LTD EC-201FT £479
The single-pickup resurgence continues as we ask: is one really all you need?
Photography Olly Curtis
70 years ago, Gibson’s Les Paul Junior set the bar for single-pickup guitars: packing a lone P-90, yet somehow managing to wring seven decades of stellar, tonal versatility out of the most basic of formats. More recently, this month’s cover star, Yungblud is pushing a one-and-done ethos with his signature Epiphone SG, and we’ve seen the single-pickup idea pointed in a different direction from the likes of Manson, EVH and others.
Similarly far from the dusty, vintage fuzz of garage-rock sits LTD, the affordable arm of ESP traditionally (although not exclusively) tailored towards the heavier end of the spectrum. Earlier this year, LTD released a pair of flat-topped single-pickup Eclipse models (the EC-01FT and more affordable EC-201FT here) that puts its spin on the format, promising instruments “for players seeking the most hardcore performances imaginable”.