ESP, based in Japan, has a great track record for producing some of the finest rock and metal guitars around. And, in its sister brand LTD, it continues that trend only with a keener eye on delivering value for money. You could compare it to the Gibson/Epiphone deal; ESP produces the high-end wallet shredders, but there’s still a wide selection of great guitars to be found as you travel down to the LTD sub-brand.
For ESP, the Eclipse is one of its best-known ranges, and the LTD EC-256 is a natural stable mate. It boasts two weighty ESP-designed humbuckers and a neat mahogany body with a maple top to add some top-end tone. The master tone control doubles up as a coil-tapping switch so you can extract some incredibly versatile sounds from the EC-256, making it suitable for a number of genres.
But it’s in rock and metal where this guitar really shines, both tonally and in playability. It’s lighter than a standard Les Paul, for starters, so you can concentrate on playing it rather than wielding it – so to speak – and those extra jumbo frets are ideal for fast, nimble riffing and solos.
So, while it may bear more than a passing resemblance to another, more famous guitar line, the LTD EC-256 is very much a great instrument in its own right.