I've never been disappointed by any LTD I've ever owned, or played. From their cheapest models, to the Deluxe series (which I've been playing for like, 20 years now). Always my go to.
I almost agree their guitars are well enough crafted fom 256 to 1000 series. I have like 8 of them and i have mixed feelings only with one of them. 7 are awesome just my satin black ec1000 sounds kinda dull and not well in the mix, although it has the same pickups and hardware as rest of the crew it lacks midrange and is really muddy.
I am an importer of guitars from japan and the wort guitar i have ever had was a LTD Truckster. It played horrible and no set up would cure it and it sounded awful. I have also had about 10 of the ESP edwards Hetfield explorers from the 90s and all of them are horrible guitars good only for wall hangers
@@EliseOfTheValley Can confirm. My MH-50 rips. The esp branded floyd stayed in tune great and now, like 10 years after buying it, still ripping with emg 81s in the neck and bridge.
@@justaguy2365 they're back to $1799, staff said it was an error and a few workers I know said they had to deal with people buying them and reselling them
And ESP is better? The only guitars they sell under the ESP brand now are the 4000€ ones. Charging 1800€ for their budget brand is absolutely shameless.
@@WalnutWarrior7 They’re built better but everybody is nuts with these prices lately. 1800 for Chinese Epiphones left and right. I like my old sub-500 dollar Indonesian guitars. They do everything I need.
@@TylerJohnstonGuitar Yea you’re absolutely right, it’s unreal. Everyone and their dog is pushing 1500€ budget brand guitars now. Not a great time to be a guitarist unless you buy used
@@WalnutWarrior7 It's sad they made the decision to remove the ESP Standard line and now the E-IIs are even more expensive than before.. As for LTD, they even have a model that I bet will be very niche for $2500... But at least the high end LTDs for the same price of the $14-1500 china Epiphones are made in Korea, that's at least 2 steps up in country of origin, for roughly the same or ''just'' $400 more, which I'd gladly pay the premium for (also not supporting the ccp when buying china stuff)
It's been kind of fun watching Glen slowly improve over the years when he demos a guitar. Not sure if the wah is masking a few things in this episode but he's definitely shown a lot of improvement lately.
I just got back from Nashville and went by the Gibson Garage. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve played a lot of amazing Gibsons (mostly SGs and Explorers) but I was pretty shocked at how many $3k+ instruments had paint issues, buffing compound present, and tool marks all over the fretboards. In their own showroom.
My experience (your mileage may vary) is that the best Gibsons are the cheap ones, particularly the low-end faded ones made between 2005 and 2008. Beyond that? Fuck that shit; it's just diminishing returns. Get a Greco or an Orville instead if you want a "Gibson-style" instrument. I only paid more than $1k for a Gibson once, and that's because it was a 60's model that they don't make any more.
@@ErickC it really seems that way. I’ve played a few really great Les Pauls from the late 80s but I’ve also played a lot of really bad playing ones as well. We’re both ESP/LTD players in my band and I’m looking at grabbing an Edwards LP and Explorer sometime soon.
Damn dude i wonder what all the old country legends would say, back then getting a showroom gibson was the first stop off before the cadillac dealer then the cat house to celebrate the day. sounds more like a trip the the hardware store these days.
@@garyt3hsna1l82 I know. I went in there specifically because I wanted to see all the best stuff they had to offer. And while they did have many stunning guitars, there were still a lot with issues I was surprised by.
1. No, it's not worth $1,800, but it is a nice axe. 2. Marketing and religion both love using vague, unverifiable claims that make their product sound great. 3. I can play Creeping Death at tempo with down-picking. Actually, I'm almost as fast at down-picking as I am with alternate-picking. The hard part is doing that WHILE singing. That's what made James the king of rapid-fire down-picking.
I actually like the black sparkle finish. It certainly is the best of the 3 options. And no, there is not a $400 price difference between the two guitars. I'm mainly interested in this model because it's the Alexi body shape without the Floyd.
@@thesaw239 no because 90% of Vs (and many metal oriented superstrats too) out there come stock with a double locking tremolo. It's nice to have some options for those that prefer a simpler instrument.
These Vs are based off of Kirk Hammets RR Black Jackson V from the 80s. Couldnt use Jackson inlays, But Kirk is a surfer, which why they are waves instead.
Hardwired and 72 Seasons are both excellent albums, the new album has really grown on me and I am happy to see them still playing and crushing it live too! If only Slayer hadn’t retired so early, wish they were doing the same and continuing to put out new material. I have mad respect for Metallica, they could just sit back and retire but instead they are putting themselves out there and touring the world.
72 seasons IS soooooo boring. Same drumparts, not so much interesting riffs. A lot of recycle things . It's time for them to stop. Slayer was right. They quit before being not relevant. That's exactly what's happening with grandpallica
@@jmasson3272 The thing is, as long as james, kirk and lars are alive, they will be relevant. There's just no denying that. They might not have put out a good album in 30 years but they're still the kings of metal and they'll fill stadiums till the day they die. That's how big their impact is and that's how good the first 5 albums were.
@@christianhildalgo they were the kings...now that's just an old hard rock band playing metallica covers withea drummer who's not able to play with the necessary energy
@@jmasson3272 Nah, lars is playing great live lately, especially for a 60 year old. James is still as good of a player as he was 30 years ago and his voice has matured nicely. Honestly their weakest link is Kirk. But they are great live, it's a really good experience seeing them.
I think the reason Kirk Hammet's guitar is more expensive than the regular one is due to Kirk's percentage as the signature model. For the rest, no sound difference, but it just seems to me that one is louder than the other
The whole song is a great exercise. All the down picking and the technically accessible leads. That David Bowie part Cliff added is wicked awesome. Your picking technique and stamina will jump lightyears from practicing that tune *end to end*
Once you said you wer going to play the Kirk Hammet and the standard Arrow back to back, I decided to look away and judge with my ears. You have taught me well Glenn!
Yeah, there really isn't a big difference worth paying a premium and I bet he could've had any other humbucker guitar running against the V and we wouldn't have noticed massive tonal difference either. Or at least not a difference that can't be neglected by tweak the amp settings.
I just felt that the arrow had a bit more gain but really not a massive difference, probably just because of the pickups being slightly more hotter but you will have the same result with putting more gain lmao
GLENN! There live shows are still pretty fucking amazing. Sunday in Hamburg was just mind blowing. I just wish artists would sell signature plugins or amp&cab instead of stupid pickups, since that's where the tone is. Great video!
Believe it or not, Kirk DOES have a signature amp! Randall is Kirk’s brand of signature amps that come with Celstion 70-80s. Probably what they use nowadays.
Two more limited edition Mustaine Vs were unveiled today by Kramer and Epiphone Glenn, we need you to have a look at them and save us from the shitty paint jobs!
Love your thoughts here! I REALLY considered getting one of these because I love Vs, Metallica, and sparkle finishes. But at $1.8k? Yeah, that one wasn't happening.... I hoped it'd come in at more like $1.4k - $1.5k like his KH-602's, which is still a little above my price range but close enough I could swallow the extra. But as cool as this is, I don't think I can swallow the price. Keep up the awesome content man! Always love watching.
Well, it isn't that bad when you consider that the price includes a hardshell case. The Arrow doesn't come with a case, so the extra cost for a case would be $300. So at that point, the Kirk Hammett is really only $100 more than the Arrow. I play in a band that gigs, so a hadshell case is a must have, but I know a lot of guitarists don't need one.
Goooooo Glen!!! You shredded that axe. It's much nicer than the old one with the skulls on the fretboard. I want to hear you learn muuuutah berrrrrreath!
I gotta say I love the color choices on the model, all 3 are VERY Kirk! Personally I think V's need more color variety, so I really welcome the yellow one into the market
I really like death magnetic and i'm a old school fan, Load and reload are 60% good, there are some very good songs there, also, the new album is pretty good too, i guess i'm not the same cliche guy who wants master of puppets pt2...
Agreed. That Was Just Your Life, All Nightmare Long and My Apocalypse are pretty sick songs of DM and it’s easy for casual Met fans to disregard post Black Album material
2:44 That Was Just Your Life, All Nightmare Long and The Unforgiven III Underrated album, held back by the shittiest mixing known to man (and a few compositional missteps)
This is a perfect guitar review! This is the way everybody should review guitars and totally change the narrative by bashing the horrible lies in marketing that provide no information, only lies concerning useless wood and pickup details that dont really matter or affect the sound in a noticeable way, Congrats Glenn!
There's so much money that you have saved me and probably thousands of others. Thank you Glenn for looking out for anyone of all ages and backgrounds coming into the audio engineering world it's genuinely such a valuable asset to have someone like you for us metal guys that goes against what is thought to be a way of achieving tone, etc. Also dude your skills of shredding just keep on getting better and better!
I want to love it, but UGH those finishes... Just a default black/white option would look killer. I know it would be similar to a Jackson Rhoads V, but I prefer ESP's V shape.
Solid review and loved the “M-flavored Haterade.” What I will never get past on ESP/LTD is the subjective opinion that the rule is all “post-lawsuit” (whatever) shapes are uglier than foreskin, and while less hideous than the Arrow with that joint cut, the “special ed woodshop class” cut PG and stupid Nike logo inlays make this look like a Wish version Jackson RR. On that note, I would wonder how the comperable RR stacks up agaimst it (workmanship being equal, it’s a no-brainer for the Jackson IMO. More interestingly, Imwonder how these fare with the new Mustaine Kramer Vs (hint, hint).
The Kirk Signature sounds way better than the cheaper V!! Just don't close your eyes, That's cheating lol. Pickups with the same output especially EMG's with that preamp... They sound the frigging same! Magnets don't have magical abilities! Just different output... Aka VOLUME! But I do think the wave inlays add a splash of tone. Be careful that the tone wood doesn't absorb any of the saltwater! Cheers Glenn.
I checked out vicious guitars. The builds remind me of the Schecter way of building guitars. Specifically the bass guitars but they starting prices for a minimalist Guitar honestly is quite ridiculous. $3500 USD to start with a single pick up flying V style guitar. Don’t mean this as an insult but it sounds like Gibson of the north as far as prices.
Judas kiss, all nightmare long, unforgiven III, that was just your life, broken, beat, and scarred. To be frank, Judas kiss is a monster of a song and all nightmare long is right there next to it. I remember buying that album and head-banging all the way home to learn those songs. I get that it's a meme to pick on post black album Metallica, but Glen should probably know better. He definitely isn't spending his free time practicing guitar. Least he could do is keep up to date with the genre he purports to love.
That Sagan quote is bs and always was. If you have conclusive evidence, your conclusions, no matter how extraordinary, will stand. Evidence talks, bs walks. Especially conventional wisdom 🐮💩
$400 more for a nice case, lighter wood, locking tuners, plus the extra for an icon's signature/unique guitar. If I'm already spending $1,400, I might splurge for the KH sig.
Why is it surprising that a signature guitar costs more than a stock one? KH gets a cut of each instrument sale doesn't he? Unless I'm wrong, that would probably explain it... anyway good review and looks like a cool guitar.
The last 2 Metallica albums have been pretty damn good. Is it like the old stuff? No. This is what they are doing now and some folks just won't get into it. No problem.
Appreciate the review! But at that price, that just absurd. You’ve helped open my eyes that I don’t need to spend crazy money on a guitar. I’m just as happy with a Harley Benton.
For V-style guitar I'll always go with Arrows. Have one and it's amazing. Second would be Alexi signatures. They look great but are way more expensive for me.
Arrow comparison: Of course I do hear a massive tone shift! While the first guitar sounded absolutely like black sparkle, the second one was definitely in the direction of blue/purple metallic(a).
Massive tonal difference? Ummmm... nope? Both sound almost the same, both sound good. As for 12:18 - whatever you say about Metallica (I'm not a fan myself), James Hetfield is a hell of a rhythm player. His downpicking is brutal and fucking precise.
Wasn't really a difference in tone. Personally, I don't like EMg 81's and Kirk's are similar. Too thin since I go for hot passives pickups usually which push the mids more how I like. Won't particularly matter in a mix, but how it feels to play and responds to my playing, I just find myself fighting the guitar. I wanted to keep actives in my Arrow so I put the Seymour Duncan blackout, the metal version in my arrow instead of the EMG 81, and that thing has like twice the output and it's all midrange. I even compared the DI and wow, the blackout metal was so massively higher in output. I have to turn the gain down on everything I plug the guitar into now, but they feel better than the 81 to me. It's whatever works for the player. Also I love my ltd arrow 1000, but I only paid $1100 for it. Industry prices are rising, so I get arrows and guitars being more in general, but not that much more. kirk's name isn't worth that much to me. In fact, I was super stoked about the Gary Holt arrow until I saw it has an even bigger price tag. It looks sick, but I'm not getting anything different from it compared to my arrow I currently have.
I have an old Jackson V made from Japan that I'm contemplating on trading in for the Kirk Hammett V, because it just looks like a very cool guitar. That and it looks well made too. It'll sit well next to my Dave Mustaine "United Abominations" Flying V too!
Here's a wonderful close-up shot of Dave's own V he uses on the Canadian tour with an even worse finish crack. So it was not a one off that you had in your example. You can see it in all it's glory at 6:45 :) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-nlHireTD7eU.html Keep up the great work!
The production on Death Magnetic is awful but the songs are great. That was just your life, as cringe of a title that is, that song and riffs are killer. I heard the songs were less compressed on the guitar hero Metallica release, oddly enough. Wish I dig the new album, at least the production is better.
The only thing that would make me hesitate on the ESP is ESP. After watching the drama that unfolded with Chondro Guitars (that KDH covered on his channel a couple days ago), I am a little hesitant to give my money to a company quick to cancel orders.
And just one more example of shitty corporate behavior. But go ahead and pretend that you wouldn't be miffed if you had a sizeable deposit on a guitar, had already been waiting at least months for the guitar, to have reassurance that orders placed would be fulfilled, only to have ESP reverse course and then play PR acrobatics to keep the situation under control. You might give them a pass, I won't. Besides, as a bassist, ESP has nothing I would spend my money on.
You know, I don’t think I am familiar with one song on LULU, I only listened to it once and the cds spent the rest of their time in the back of my car window getting a suntan. Even though Load and Reload were not what you would consider metal albums , I still enjoy them because they are terrific rock albums I have thoroughly enjoyed. St.Anger was better when another band made it and took out the poor drum sound. Death magnetic still wasn’t bad, and you forgot to mention there new album 72 seasons which in my opinion is was frikken awesome. Kirks ltd V is awesome but the sparkle look is a little tootie fruity. Thanks for the awesome review!
2:26 as much as I get how Load is a departure from the classic Metallica sound, do not sleep on that album. It's a big meaty hard rock/metal album packed with absolute bangers. I can see why it gets some hate as it's not the first 4, but if any other band released it you'd be calling it a 90s classic. I also need that Sparkle Red model. Fuck you Glenn, great video! P.S. All Nightmare Long :3
It looks like the rear fins on a '57 Chevy. No bueno looks-wise. I Love LTD guitars besides this one.Maybe it's just the sparkly paint 'cause the blue Arrow looks great.
I've had my james hetfield iron cross ltd for over 8 years now. Still never adjusted it to this day because it still plays just as well as it did when i got it. LTD rules!
Lol. Death Magnetic was a solid album marred by shitty production quality. About the closest thing to Puppets/Justice style music they've ever done in the last 33 years.
Was not major sound difference I heard between the Vs, but I already know the comment exprts will chime in on how they can. I can only assume that extra $400 on the price tag is simply because it has Kirk's name on it. Nothing more.
That megadeth riff 😂 I have to say this was a amazing review. I grew up listening to Metallica and really got into music because of them. But we have to admit times have changed and the jokes made my day. Also that description is total bs. That "special wood" I've owned so many randy v's and classic v's and I never thought about how much the mids where so good but with a detailed upper mids
I wonder if this pickups are glorified EMG's or just something totally different? They sound very similar to EMG's imo. I don't think it's worth an extra $400 bucks. I like the sound of the regular EMG's. Glenn can you do a video on an expensive KH guitar for $5000 compared to the cheaper LTD version of the same kind? Or can you explain what the actual differences are between the LTD (which are awesome) and the ESP version of like his main guitar the ESP KH-2.
As someone who's not a Metallica fan (some of their earlier stuff was okay but not for me, and The Black Album is about the only full album I somewhat enjoy), I found the pot-shots you took at Metallica hilarious. At least the guys at LTD are making a good guitar!
I think the Arrow had a little more low end and wasn't quite as bright as the Hammett but the variance was negligible. Maybe you should do a signal comparison. Edit: According to ESP's website, the Bone Breakers are essentially a pair of 81s. The Arrow had an 81 & 85 so the variance I thought I heard is coming from the 85 pickup
I'd give 100 bucks to someone who can tell me korina versus ash with the same pickups. I'm so sick of the Gibson fanbois because they don't quite get the fact wood and paint DON'T FUCKING MATTER.
