“A very playable, quality guitar for bridge-heavy rock – just don’t expect it to do everything”: ESP LTD EC-201FT review

70 years ago, Gibson’s Les Paul Junior set the bar for single-pickup guitars: packing a lone P-90, yet somehow managing to wring seven decades of stellar, tonal versatility out of the most basic of formats.

More recently, Yungblud is pushing a one-and-done ethos with his signature Epiphone SG, and we’ve seen the single-pickup idea pointed in a different direction from the likes of Manson, EVH and others.

Similarly far from the dusty, vintage fuzz of garage-rock sits LTD, the affordable arm of ESP traditionally (although not exclusively) tailored towards the heavier end of the spectrum. Earlier this year, LTD released a pair of flat-topped single-pickup Eclipse models (the EC-01FT and more affordable EC-201FT here) that puts its spin on the format, promising instruments “for players seeking the most hardcore performances imaginable”.

The unbound mahogany body design and slightly retro scratchplate are met by all-black hardware (LTD tuners and T-o-M-style bridge with through-body stringing), the angular LTD headstock and apparently fire-breathing single pickup. Elsewhere, we get a three-piece, glued mahogany neck, which is fitted with a roasted jatoba fingerboard, block inlays and 22 extra-jumbo frets.

But, we can see where LTD is coming from. Considering that a high percentage of LTD fans are likely to spend a lot of their time gained-up for rock, punk and metal with the bridge pickup engaged, possibly not even changing the tone control, doing away with the neck pickup and additional electronics sort of makes sense for some people.

Our Black review model comes shining out of the box bathed in a solid gloss finish. The setup is comfortable, with the potential to go lower, but ultimately buzz-free and where we’d expect for a middle-ground action.

The jatoba fingerboard has a reddish-brown mahogany-like hue while the frets look like they could have done with more time under the buffing wheel. But the thin U-shaped neck offers a comfortable ride for open and powerchords as well as lead playing.

Tonally, the LTD LH-150B pickup is solid, and excels under higher gain. It cleans up nicely with the volume rolled back, but, to our ears, it’s lacking some of that bite we were hoping for. There’s a slight woolly-ness to it that means punky, overdriven open chords lose some note separation – nothing a quick EQ change can’t fix.

The coil-split is engaged from the volume control, and yields a decent single-coil bridge sound. There’s a roundness to the attack and a midrange honk that lends itself to Clash-style jabs and greasy vintage funk and soul rhythm playing.

So, it seems we’ve got a model with a potential identity crisis on our hands. But what we do get is a very playable, quality guitar for bridge-heavy rock sub-genre playing. It’s fuss-free and fairly affordable, just don’t expect it to do everything.

Specs

• PRICE: $499/£479
• BODY: Mahogany, flat-top
• NECK: Mahogany, three-piece
• SCALE: 24.75”
• FINGERBOARD: Roasted jatoba
• FRETS: 22 XJ
• PICKUP: LTD LH-150B (bridge position)
• CONTROLS: Volume, w/ push-pull coil split
• HARDWARE: Black LTD tuners and T-o-M-style bridge (through-body-stringing)
• LEFT-HANDED: Yes
• CASE: No
• FINISH: Black [as reviewed], See Thru Cherry
• CONTACT: ESP Guitars