ESP LTD EC-BKM Black Metal

Sworn to the dark

Isn’t this a little too minimal?

That’s exactly the point. This is a high-powered electric that saves all the pyrotechnics for its tone. Let’s face it, you’ve got to admire the message discipline in its design. The LTD logo is threedimensional, embossed as though it were a badge on a car; of course, there’s no tone knob; even the Seymour Duncan logo is blacked out; and judging by this guitar, the evil have no use for fretmarkers. Glow-in-the-dark sidemarkers will help you find yourself on the ebony fretboard – and believe us, there’s plenty of dark to glow in.

Is the Seymour Duncan pickup active?

No, the Blackened Black Winter is passive, but it is a fierce, high-output humbucker that will have no trouble eating up the gain you dial into your tone. It is vacuum wax potted to kill any squeal and has a similar output to the Seymour Duncan Invader.

Is this just for metal?

While we’d absolutely concede that the clean tones are surprisingly engaging, and rolling back the volume knob offers a little more range, this was definitely built for high-gain scenarios. It’s just too morbid for jazz.