ESP LTD Deluxe EC-1000FM Fluence Tiger Eye

This is an amazing guitar. The Fishman Fluence pickups create an amazing tone that is so clear and concise. It is the best sounding guitar I own (and I own a few). It plays really well and it looks fabulous. What else is there? Oh, there are a couple of things that did annoy me. The knob for changing the voice keeps coming off because they are really cheap. ESP could do with putting on screw ones to stop this happening. I've ordered some after market ones to replace the cheap knobs with the ability to screw them on. Shame...

The other thing is I had to replace the strings because they were cut so short they wouldn't stay on the machine heads when I tightened them. I know they are not deal breakers, but they are annoying when I payed out so much money. The guitar itself should get 5 stars. However, I've only awarded 4 because of the knobs. The strings are not important...easily replaced.

Once last thing, it didn't need setting up (though I may still get a luthier to see if they can improve the action a bit).

PROS



This is a solidly built guitar, with a monumental sound.



Everything feels well built and premium, the guitar feels solid in your hands. All components are top quality, from the proprietary locking tuners to the very reliable bridge that will help you keep optimal tuning stability.



The sound is huge thanks to the active Fishman Fluence Modern pickups. One of the tone knobs is a push-pull one that activates a different voicing of the pickups - a more 'passive', traditional-rock sounding one. Voice 1 is the modern, active one and it's terrifyingly powerful! The pickups deliver clarity, no matter how much gain you have dialed in.



CONS



The push-pull tone knob for the voice switch is not always easy to pull up, especially when your fingers get sweaty.



The back of the guitar was hurting my ribs, but this may be due to my slim build or a wrong position while playing.