ESP LTD EC-258 Black Satin - Single Cut Electric Guitar

I like the guitar. Have to get heaviest strings for the bottom 2 so it can sound like music and not just buzzing. The guitar was really well wrapped up but the headstock was not. I found the chip in the box.

This is seriously an awesome guitar, not just for the price but in general. Right out of the box I switched the strings to Ernie Ball Skinny Top Heavy Bottoms (orange pack) and raised the action of the lowest string a touch, and the playability of this axe is insane. The neck is super comfortable and glides really well despite being wider than most, and I love the massive frets. It also stays in tune with little to no issue (much better than my Jackson 7 string), and I play it in drop E for hours at a time. I do wish the pickups were a little clearer but it's nothing I haven't been able to work out in my simulator. I'll probably change them out eventually but honestly they aren't cheap sounding or overly muddy, I just want a particular sound. I've run this guitar through multiple sims from clean to grimy to djent and it really sounds amazing in all cases! The coil splitting is also a pretty cool feature if you're into that. I really can't stress enough how playable this guitar is. It's may look and sound like a beast, but it plays like a dream. The set neck really gives it a high-end feel, and the inlays also add a great aesthetic and look amazing in person. The weight distribution isn't bad at all either. Obviously the body is a little chonky but it doesn't ruin the balance with a strap. I Unfortunately I don't have a good video, but the pictures you see of this guitar on the internet just don't do it justice at all. The striping around the body and head are one of my favorite visual touches on the guitar, and it really pops against the satin black finish. When it comes to "bang for your buck", the EC-258 is a heavyweight and I highly recommend it. It's insane that ESP has hardly marketed this guitar at all. Pretty much all sources of information regarding it are from independent buyers like myself and people on YouTube. I hope to post a solid review in the new few weeks to show some of the details no one ever really mentions. Huge shoutout to GearTree for shipping it out so fast! I was nervous about having a guitar shipped but it arrived in perfect condition and was on my porch in 4 days. I'm extremely happy with this axe and I'm glad you had it available and were able to supply it in such a timely manner. If you're curious about 8 strings and want to get something that is relatively affordable and still a quality instrument, I highly recommend the ESP LTD EC-258. If ESP went with a set of active factory pickups, I could easily see this being a $1000 guitar.

If you're making the jump from a standard 6 string to this, I highly recommend starting by going to a 7 string first because the fretboard will throw you off with it's thickness due to the extra 2 lower strings. Working your way up to an 8 rather than diving right in will help you appreciate this kind of guitar more & will definitely help you progress as a guitar player. The tone of this guitar is amazing though.

This thing is very cool. I have the top 6 tuned e standard g b e a d g b e. The guitar itself is very heavy and the neck is quite thick. The strings are closer together but not terribly so. I haven't gotten any extended play time yet. For the price, seems well worth it!

It did arrive o. Time and in tact however I will say it’s not packed for shipping. It’s literally shipped in its own esp box so I could easily get damaged by normal shipping conditions, but mine was fine. It doesn’t seem like they spent a lot of time setting it up but it’s playable out of the box with some slight tuneing of course. It doesn’t buzz or rattle anywhere and the pickups sound good. They can very easily make a heavily distorted tone which I enjoy, but they can be dialed back to be clean with plenty of volume still so it would work for most music, but it’s definitely geared twords metal. The toggle switch doesn’t operate the way the ec 256s do it’s actually a kind of kill switch set up like the buttons on bucket heads Les Paul. I really like it. It allows a kind of electronic wammy bar (sort of) and bucket head style play with the right application. The neck is thick but it doesn’t take a lot of adjustment to play if you are used to different kinds of stringed things. I’m not unhappy with the guitar or what I paid for it.