ESP LTD TED-EC BLK

ESP LTD TED-EC BLK: A specification-based review

The ESP LTD TED-EC BLK is a Ted Aguilar signature model associated with the Death Angel guitarist. Its listed specifications describe a black electric guitar with a mahogany body, a three-piece neck-through-body construction, a Macassar ebony fingerboard, and a pair of EMG humbuckers. The model has been available since December 2024. The listed price is 1799, with no currency specified in the supplied information.

This review is limited to the product details provided. No customer reviews are available, so there is no basis for claims about playing feel, sound quality, reliability, or owner satisfaction. The specifications do, however, make the instrument's construction and hardware clear enough to assess its design on paper.

Construction, neck, and fingerboard

The body is mahogany, while the neck runs through the body and is made from three pieces of maple. The listing also names maple as the top material. These details point to a combination of woods across the body and neck, but the supplied specifications do not describe the top's thickness, finish, or visual treatment beyond the black color.

The neck-through design differs from a bolt-on arrangement, where the neck is attached to the body with bolts. Here, the neck's central section continues through the body. That is a construction fact, not evidence of a particular sustain, tone, or setup quality. Those properties would need to be assessed from a physical instrument or supported test results.

The neck has a thin U profile and a 42 mm nut width. The fingerboard is Macassar ebony, with a stated radius of 350 mm, also given as 13.78 inches. The scale length is 629 mm, or 24.75 inches. The guitar has 24 extra-jumbo frets. Together, these dimensions provide a useful outline of the neck's shape and layout, but they do not establish how comfortable it will feel to a particular player.

The specifications identify a die-cast nut. They do not provide its material, and the listing does not state whether it has a locking mechanism. That distinction matters because the guitar has locking tuning machines, but the nut itself should not be described as a locking nut based on the information available.

Pickups and controls

The electronics consist of one EMG 81 humbucker and one EMG 60 humbucker. The listing gives a single volume control and a three-way pickup selector. It does not mention a tone control, coil-splitting, or onboard preamp settings, so those features should not be assumed.

This is a straightforward control layout: one volume knob and a switch for selecting among the available pickup settings. The pickup models are identified, but there are no recorded measurements or listening impressions here. Any claims about output level, tonal balance, noise, or suitability for a specific genre would go beyond the supplied data.

Bridge, tuning hardware, and included case

The bridge is a Tune-O-Matic design with strings routed through the body. The guitar has no tremolo system. Its tuning machines are LTD locking models, and the hardware is black. These are specific hardware choices, although the listing does not name the bridge material or describe the tuning machines' gear ratio.

D'Addario EXL110 strings are supplied. The product information also confirms that a case is included and that a gig bag is not. That makes the case part of the package as listed, though its construction, interior fit, and dimensions are not provided.

What the specifications establish

The ESP LTD TED-EC BLK is presented as a signature guitar built around a mahogany body, a three-piece maple neck-through structure, a Macassar ebony fingerboard, and two EMG humbuckers. Its 24 frets, 24.75-inch scale, single volume control, fixed Tune-O-Matic bridge, and locking tuning machines define the main parts of its layout. The black finish and hardware complete the stated appearance.

Several practical details remain unknown, including the guitar's weight, pickup wiring options, factory setup, finish type, case design, and country of manufacture. The supplied data also provides no independent performance testing or customer feedback. Buyers should treat those points as unanswered rather than infer them from the model's specifications.

On paper, this is a focused, fixed-bridge signature model with a clearly listed pickup set and neck-through construction. The available information is sufficient to identify its core materials and hardware, but not to judge its sound or playability. A hands-on assessment would be necessary to evaluate those qualities.