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Your cart is empty.Extended range guitars don’t have to cost an arm and a leg to be great. The LTD EC-257 (seven-string) and EC-258 (eight-string) guitars are affordable for just about any musician, and allow you to explore the depths of lower pitches for today’s modern sounds. These guitars feature excellent ESP Designed pickups, comfortable mahogany bodies, three-piece mahogany necks, and roasted jatoba fingerboards with 22 extra-jumbo frets. the EC-257 offers a TOM bridge and tailpiece, while the EC-258 features a hardtail design. Both are available in Black Satin finish.
Jgcogs
Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2025
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.
AS
Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2024
The guitar looks great and the pickups sound decent, but even after replacing the tuners with locking tuners and putting on higher gauge strings, the bottom two strings just do not stay in tune. Most of my time playing this guitar has been spent staring at a tuner.Not only that, the pitch swings so high on attack that it's hard to know where to tune the strings to get them to sound in tune with the other strings. It's really frustrating and kind of defeats the purpose of the extra strings on the guitar.Accurate intonation on the F# string is impossible and intonation itself is a chore across the board because some absolute rocket scientist decided the bridge should use Phillips head screws instead of hex sockets, so stripping the screws to get it properly intonated is all but impossible to avoid.I got this guitar used for $450 and with the money I saved I am having a friend with a CNC router replace the stock bridge with an Evertune. I wouldn't recommend getting this guitar at all if you can't make a similar change.
Jerry Don Wallace
Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2024
I don’t know how to play an 8 string guitar but I will commit to learning because I love this ESP LTD.👍
Phillip
Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2023
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.
Brian James
Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2021
For not being a fanned fret guitar, this guitar has a really good feel and tension ratio. Might recommend a different set of strings that go lighter on the top end and maybe beef up the low end ( probably .009-.080)… I think Ernie ball makes a set like this. Other than that, you can maybe replace the machine heads with locking tuners (gotoh makes a set that will swap in place using the same screw holes)… and you may at least feel like swapping the bridge pickup eventually (Elysian and Seymour Duncan make good soap bar pickups that will fit). But, the overall look, feel and sound are very good for the price. It is a good match for my satin black Charvel. An 8-string Les Paul style is pretty badass looking, so if you don’t want a super strat and want something that has good feel and can be improved upon for a low price point. Get this.
Bob Kelly
Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2021
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.
bruce
Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2021
its amazing even for a single scale it isnt too muddy
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