LTD Stephen Carpenter SCT-607B Review

Few manufacturers deliver an affordable line of guitars like ESP’s LTD line. They consistently produce quality instruments at a price point that’s hard to resist. Today we are going to be checking out the LTD SCT-607B.

The LTD SCT-607B is the signature guitar of Stephen Carpenter from the Deftones! 7 strings and a sleek aesthetic, combined with the timeless Tele-style body shape, this guitar has become a favorite among the extended range guitar community.

So let’s check out what this guitar has to offer!

FEATURES:

Neck-Thru Body Construction
27” Baritone Scale Length
Alder Body
Maple Neck
48mm Standard Nut
Thin U Neck Profile
24 Extra Jumbo Frets
LTD Locking Tuners
Tonepros Locking TOM Bridge
EMG 81-7 Active Pickups
Master Tone
Master Volume
3-Way Toggle

First I think it’s important to note that while this guitar from the LTD line, it’s hard to see where any corners were cut. This guitar is solid. This version even sports the same body/neck woods as its big brother ESP model.

At first glance, this guitar may seem like a traditional Tele, but upon further inspection, it’s anything but. Stephen Carpenter needed a guitar that could handle the low-tuned riffs that you can expect from the Deftones, and this guitar does exactly that.

The neck is pretty thick on this guitar (although nowhere near the big 50’s Fender necks), but the Thin-U profile helps it sit comfortably in the hands. I think this neck profile is great for riffing and rhythm playing but starts to become troublesome when trying to transition into lead playing if you’re used to a very thin neck.

Tone:

Featuring an alder body and a maple neck, the woods used for this guitar present a fairly neutral canvas as far as tonewoods go. The lows you can get out of this guitar are punishing, and the longer scale length helps to keep things from getting too muddy. The pickups keep the lows and mids nice and tight while also keeping the highs surprisingly articulate. This guitar does a great job at all things metal, from thrash to the more modern variety!

The active EMG pickups handle all the gain you can throw at them with ease. EMG’s get a lot of hate, but it’s worth taking a look at our article on why they’re actually great pickups. That being said, as with any high gain pickup – passive or active – they tend to suffer from versatility issues. Once you factor in the lack of a neck pickup you start to realize this guitar might not be ideal for those looking to get a broad tonal palette.

To be fair though, this guitar really isn’t for the smooth jazz player. It was definitely geared towards the low tuned riff-slayers, and it does that extremely well!

Build Quality:

Considering this guitar is on the higher end of the LTD line, the build quality is pretty great. It wouldn’t be hard to convince me that this guitar has a much higher price tag if I didn’t already know better.

There was no noticeable sharp fret ends, or any finish imperfections that I could find. The LTD locking tuners, along with the Tonepros TOM bridge provided great tuning stability, and the neck-thru design allowed for loads of sustain. The lack of a neck heel created phenomenal fret access all the way up to the 24th fret.

Honestly, the only complaints I have about the build quality is the exclusion of fret markers, and the gloss neck. I like the look of having no fret markers, but with the inclusion of the longer scale length, I found it was easy to lose your place on the fretboard. I’m usually not a stickler when it comes to gloss necks, but this one seemed to stick more than most others I’ve played. Overall, this guitar is very well built.

Final Verdict:

ESP and Stephen Carpenter have most definitely targeted the modern heavy-metallers with the LTD SCT-607B. 7 strings, an extended scale, and active pickups lend very nicely to the crushing riffage that’s needed in today’s modern metal. Though, once you step outside of the metal genre, this guitar struggles to keep up.

I really enjoyed my time with this guitar, you can get some really brutal tones with it. Simply put, if you’re looking for a workhorse guitar for all of your low-tuned needs, that also won’t break the bank, then this may be the axe for you!