ESP LTD ST203 Electric Guitar
Get the look and feel of a real worn guitar without paying the high price for the real vintage guitars. It features an Alder body with a Maple neck and a Tribust finish.
Overall User Ratings (based on 18 ratings)
Submitted September 6, 2010 by a customer from gmail.com
"I play this more than my PRS Custom 22. THAT is saying something."
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Sound
I bought this guitar with pretty low expectations. I thought I would definitely have to change the pickups the first day. I can't believe how amazing this thing plays and sounds. It is on par sound wise with the Fender road worn stuff but it plays WAY better. The pickups are very hot and somewhat unforgiving to a sloppy player.
Features
Great worn finish. Real alder and maple. Not crappy basswood. ESP knows how to make a great guitar on a budget.
Ease of Use
Plays like butter.
Quality
I will end up spending a ton of money upgrading all of the hardware on this guitar. Not because I think it needs it, but because I think it deserves it. It really is a beautiful guitar.
Value
Plays and sounds better than other guitars that cost 5 times as much.
Manufacturer Support
N/A
The Wow Factor
This guitar inspires me to play.
Musical Background:
Active Musician
Musical Style:
Progressive/Folk/Metal
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Submitted January 21, 2013 by Dustin M in Panama City, FL
"Great Playing Guitar at A Great Price"
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I bought this guitar and had it shipped to the club we were playing at that weekend because I was on the road. Only had 30 minutes to set up my stuff. Took the guitar out of the box and basically tuned it and started playing. WOW the sound was already good without having to tweak too much. Played great. And looked awesome. Better than my MIM Fender Strat.
Sound
Sounds just like/better than my Mexican Fender strat for about half the price. Was able to get a good SRV sound, country/rock, and alt rock sound.
Features
Tuners are solid hardly went out of tune. Wood was fairly light weight but not too light. Neck felt great. Did not use the wammy bar so cant say on that. Took the strap nuts off and replaced them with strap locks but they seemed solid. The road worn look is really well done.
Ease of Use
Pretty much take it out of the box and play. Will have to set intonation on it and adjust the neck a little but that's about it.
Quality
ESP has built a really solid guitar here. I keep all my instruments in hard shell cases so I expect it will last a long time.
Value
Your more than getting your money's worth with this one. I would recommend this over your standard Fender any day.
Manufacturer Support
N/A
The Wow Factor
Like I said the road worn body and neck looks great on and off stage.
Musical Background:
10 yrs experiance. Proffesionally.
Musical Style:
Country/Rock, Blues, Alt Rock.
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Submitted November 2, 2013 by Joel Pornobi in Weehawken, NJ
"Lucky Find"
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This past week been searching a fender type strat...walked into a Sam Ash and found this in a used rack...$179...total bargain. Must have played over 50 fender mim and squier classic vibe at about 7 guitar centers & sam ashes in my area...was set to buy one until I sawnthis LTD...didnt know they made strats...I have an ESP ltd mc1000 so im familiar with them...first off the beat up look is pretty cool...looks great...thats what attracted me to the guitar...picked it up felt pretty solid not like the squiers...the feel of the neck was better than I expected...sounded pretty good off the bat...played really nice...didnt want to spend a lot for a guitar and at $179 got an awesome guitar...dont know why it was so cheap...looks mint to me...maybe its been sitting awhile...I think people get carried away with the name brand...this thing feels and plays like an fender amercan standard....easy...better than classic vibes and MIM...more comparable to a MIA. This thing will probably be 5x better once I get it setup. To me its a great guitar...i think esp builds one of the better lower-mid priced range guitar out there...underrated.
Musical Background:
30 yrs trying to get back into it...2 acoustics yamaha fender...esp ltd mc 1000 ltd st-203
Musical Style:
Metal rock blues
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Submitted December 14, 2011 by a customer from gmail.com
"A must have product for beginner, immediate or pro! Can't go wrong!!!!"
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would definitely buy another one if I had to.
Sound
This an incredible axe for the money! Sounds great, with electronics much better sounding and responsive than the MIM Fender. Fit and finish is great, and the neck is far superior to anything in this price range. I would put it up against far more expensive instruments anyday! This is a very versatile, user friendly guitar that will fit any style of music. Works great for pop, rock, country, jazz, and especially da blues!
Features
no complaints at all, other than the tremolo is a bit touchy, but does stay in tune!
Ease of Use
Very simple and traditional. No rocket science here
Quality
Made very well! I still can't get over the quality for the price! GREAT BANG FOR THE BUCK!!!!
Value
Absolutely
Manufacturer Support
Not had to use it yet
The Wow Factor
Yes, besides the great consistent tone, it looks great with the "RELIC" look, and gets all kinds of attention
Musical Background:
32 years, pro, session, touring : bass, guitar, drums, and vocals
Musical Style:
country, blues, christian, and rock
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Submitted January 14, 2016 by Tristan Watne in Littleton, CO
"Best Strat under $1000"
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If Leo Fender and Paul Reed Smith had a love child that turned out to be a guitar neck, this guitar would have it. The "Thin U" neck is like butter and after years of C-Shaped playing, my skepticism quickly changed and I actually prefer this now. The Guitar feels solid as a rock, not like the cheapness you get from similarly-priced Squires. The Pickups are solid, and stratty but lack the overbearing bass that a lot of cheap strat pickups have at high volume. This is one of the best sounding middle pickups I've come across on a strat, if you can image Jaco Pastorius tone on a guitar - to me- this is the quality I hear from this pickup. Not to mention these pups handle distortion and overdrive well, for a good low-output 80's metal sound or great blues. My only minor grip is the tremolo arm doesn't thread at all and I had to sand the tremolo cavity cover to fit right, but for $400 I've never seen better.
Musical Background:
Jam at home, Jam with Friends, Long-time drummer, short-time guitarist.
Musical Style:
Blues, Rock, Metal, folk
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Submitted November 22, 2013 by M H in Vail, AZ
"Cannot be beat for the price!"
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I absolutely love this guitar. Road wear is awesome looking, the pickups sound great. Alder body. All for $350 bucks. If you went with a MIM Fender over this you're nuts! I will say, some of the frets have some sharp edges, and it needed a setup out of the box, but other than that it's been amazing!
Musical Background:
15yrs, Lead guitar in worship band
Musical Style:
Rock, country, Worship, Christian
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Submitted May 31, 2011 by a customer from teamsterslocal95.com
"I would reccomed this guitar to anyone who likes a smooth guitar at a great price. The road worn looks are great has a good feel"
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for what I use it for I will keep for ever.
Sound
For the money I don't think you can top it.
Features
Again for the money it would be hard to beat.
Ease of Use
great
Quality
Seems well made the road worn affect is great looks and plays great.
Value
great product
Manufacturer Support
only dealt with zzounds and they will get my business in the future a great company with excellant employees, they know how to treat a customer. I could not have been any happier with the service and the way they they worked to give me the best deal possible. I will be a zzounds return customer.
The Wow Factor
looks great, plays smooth
Musical Background:
active musician
Musical Style:
blues
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Submitted October 7, 2012 by M P in LA, CA
"Nice"
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I've owned about 75 guitars over the years, this is my 7th ESP. My prize is my original ESP "Series" Strat I bought in 1984. I mainly bought this for the looks and it's less than half the price of a road worn Fender. Every road worn that I played in the store had crappy frets. This looks cool and plays very well. Can tell that the body is 3 pieces. Pulled it out of the box and it was pretty much in tune. Neck and frets are very good, the action is good, no dead spots, but just need to tweak it a little to my preference. Pickups are decent for price but noisy, I will change those anyway or just hang it on the wall because it looks so cool. ESP does a fantastic job with the aging on the body finish, but the fretboard still looks brand new. Not going to complain since I am more than happy with the looks and playability of this guitar for $349. I might buy the black/maple one just for the hell of it since it's only $249.
Sound
Good
Features
Basic Strat
Ease of Use
Easy
Quality
Very good
Value
Excellent
Manufacturer Support
Don't need it
The Wow Factor
Looks cool
Musical Background:
Playing guitar since 1982
Musical Style:
Metal, Blues, Jazz
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Submitted March 13, 2012 by Patrick T in Reno, NV
"Esp Player for 15 years..."
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This thing is a hunk of garbage. Dead frets, lousy balance and horrible tone even after upgrading the pickups to EMGs. All my other ESP / LTD guitars are great. I love them. This thing... what a waste of money. I had it for 7 months and hated it every time I gave it a second, third, fourth chance. You certainly get what you pay for.
Musical Background:
Semi-Pro
Musical Style:
Hard Rock
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