The ESP LTD EC-256P is another stand out guitar from ESP that offers something a little more subtle for guitarists looking for a value for money tone machine with great looks.
Shown Above: The ESP LTD EC-256P in Black
The EC-256P has a mahogany body and neck, and a rosewood fingerboard. Unlike most Les Paul influenced designs this model comes with soapbar pickups instead of humbuckers which sound like fatter single coil pickups (they tend to have more wire wrapped around the magnets, so they produce a higher output). This means they’ll push your amp into overdrive more easily and are great for that gutsy blues tone.
Vintage P90s are notorious however for the hum they produce, but these pickups are stacked, so there’s a second coil underneath the main one (rather than side by side, as with a humbucker) to cancel the electrical noise.
It’s not distressed like a lot of other guitars so you’ll need to put your own road wear on it. The guitar, as you’d expect is pretty heavy given the mahagony construction but the price, quality of construction and looks more than make up for it. This could be a great workhorse for gigging guitarists or something fun for those players looking to kick back and play some jazz or blues in the bedroom.
The EC-256P comes in two finishes: MGO (Metallic Gold) and BLK
Specification
- Mahogany body & neck
- Rosewood fret board with inlaid flag fret markers
- ESP LP90S soapbar pick-ups
- Grover Machine Heads and Tune-o-matic bridge
- Gold Hardware
Price: £419 GBP / $399 USD
Editors note: You may find this beauty for as little as £349 in the UK
These go for $249.00 on an internet website. How much lower can you get for a decent looking and sounding guitar with tax and shipping included. And these people who ask if this is a heavy metal guitar. Any guitar can be used to play heavy metal. Take a tele thru a Marshall with a Rat pedal and you have a very heavy metal tone. But for those into metal stick with Ibanez as they are the only guitars stupid enough looking for metal. Cheers