LTD EC-407BFM review

Because more is more

  • £709
  • €899
  • $789
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MusicRadar Verdict

With its Black Beauty-style binding, dark satin finish, and all-black hardware, this could very well be the axe that takes you to seventh heaven... The question is: can you can handle it?

Pros

  • +

    Superb finish and hardware.

Cons

  • -

    A beastly heavy guitar. Neck won't be for everyone.

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Bearing in mind the inexorable rise of tech-metal in recent years, it's almost difficult to picture a time when seven-string guitars were unheard of.

Now, they come in all shapes and sizes: you could walk into a guitar shop pretty much anywhere in the world and be guaranteed to find at least one guitar that's one string louder.

Whereas most models opt for sleekness to almost disguise the unfamiliarity of an additional string, the single-cut LTD EC-407BFM does anything but. This is an absolute beast of an instrument and weighs accordingly: purpose-built for LP players who don't want to sacrifice their higher notes for tuning down.

Although LTD dubs the EC-407BFM a baritone, it's tuned to regular seven- string tuning (BEADGBE) out of the box; the differentiator is the 648mm (27-inch) scale length, which makes it play more like the baritones of yore than a modern-day seven, while increasing tuning stability.

You could say it's a very specific guitar in that sense - instead of wide appeal, LTD has pinpointed a niche market indeed. Best of all, it sounds exactly how it looks: gloriously meaty and dependably Herculean... Basically, your next-door neighbour's worst nightmare.

And like the iconic Gibson single-cut it takes its influence from, this is an instrument that instantly puts you at ease, the kind of guitar you know you can depend on.

The bulky tree-trunk neck won't be for everyone - if your hands are on the smaller side you probably won't stand a chance - but, in all fairness, LTD makes plenty of seven-strings to cater for that.

Amit Sharma
Amit Sharma

Amit has been writing for titles like Total Guitar, MusicRadar and Guitar World for over a decade and counts Richie Kotzen, Guthrie Govan and Jeff Beck among his primary influences. He's interviewed everyone from Ozzy Osbourne and Lemmy to Slash and Jimmy Page, and once even traded solos with a member of Slayer on a track released internationally. As a session guitarist, he's played alongside members of Judas Priest and Uriah Heep in London ensemble Metalworks, as well as handling lead guitars for legends like Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols, The Faces) and Stu Hamm (Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, G3).