Shop Keyboard Deals, Financing, and More

ESP LTD EC-256 - Vintage Natural Demo

Solidbody Electric Guitar with Mahogany Body, Maple Top, Mahogany Neck, Jatoba Fingerboard, and 2 Humbucking Pickups - Vintage Natural
7 Write review Item ID: LEC256VNd1
Building your custom Guitar Gallery

Demo Savings!

Save $49.90 when you buy this demo! What is a demo?

The price below reflects your savings.

$449.10
Demo Savings: $49.90

New for $499.00

Condition Notes:

There are small finish dips on the back lower middle of the guitar. There are other fine scratches on various places of the instrument that are not shown in Guitar Gallery images.

This item was thoroughly inspected by our factory-authorized service team and is backed by Sweetwater's exclusive 2-year warranty. These images are of the exact item advertised, and provide as accurate a representation of its condition as possible. If you need further information, please call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer at (800) 222-4700.

! 2 people have this demo item in their cart. Order now before it's gone!

Earn $23 back in Bonus Bucks† OR pay $19/month with 24 month financing*

55-point
Inspection

Free
Shipping
Tech Support

Free Sweetwater
Support

Free 2-year
Warranty
In Stock!

Add to Cart
Notify me about deals

Ask An Expert

Our expertly trained Sales Engineers are ready to help!

(800) 222-4700
What is a Sales Engineer?
Sweetwater Gear Exchange

Have one to sell?
Check out Sweetwater's Gear Exchange!
Learn More

Most Popular Accessories & Related Items

Certified Fit Cases

No more guesswork! These cases are hand-tested and guaranteed to fit your guitar. See how we do it

Certified Fit Cases

ESP LTD EC-256 - Vintage Natural
In Stock!
$449.10
Add to Cart
Add to list
Back to navigation

Written By

Our Product Research Team

Get to know them!

LTD Means Unbeatable Value

ESP's LTD Eclipse EC-256 delivers value in a rock-ready instrument. The fast playability, flexible tone, and quality construction of the EC-256 far surpass most guitars in its class. You'll get rich, snappy tone from the mahogany body topped with flamed maple, and the set-neck design gives you sustain for days. A pair of ESP humbucking pickups gives you a great foundation for a wide variety of styles, along with the the added versatility of push-pull coil splits for classic single-coil tones. When you need a great, hard-rockin' guitar at a great price, you can count on the ESP LTD Eclipse EC-256 solidbody electric guitar from Sweetwater.

Eclipse body style blends classic looks with modern performance

Nothing screams hard rock like ESP's timeless Eclipse body style. The added mass of this single-cutaway design gives the Eclipse EC-256 truly epic sustain, whereas its slightly arched top provides you with comfortable hand positioning, no matter your picking style. Add to that a super-sharp cutaway, which gives you open access to the Eclipse EC-256's upper frets, and you're ready for unobstructed playing freedom.

Set-neck construction yields exceptional sustain

The set-in mahogany neck on the ESP LTD Eclipse EC-256 provides a more solid connection to the body than you get with a bolt-on neck design. That means better vibrational transfer from the neck to the body, which results in faster attack and longer-lasting sustain. Plug in the Eclipse EC-256, turn your amplifier up, and you'll see exactly what we mean.

ESP Designed LH-150 pickups deliver humbucking and single-coil tone

The EC-256's well-rounded LH-150 humbuckers can be used to dial up anything from straight-up rock to blues to metal. Pull up on the LTD EC-256's tone switch, and you instantly go from humbucker to single-coil mode, opening up a whole new range of sounds.

ESP LTD Eclipse EC-256 Solidbody Electric Guitar Features:

  • Classic-looking electric guitar with exceptional sustain and aggressive tone
  • ESP Designed push-pull LH-150 humbuckers supply wide-reaching tone
  • Push-pull coil split unleashes classic single-coil tones in a flash
  • TOM bridge/tailpiece gives you dependable tuning stability and intonation
  • Set-neck construction gives you long-lasting sustain and excellent articulation

Why Buy Your Guitar from Sweetwater?

See how Sweetwater goes to great lengths to give you the very best online guitar buying experience. From our online Guitar Gallery that allows you to see and select the exact instrument you want to our 55-point Inspection process and our in-house guitar techs, we take the guesswork out of buying your next guitar online.

What is Demo Gear?

At Sweetwater, we're so picky that what we call a "demo" is actually better than what most music retailers sell as "new" gear! Our gear hasn't endured hundreds of people a week plunking away at all the keyboards, fumbling through Stairway to Heaven on every guitar or playing with every fader and knob on a mixer or control surface.

What demo means to us is that we've had it out of the box, or maybe it was in a customer's hands for a few days and isn't "factory fresh" as a result. Every demo item we sell has Sweetwater's 2-year Total Confidence Coverage™ warranty, and has been tested and verified up to "new" specs by our factory-authorized technicians to make sure it's in perfect working order before we ship it to you.

When you buy a Demo item at Sweetwater, you get:
  • 2-year Total Confidence Coverage Warranty™!
  • Products inspected and tested by our factory-authorized techs, guaranteed to function like new (or better)!
  • FREE shipping on most items
  • Equipment that will MEET or EXCEED your expectations!

Click HERE to browse our current inventory of Demo equipment. Purchasing demo gear from Sweetwater is a smart and safe way to save!

Additional Media

Electric Guitar Buying Guide

Warranty Info

Sweetwater's FREE 2-Year Total Confidence Coverage Warranty

Extra peace of mind at no extra cost.

  • Save money with FREE parts and labor
  • Get back to making music with the industry's fastest turnaround time
  • Fix it the first time with our award-winning, factory-certified Service Department
Learn More about Total Confidence Coverage
2 Year Total Confidence Coverage
$49.00
FREE!

Free 2-year Warranty

Sweetwater's 2-year Total Confidence Coverage™ Warranty gives you extra peace of mind at no extra cost.

Learn More about Total Confidence Coverage
Tools Icon

Save money with free parts & labor!

Fast Icon

Get back to making music with the industry's fastest turnaround time.

Award Icon

Fix it the first time with our award-winning, factory-certified Service Department.

Back to navigation

Tech Specs

  • General
  • Number of Strings 6
  • Left-/Right-handed Right-handed
  • Body
  • Body Type Solidbody
  • Body Shape LTD EC-256
  • Body Material Mahogany
  • Top Material Flamed Maple
  • Body Finish Gloss
  • Color Vintage Natural
  • Neck
  • Neck Material 3-Piece Mahogany
  • Neck Shape Thin U
  • Neck Joint Set Neck
  • Radius 13.7"
  • Fingerboard Material Roasted Jatoba
  • Fingerboard Inlay Pearloid ESP Flags
  • Number of Frets 22, Extra Jumbo
  • Scale Length 24.75"
  • Nut Width 1.653"
  • Nut Material Molded
  • Hardware
  • Bridge/Tailpiece Tune-O-Matic Bridge with 2-Piece Stopbar Tailpiece
  • Tuners LTD
  • Electronics
  • Neck Pickup ESP Designed LH-150N Humbucker
  • Bridge Pickup ESP Designed LH-150B Humbucker
  • Controls 2 x volume (push/pull voice switching), 1 x tone (push/pull voice switching)
  • Switching 3-way toggle pickup switch
  • Miscellaneous
  • Strings D'Addario, .010-.046
  • Case/Gig Bag Sold Separately
  • Manufacturer Part Number: LEC256VN

What Makes Our Sales Engineers Great?

Sweetwater Sales Engineers are a world-class team of experts dedicated to you. Hand selected from across the globe, each brings a wealth of experience and expertise in the world of music gear to provide you with unparalleled service completely free of charge. Friendly relationships, real trust, and the right gear are only a call or a click away!

(800) 222-4700
Contact Your Sales Engineer
Back to navigation

Customer Reviews

0.0 out of 5

Customer Added Media

This product doesn't have any review media yet!

Write your review

Hard to believe it’s so great for the price!

I have 2 EC 1000's, an 87Eclipse ReIssue, and a M 1000HT. Bought a demo EC256 in the butterscotch flame as a beater. Opened the box and was taken back at how beautiful it was. The action was perfect (low!!!!) with no fret buzz. Figured I'd swap out the tuners for locking….but these hold tune wonderfully. Thought I would have to swap out the stock pickups….but they have a very nice smooth deep tone to them!

Mine weight 8 pounds, 2 oz. The neck is fuller than my EC 1000's. And these only have 22 frets, vs 25. All this combined gives the EC256 a deep thick amazing tone.

Obviously, LTD does not cut corners on their budget guitars! I love it. Do not hesitate to buy one of these.

Thanks to my SE..Will Houston for hooking me up once again.
by Rod from Ohio/Florida on

The best guitar I’ve ever played.

I've been playing since 99' and this is hands down the best guitar I've ever played. The action on this is fast yet no hint of fret buzz. Most guitars I've owned have been a compromise of one over the other, but not with this. The pick ups sound great, really. Very, very versatile and I have no desire to replace them like I intended to before receiving the guitar. I cannot stress how well this guitar plays. I was worried I wouldn't like the somewhat flat radius on the fingerboard but it ultimately didn't matter, she plays perfectly.

The strings it came with are excellent as well. So gentle on the fingers and easier to bend than the set of 9s on my Strat. The extra jumbo frets help with making the bends easier as well, but man those strings are good. I had a set of Ernie Ball pure nickels that I intended to swap in immediately, but these strings are just too heavenly. The listing says they're D'Addario, but I'd love some specifics.

Appearance wise shes an absolute beauty. As another reviewer stated the pictures do not do this guitar justice. The honey finish on this is far more vibrant and alive than shown in the pictures. The natural vintage color with the cream binding just meshes so well, and the chrome hardware just makes it that much more eye catching. A true stunner and hard to look away from.

I can't believe I've spent so many years over looking this brand and sticking with the big name/popular guitars. After re-reading my review it sounds like I got paid to write this, I did not!
by Abe from Detroit on

Great guitar

I picked this up as a demo guitar for a nice discount. I have been wanting a Les Paul style guitar for awhile now and I am extremely happy with this one. The top on mine is outstanding. It's still the one that Sweetwater uses for their stock photo of this model at the time of writing this review.

To be fair, I bought this guitar as a mod platform. I had Sweetwater do a Plek job on it and install a bone nut before shipping it to me. It's an expensive upgrade, but the fretwork on this guitar is stunningly good now. It plays like a much more expensive guitar. I replaced the truss rod cover with one that I ordered custom off of an Ebay vendor. Tomorrow, this guitar is getting Gotoh locking tuners. Looks like they'll bolt right in without having to drill any new holes in the guitar. It's getting a Tonepros locking bridge. New pickups, Seymour Duncan APH-2 Slash in the neck and SH-12 Screamin Demon in the bridge, both in reverse zebra. It's getting Bare Knuckle 550K pots in a V/T/T configuration with a .015 cap on the N and a .022 cap on the bridge, both paper in oil with an orange drop treble bleed on the volume. A new Switchcraft switch and output jack. Amber bell knobs and switch tip and a set of Dunlop strap locks to finish it up.

This guitar already looks and plays really great. And I didn't break the bank to get it just the way I wanted it. Highly recommend the Plek job.
by Josh B from NV on

One of the best guitars I’ve ever played!

I've been playing music for more than 30 years… I was blown away by this guitar! It definitely can hold its own against guitars 2-3 times the price. I highly recommend it! It's also a good platform for upgrades such as locking tuners, pickups… etc without breaking the bank! \,,/
by Dan Evil from USA on
Music background: 30 plus years singer/writer/musician

ESP LTD EC-256

ESP LTD offers a good range of colors, made me have a hard time choosing the guitar I wanted. I narrowed it down to 2. My 1st being the Vintage. I just loved it! I was NOT disappointed sadly my budget did not allow me to get a new one, so I opted for a demo. The pics and talking with the tech helped me immensely. Concerned about shipping with good reasons these days, the guitar arrived after about 4 days. I wanted really badly to get it out of the boxes so knowing I needed to place it in a case quickly I opened it and I have to say I was impressed, everything I was told was spot on, the pics showed every flaw which turned out to be ONE very tiny chip, which has since been repaired by my local guitar guru. Out of the box, the setup was great. I checked the guitar out every inch and then placed it away in a case to let the guitar get acclimated to my home for 24 hours. Yes, the setup was great, the strings will need to be replaced but I decided to keep them on for another week to let the guitar get settled into its new home. I cleaned the guitar, not that it needed it but cleaned it and put it away to let her rest. ESP LTD even though an imported guitar is one of the best constructed and quality is outstanding. I am not an expert by any means and just a beginner guitar player, but I have for years owned and traded guitars. ESP LTD is in my opinion one of the best made and sounding guitars currently made. I would put them against Any USA made guitar, that's just my opinion. I am very happy with the tones this guitar has and it makes you want to play it because it is just a joy to play. For my needs it meets every desire, and I am very happy with the purchase even though I really could not afford it I just had to have it. I am also inclined to mention Jeff and Sean at Sweetwater, they are both just really helpful and what they told me was honest and I appreciate them taking their time to answer my many questions. IF you are a Pro and looking for a good guitar or a beginner, ESP LTD may be what you are looking for give them a chance! I strongly recommend the EC-256 for anyone who wants a Les Paul styled guitar and wants wonderful tones. She shines on my Katana! I would dare say the EC-256 would shine on about any amp!
by Chuck from North Wilkesboro, NC on
See also: Solid Body Guitars, ESP, ESP Solidbody Guitars
Close Close $2,000 Pick Your PRS Giveaway -- input your email address below to enter or click here to learn more.

See giveaway details & rules or check out our past winners!

Enter Now

Success!

Your email, has been entered to win this giveaway. Good Luck!