bought one off of ebay a while back, liked it , but never really practiced till recently.when I picked it back up , I noticed every time I would aggressively bend and vibrato, the G and B strings would go slightly flat and I would have to push on those strings above the Nut to put them back in tune.Thought it needed a new Nut , took it in to have one installed- problem still exists. Left it with the pro - he spent a few hours trouble shooting - never could figure out the problem.Last time I went in , we started pulling new ones off the shelf and everyone they had did the same thing.
This is why Todd ( and everyone )warns to try it before you buy it.

of course being left handed ,I don't have that option

Egad! Every one on he rack is doing the same thing? hmm. That is odd. Is it just the EC-1000 doing this in the store? Other models are fine? The EC uses a tunomatic style bridge right? From the sound of it, it may be the truss, or even strings not stretched out enough or not seated corrected or wound enough times on the tuning pegs. Sometimes, one wind is not enough on the pegs but I"ve noticed many guitars use only one or two winds on the rack.

sperzal locking, strings properly stretched.
Our next thought is the bridge rocking( you can rock it back and forth with your hand) slightly, enough to take it out of tune, I don't want to waste anymore money so we are waiting for a reply from LTD for a fix, other than that it is just an expensive target

I was about to buy a ec1000 about a year back, had a similar discussion with a few people describing similar problems with this ax. What to you think is a good quality guitar in this price range with emg's? That would hold a drop c tuning?

man,I think any guitar in this price range and cheaper should hold a tune.I have seen many professionals use them , that is why I was shocked to see multiple guitars doing the same thing.I wish it didn't , cause it is a beautiful guitar and I would say get one,just, Play it first and pay special,special attention to this detail

I've never seen or heard about this so it might seem silly, but what is an EC 1000?

It's a model of a ltd.

As dcz702 said its and LTD, but more over the shape is that of a Les Paul clone.

Oddly enough jstcrsn, most LPs have the same issue. I remember one day many moons ago when I was like OMG Gibson!
I bought an Explorer and a LP, they both had that very issue. The Explorer ended up getting fixed with just some fine tuning
of the nut. But the LP never got fixed, was told it's just how it was designed, that maybe a bone nut would have helped.
I ended up just selling it. I've always wanted a LP shape since but kind of strayed due to those issues that I had.

I think that this is the model used by Andy James, isn't it? I'm sorry to hear about this Jst, this is a proof that confirms that guitars must be tried before buying, but as you said, this is something usually impossible to left handed guitarists, unless you go to leftorium.

Click to view attachment

Very detailed nut height adjustment and light strings would decrease it (hopefully to a point the audience won't understand) but unless the problem is pinpointed and fixable I can't think of anything else

Mate, I've had an EC-1000 for years and have small tuning issues on the G. Never had it set up by a pro, though. What gauge do you use?

custom 9's, and to me these issues throw me off

This might work if not tested; loosen the problem strings and rewind them to tune but make sure the string starts from the bottom on the tuning peg as its winded,

Hard to describe in words for me but the goal is it give as much tension as possible to the nut, should look just like this;



Actually if it doesn't work, try the opposite too but if it works then ask the luthier if he can install a string tree (fender or ibanez like designs should work)

I've had 2 ec 1000's , the first one was great and the G string would go out of tune here and there, but it was because it wasn't properly adjusted and I was a noob at the time. I got my second one which I use all the time now, I got it set up by a local guy, I use .11 - .49 on D standard and it works great. It stays in tune amazingly. The guy said he had to do some fret work on it because they are some what tall so he shaved them down a bit. Are you sure the locking tuners are tight enough? the guitar that doesn't stay in tune for me is my Ibanez rg. The only thing that recently started happening with my ec 1000 is that sometimes the neck pick up wont work when i switch it, but it's very random and idk what's causing that..

Good to know enlo. I've wanted to get one now for some time, but hesitant. I'm always checking um out every time I need to go to the guitar store. You answered my question I was curious about but didn't ask, about what strings people using for step down tuning, as I'll want this guitar in drop c and d standard. Are you using active pickups?

If you take it to the luthier and tell him what the problem is, he will probably fix it up, but it occurs most probably because of the switch contacts - you need to use some 'contact oil' - not really sure that's the name, but I am sure that this is the problem and things will be cool again I had this issue on more guitars and it worked out every time.



Thank you mates, but AJ uses his model now, right?

Ohhhh! Now that's nice haven't seen that one before. I like.

Hey Jstcrsn, seems there is often some resistance on the nut and the string doesn’t slide back in place as easy as it should. I have had this on different guitars as well. Mainly on guitars where the string is angled from the nut to the tuning peg, which is the case on the ec-1000. Try to loosen the string and take it out of the nut. Take a pencil and some fine sandpaper and rub the pencil to add some fine powder in the nut where the string goes through. I hope this will solve your issue !




Yes, now he is using his signature model, but on some older videos he sometimes played the ec-1000

I think we should not judge the guitar because of the very old and common issue that happens all the time. NOT ALWAYS nut slot perfectly matched with guitar gauge work like they should. Very often I have to use 11's nut slot files for guitar with 10's. I don't remember to ever have a guitar with this issue not being able to be fixed. EC1000 was pretty close copy to LP. Headstock is angled so there is no need to make additional angle by winding to much string on the tuner. Like Mertay has wisely adviced. Very first thing is to minimize the angle of string going to the nut. Very often it's enough to start to wind the string to the top of a tuner instead of bottom (like usual). Low string to nut angle + good nut slots adjustment are usually 2 things that solve those issues.


Next is to properly tune the guitar:

1. Make sure to always stretch the strings until they stop to loose the pitch while bending (speding 10 minutes on tuning instead of 30 seconds helps top save some nerves later)
2. Tuners work both ways but unless You have a roller nut they always go a bit down with pitch if Your last move was loosening the tension (down pitch). If You tune up and cross the perfect pitch line, then try to stretch the string instead of loosening the string by the tuner. the idea is to never make your last tuner move to be down-pitch


I wish I could be closer to You so I could fix Your issue within 20 minutes... I had some EC models in my service as well and I do all mentioned above at least few times a day. I would even say this issue something more regular than just a exception.

yes, I think that he is using his custom model in all the newer videos:



It looks really cool. This is not an EC, is it? what's the name of the models with this shape?

first thanks for ideas, we have tried these new strings, stretched well, new graftech nut with added graphite, I wind my poles 1 over about 3 under, we have tightened the hell out of them , they are locking tuners , have put new/different ones on that seat with a screw, the nut slots can take a thicker string so there is no binding and this luthier is a miracle worker,best in city of 300,000, he has fixed holes in acoustics , took a right handed and made it left for me with perfect intonation as far up the neck as I could play(12 string acoustic)

here is a pic https://www.google.com/search?q=pictures+ec...htm%3B480%3B640

The EC stands for 'Eclipse', i.e. the ESP Les Paul shape.

Here is Andy's signature model, the one you were asking about: http://www.espguitars.co.uk/sig-aj1.html

Got it man! So seems like this is something like the " Bermuda Triangle Thing - a paranormal issue with no explanation

Just confirm because I couldn't make sure by Your post. After all those changes You just mentioned above, the problem is still there?

I figured they were different models Dunno, I have never been a big fan of ESP/LTD - frankly I never even tried them that much, so I can't say what's what.. but for the people who like them, they sound like great guitars - not so expensive, as well, right?

yes Bermuda thing, but also happened with other guitars off the shelf


yes this is for us lowly folk that can't afford a PRS (or have there endorsement ) ha , ha

It may seem strange ... but my PRSs are in the same price range as the EC 1000