ESP LTD EC-1000 QM Electric Guitar - Violet Shadow - Sweetwater Exclusive Reviews

This is a great guitar for a great value in 2023/24. It's pretty bare bones and that's what I like about it. Give me good tone wood and throw in an Emg 81/60 set? You can't go wrong. The guitar gallery from Sweetwater is so useful with in person shopping mostly a thing of the past. You can always ask your sales engineer for other guitars to view if you're looking for certain characteristics in the finish of a guitar.
My main man Chad Rosencrans is always there to help me find the gear I want. I was able to pluck a beautiful quilt top
that absolutely rivals a top on my $ PRS Custom 24. I'm very happy with the guitar and Sweetwater support.

This is my first Les Paul style guitar and I love it. The fit and finish are great. The color and binding are awesome. The frets end are well done, no sprouting or sharp edges. The EMGs are very versatile and sound great clean and with some overdrive. The neck feels similar to the PRS wide/thin cut and the locking tuners are very stable and add the convenience of fast string changes.

I bought a demo version of the Violet Shadow Sweetwater Exclusive in 2021 and I have never been happier. I had never purchased a guitar from a website before, and was a little skeptical. My sales engineer was so awesome to work with, and sent me all the photos they had to keep me company while the guitar shipped. Once I had it in hand the demo blemishes were barely noticeable. The guitar was perfectly set up and ready to play. I spend an average of 1hr a day with this guitar and love every second of it. The flatter radius, with XL jumbo frets feel amazing. The U shape neck I had never tried before but immediately fell in love with it. The guitar itself is absolutely gorgeous, but the pure metal sounds you can get out of this setup are unreal. People ask me how such a pretty guitar makes the most evil metal tones. I love it! The build quality is better than I expected as well. The LTD line really are topnotch instruments.

Plays great, sounds good and the top looks real nice !! Overall very happy with this guitar and it's features !!

There is something special about ESP/LTD's take on the LP style. its light, its accessible, its comfortable, and it is hard to put down. The finish is immaculate and I really had to nitpick to find flaws, like a slightly (1/2 mm or less) protruding nut, and some slightly uneven leveling at the edges where the abalone purfling is. The quilt could dance more but you can't tell its a veneer.
The EMG 60/81 set surprised me as its the first time I've gone with EMGs. They don't play any different than a good set of passive humbuckers until you push all the gain forward on your amp. I think I like them better than the Fishmans on my Epiphone as active go, as they have more of a raw, rock and roll finish to them.

This is a seriously beautiful guitar to see and play. I had the techs at sweetwater set it up and I've never had a better playing guitar in my life. Thanks sweetwater

I've owned a few ESPs before, which is what prompted me to buy another, and it's everything I would expect. Quality craftsmanship, great feel, and sounds amazing. What really sold me on this specific guitar was the Violet Shadow finish, it looks great in pictures but is absolutely stunning in person. I'm amazed that you can buy a guitar that feels, sounds, and looks this great at this price point, highly recommend.

Love the guitar, it plays as good as my Core PRS SC58 and the quality is just as good or better than my guitars that cost me much more

Greetings from Canada. The day I discovered sweetwater was the same day I discovered this exclusive. It is one of the better metal guitars on the market, but it is capable of anything. It is such a well rounded instrument. It delivers on every aspect. It looks beautiful. Tones so warm from the 60 I mean the quilt top is just warmth overkill. The 81 delivers a punch an MMA fighter would be scared of. I have a full collection of Dean's and a gorgeous Les Paul, and this guitar may not cost as much, but is every bit as good as a $2000 guitar. The staff did a great job working through COVID and the borders, making me a soon to be returning customer.

I really like how this guitar plays. Smooth fretboard, lighter is weight and as usual EMG pickup's grungy tone. I have a EC-401 and I can see a huge difference between these 2 guitars.

I am very impressed with how this guitar plays. I love the color and a very smooth fretboard. EMG pickup's power distortion tone is as expected.

Perfect right out of the box, action and everything. Definitely recommend the color.

Each string is very distinct. Hard to explain but sounds great for soloing. Beautiful guitar and setup was spot on.

Just received my EC 1000 violet shadow. The guitar looks awesome. Not one blemish. I have other ESP LTD guitars and they just feel awesome. Right out of the box from Sweetwater it was ready to play well with a small bit of tuning. No fret buzz intonation is spot on. The neck feels smooth all around the EMGs are what I expected. Live this guitar. I will never get anything but ESP ever again. Had BC Rich from the 80s and fender and neither felt as good as ESP. I have order multiple items from Sweetwater and have never had an issue. Always arrived on time and in great condition.

I feel this guitar is more beautiful in person. I haven't found a flaw yet except for the one playing it. Absolutely loving it and Sweetwater was great.

For starters I've never seen such a beautiful guitar in my entire life..and if you can believe this it looks even better in person. I've always liked ESP guitars..and if you've never played one then you owe to yourself..but I had "always" wanted a guitar that looked "exactly" like this I mean this is my dream guitar folks. So when I saw it on Sweetwater it was like that scene from Wayne's World and I knew it must be mine. I'll tell you I was shocked at how well this thing played..if you love a good crunch sound its got that and then some..if you love good string definition when your playing clean its there..this is undoubtedly the standout guitar in my collection both in sound and appearance and its up against some pretty heavy hitters. I have mine tuned down right now a half step and it sounds identical to the guitar played in Ozzy's "Killer of Giants" both clean and distorted sections..just a killer guitar! Thank you Sweetwater for making it possible!!!

Got one of these yesterday, and I love it. Once I plugged it in, I played all day long and well into the night. ( Big thank you to my sales engineer Nick Grawcock for getting my order to me so quickly. )
I was looking to get something with EMG's and went with this over an Epiphone Les Paul Prophecy. I really prefer the feel of this guitar over a Gibson /Epi Les Paul. It's just a lot of fun to play. The neck is very easy to move around on, I like the locking tuners and it looks amazing too. The pictures don't do it justice, the binding and inlays really make it pop. This is a good purchase, I'm already thinking about getting another EC-1000 with the Fishman Fluence pickups.

Words cant describe how beautiful this guitar is in person. The build quality is top notch. The neck even though it is clear coated plays very fast and doesnt feel sticky at all. The frets are leveled and rounded and bends are completely effortless. This is my new #1!

As far as sweet water's service, I can't thank them enough. The ordering process was great due to their easy to use website that allows you to actually pick which serial number you're going to get. I opted to have them do a set up on the guitar and it plays better than any of my other guitars. I opted for D standard tuning with 12-56 ernie ball paradigm strings with higher action with no buzz and that's exactly how it came. No buzz, higher action, pickups adjusted perfectly, and I'm pretty sure they put a brand new 9v battery in it. Their inspection didn't miss anything because they took perfect care of the guitar during the set-up No imperfections anywhere. Thank you so so much sweetwater! This is the best guitar I've ever played and I've played a lot of high end guitars.

Every new guitar I order will be from sweetwater!

I like everything about this guitar. The look of it, the feel of it and the sound of it. The frets were level no issues that I have found with it. As always to see it in person is different sometimes things look worse than you expect, this one was not one of those. It's a beautiful guitar. Thanks to Cody Kraus for helping me with this purchase as he has with several others.

After wanting to upgrade from a cheap Epiphone Les Paul Special, I went into several guitar stores to try to find "The One". I sampled guitars that ranged from $500-$2,000. I always left feeling unsatisfied, like there was something missing. Then one day I stumbled onto one of these in a store. I played it and immediately knew it was the one for me. The playability of this guitar is probably the best I've seen and manages to beat out guitars 2x its price range. The frets are amazing as well and the finish is otherworldly. The neck joint is probably my favorite part of this guitar, it is effortless reaching up to the 24th fret. The neck size strikes that perfect range of feeling substantial in your hands but also being quick enough for you to get around the fretboard with ease. Although there is gloss on the back of the neck, it is not sticky at all and just adds more flair to this guitar.The EMGs of course are powerful as ever and the tuning stability is amazing as well. Do not get scared away because it isn't made in USA, this guitar came out of the box ready to play and I do not see my self ever getting rid of it.

Handle great and play amazing and sound amazing worth the money everyone.

There's so much that I appreciate about this guitar. From the way it stays in tune almost perfectly, to the killer sustain flying out of the EMG pickups, to the variety of tones achievable, to the overall beautiful finish and neck inlays, I really do enjoy holding, playing, or even just staring at this guitar. A quality instrument at a great price point. No regrets.

I waited 10 months to receive this guitar and suffice it to say it was absolutely worth it. I love everything about this guitar from the build quality to the feel and play ability to it"s stunning appearance. Certainly is not a guitar to bang out some Stevie Ray Vaughan but if you"re into metal or hard rock… Wow! Sweetwater is always a great place to deal with

Such an amazing guitar crafted with quality materials. Such a BEAUTIFUL GUITAR and SOUNDS AMAZING!! 100% happy with my purchase! Shoutout to Sales Engineer Phil Potts!

First off this is the nicest guitar Iv owned,i was originally in the market for a strat,but seen this and glad I did,the finish is beautiful.The fishman pickups are very clear and crisp sound for the clean kinda has a acoustic sound to it,and the distortion will blow you away it"s like getting a round house kick to the face from chuck Norris,I mainly play Power,thrash metal and this does Job,works great for worship music at church to.overall very happy and pleased about my purchase.

Most easy playing guitar ever, scale length is perfect, in amazing condition, and the fluence pickups take his guitar to another level. Very satisfied with my purchase

Let me start by saying I adore this guitar. Its highly resonant with good sustain coming in at 7 pounds and 12 ounces. Its a feather in my lap. After living with it for a month its reinforcing my opinion/experience with Indonesian made guitars. Solid, functional instruments that lack a little care in the finishing process. I anticipated this going in considering how much detail and bling this instrument has. I mean, when theres this much binding work going on and you're only paying $, its NOT gonna be flawless. That said, its pretty solid if you go in knowing this. Pictures dont show everything, but I can say theres nothing egregious. It's just a guitar, and at the end of the day its a gorgeous one at that. I just had to throw this out there because if you're reading this and you're like me, you're obsessive about the details.

Moving on, theres no fret buzz, but the fret ends need a little love. They're not sharp, but they lack the ergonomic feel when moving up and down the neck. I'm not too picky on fret work because all guitars eventually need fret work regardless. I also intend on getting a professional set up with a black TUSQ nut installed. The nut from the factory is fine and is cut well enough, but its a cheap upgrade that makes an important difference.

The "maple top" is just a veneer. This was my only real disappointment with this guitar. I wish there was more clarity on that in the spec sheet, but the guitar has EMG's, so whatever.

All in all, I love this guitar, and I intend on loving it for years to come. It plays good, sounds good, looks good, and is built good enough. I highly recommend it and am considering a second one down the road. Shout out to Sweetwater for being incredible and my sales rep John Tonello for being the man!

Amazing, right out of the box! Gorgeous maple top and headstock design along with the flag inlays and black/chrome hardware. But how it handles...wow! The 'U' shape neck is just like my '72 Strat so the LTD felt familiar right away. (The U neck is chunky and may not be right for everyone) It's really well balanced sitting down or standing with a strap. The action is spot on and access to the higher frets not a problem. The bridge is comfortable on the right hand. And the specific instrument that I ordered is HEAVY. It feels like I'm playing a full guitar, not just a slice of a guitar! And the sound... THE SOUND!! The EMG 81 is incredible! It's actually making me play more accurately and deliberately because it will not allow sloppy playing. Play sloppy on the 81 or 86(neck pickup) and there's NO hiding it. Took a little while to get used to the high output of the EMGs but well worth it. I could not be happier with this guitar and the price is incredible.

Such a beautiful guitar. Put together so well. Amazing sound.

I love my Les Paul guitars but was looking for something that didn't weigh so much. Playing four hours a night with the weight of a bowling ball around my neck wears on me. I have a nice Schecter Diamond series with Seymore Duncan pickups that is lighter and plays great but I had to adjust my Helix peddle board levels when switching from the Les Pauls to the Schecter because the SD pickup levels were so much lower. The ESP LTD EC-1000 solved both the weight and the pickup level issues. The guitar has a baseline low action and thin body that feels and plays great in a light-weight package. The active EMG pickups have gain and sustain for days. You can cleanup the sound nicely with volume, tone, and pickup selection, or you can rip the paint off the walls with the bridge pickup selected and pots at full volume and full tone. Top it off with the mahogany quilted maple top with abalone binding, rosewood fingerboard with abalone flag inlays, and it's a terrific looking all-around great working instrument for stage.

I would have given this instrument 5 stars, but the folks at ESP decided to put their thumb print on this guitar with an unconventional arrangement of the volume knobs and odd orientation of the pickup selector. The volume knob closest to the neck pickup actually controls the bridge pickup. The volume knob closest to the bridge pickup controls the neck pickup. I'm told ESP chose this arrangement because most of their customers predominantly use the bridge pickup and having that volume knob on the outside of the knob cluster makes it easier to access. I'd have to say it's counter intuitive. The pickup selector also is tilted in the opposite direction of every other guitar on the market. Why?

Finally, I would have preferred the Amber Sunburst color over the Violet Shadow, but the Amber Sunburst models did not come with the EMG pickups, only Seymour Duncans.

Overall, I am very happy with this guitar and would recommend you give it a try.

I really like the guitar. The EMG Pickups are Awsome. I've had an Ibanez artist since 1983. I still play it. The ESP is a big difference. Thank you Nick

Had this about 6-8 months now. Guitar itself is amazing . Sounds great , looks great. But the nut isn"t right - would not stay in tune at all had to get it replaced to be regularly usable. Would it expect that... but after a new nut - plays like it should !! Loving it now.

I owned this guitar in the early 2000's always remembered how nice it felt and the quality. I bought it again this week and right from the start could tell the quality wasn't the same. As a whole it felt cheap. Little differences I guess to cut budget. And it came in a flimsy little china box with no case. This thing use to come in a nice hard case. I don't know what happened. This is the last time I buy esp. Kiesel all the way