ESP Guitars introduces the new LTD DX Series, offering high-quality guitars at a more affordable price.
The LTD EC-200DX FM, M-200DX, and TE-200DX are each being made in two new finishes, and are available now at ESP dealers worldwide.
“The DX Series provides a solution for customers who want a high-quality, low-cost entry point to ESP features and playability,” says Blue Wilding, ESP Brand Manager. “We want our guitars to be accessible to every level of player and at every budget, and the DX Series delivers way more than anyone would expect for their modest price."
Available in Blue Burst and Charcoal Burst finishes, the LTD EC-200DX offers a flat-top single-cutaway Eclipse body with a bevelled edge. It’s built with bolt-on construction at 24.75” scale, featuring a very comfortable poplar body with a flamed maple top, and a roasted maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard. This guitar includes a TOM-style bridge and tailpiece, 24 extra-jumbo frets, dot inlays, and black chrome hardware. The EC-200DX includes a set of ESP’s acclaimed LH-150 humbucking pickups with matching black chrome covers, providing punchy, great tone for all genres of music, along with the flexibility of single-coil tones controlled by a push-pull switch on the tone knob.
The LTD M-200DX is available in Blue Burst and Purple Burst finishes, offering the streamlined M shape with a great-looking burled poplar top. Built with bolt-on construction at 25.5” scale, the M-200DX includes classy features like a roasted maple neck, rosewood fingerboard with 24 frets, black chrome hardware, a TOM-style bridge with string-thru-body design, body binding, offset dot inlays, and a reverse headstock. The M-200DX also features ESP LH-150 humbucking pickups with matching black chrome covers. Also available in Blue Burst and Purple Burst finishes, the LTD TE-200DX offers the classic LTD TE shape with features for contemporary guitarists. These include a lightweight and comfortable poplar body with a burled poplar top, and a roasted maple neck with rosewood fingerboard and 24 frets. The TE-200DX also features a hardtail bridge, black chrome hardware, black body binding, a tiltback headstock, and a set of acclaimed ESP LH-150 humbucking pickups with matching black chrome covers.
For more information, please visit espguitars.com.
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Question: What picking style have you devoted yourself to the most, and why does it work for you?
Guest Picker - Mei Semones
Mei’s latest album, Kabutomushi.
A: The picking style I’ve practiced the most is alternate picking, but the picking style I usually end up using is economy picking. Alternate feels like a dependable way to achieve evenness when practicing scales and arpeggios, but when really playing, it doesn’t make sense to articulate every note in that way, and obviously it’s not always the fastest.
Obsession: My current music-related obsession is my guitar, my PRS McCarty 594 Hollowbody II. I think it will always be an obsession for me. It’s so comfortable and light, has a lovely, warm, dynamic tone, and helps me play faster and cleaner. This guitar feels like my best friend and soulmate.
Reader of the Month - Jin J X
Photo by Ryan Fannin
A: For decades, the Eric Johnson-style “hybrid picking” with a Jazz III for “pianistic” voicings. Great for electric, though not so much acoustic. I’ve been recently learning to use a flatpick, à la Brian Sutton, by driving the pick “into” the string at an angle—which makes me think of Pat Metheny and George Benson, without irony.
Obsession: I’m still focused on understanding the concepts of jazz, neo-classical, and beyond, though I’m also becoming obsessed with George Van Eps’ 7-string playing, flatpicking, hip-hop beats, the Hybrid Guitars Universal 6 guitar, and the secret life of the banjo.
Editorial Director - Ted Drozdowski
A: Decades ago, under the sway of Mississippi blues artists R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, and Jessie Mae Hemphill, I switched from plectrum to fingerstyle, developing my own non-traditional approach. It’s technically wrong, but watching R.L., in particular, freestyle, I learned there is no such thing as wrong if it works.
Obsession: Busting out of my songwriting patterns. With my band Coyote Motel, and earlier groups, I’ve always encouraged my talented bandmates to play what they want in context, but brought in complete, mapped-out songs. Now, I’m bringing in sketches and we’re jamming and hammering out the arrangements and melodies together. It takes more time, but feels rewarding and fun, and is opening new territory for me.
Managing Editor - Kate Koenig
A: I have always been drawn to fingerpicking on acoustic guitar, starting with classical music and prog-rock pieces (“Mood for a Day” by Steve Howe), and moving on to ’70s baroque-folk styles, basic Travis picking, and songs like “Back to the Old House” by the Smiths. I love the intricacy of those styles, and the challenge of learning to play different rhythms across different fingers at the same time. This is definitely influenced by my classical training on piano, which came before guitar.
Obsession: Writing and producing my fifth and sixth albums. My fifth album, Creature Comforts, was recorded over the past couple months, and features a bunch of songs I wrote in 2022 that I had previously sworn to never record or release. Turns out, upon revisiting, they’re not half bad! While that one’s being wrapped, I’m trying to get music written for my sixth, for which I already have four songs done. And yes, this is a flex. 💪😎