# NGD - LTD M-7HT



## JD27 (Mar 11, 2020)

Been tough to hold out on the LTD Black Metal series, this year finally broke me though. Perfect metal guitars, has basically everything I'd want without needing to switch any hardware/pickups out which is rare for me anymore. It'll tide me over until I can get a hold of one of the new AW-7Bs down the road. This one is made in Indonesia. Not sure how they are choosing which factory they come from, the Phoenix BMs models in stock at Sweetwater both are Korean. Maybe that's due to the Phoenix 1000s being made there too?

As far as the fit and finish, it's pretty solid, no rough frets or huge issues. The binding on the neck is not super flush in some areas, that's about it. I'll probably round the fret ends off a bit when I give it a setup. The nut is actually cut decently, so I may or may not replace with a graphtech at some point. The setup out of the box is pretty crap though, so I didn't play it much, anything lower than B Standard is buzz city. Bonus on these, the neck profile is an Extra Thin U. Sounded pretty mean in the short spin I gave it, the alder/maple and Black Winter combination seems like it may work well with lower tunings. Definitely not muddy sounding as is. Look forward to giving this thing a proper setup and my preferred string gauges.


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## ChrispyFinch (Mar 11, 2020)

very nice, i want to pickup the eclipse version of this but have been hesitant about the "Indonesia" stamp.
Is the fit/finish noticeably less than your other guitars? or on par with any?


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## sleewell (Mar 11, 2020)

that looks awesome. i would buy a white one in a second. 

those side dots are very helpful.


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## JD27 (Mar 11, 2020)

ChrispyFinch said:


> very nice, i want to pickup the eclipse version of this but have been hesitant about the "Indonesia" stamp.
> Is the fit/finish noticeably less than your other guitars? or on par with any?



It's on par with my Korean Holcomb, better than both Mexican Charvels I have. I wouldn't hesitate at buying another one of these, they are pretty inexpensive on the used market too.


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## JD27 (Mar 11, 2020)

sleewell said:


> that looks awesome. i would buy a white one in a second.
> 
> those side dots are very helpful.



They are pretty bright, very cool addition for sure. Maybe they can release a new "Frostbitten" line to go in the Black Metal series.


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## budda (Mar 11, 2020)

"I am here to riff."

Love it.

Does it come as a 6?


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## JD27 (Mar 11, 2020)

budda said:


> "I am here to riff."
> 
> Love it.
> 
> Does it come as a 6?


Exactly, no leads shall ever be played by these hands, haha! It indeed does come in a 6.


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## IbanezDaemon (Mar 11, 2020)

Beauty! Great score. That looks dark and brooding to downright mean looking! HNGD!!


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## AkiraSpectrum (Mar 11, 2020)

awesome, can't get anymore black than that--super metal!!!


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## mlp187 (Mar 11, 2020)

Geez that is goddamn nice looking. Congrats!


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## Werecow (Mar 11, 2020)

Very nice. Black guitars are the best guitars


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## JD27 (Mar 12, 2020)

The tough question is if I were to get another one would it be the Phoenix or M-HT. I loved my E-II M-1 and the M-HT is real close just with a Hipshot instead of TOM, but I’ve also had both a ESP and LTD 1000 Phoenix and those were super cool too.


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## Rotatous (Mar 12, 2020)

I may have to get one of these as a backup, looks pretty damn slick.

Congrats!


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## possumkiller (Apr 15, 2020)

Wow! Is that a hipshot with black springs and screws that actually match the black plate and saddles!?


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## JD27 (Apr 15, 2020)

possumkiller said:


> Wow! Is that a hipshot with black springs and screws that actually match the black plate and saddles!?



It indeed is all black. I wonder if you can get them from Hipshot?


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## Merrekof (Apr 15, 2020)

JD27 said:


> It indeed is all black. I wonder if you can get them from Hipshot?


Don't know, they do have an all black bass bridge though. Seems to me they have the necessary parts but don't offer all black guitar bridges.


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## possumkiller (Apr 15, 2020)

I think they do it just to spite me. I remember when those bridges were still new and I was complaining about it, they posted that they were going to make the screws and springs match. They never did.


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## JD27 (Apr 15, 2020)

I know you can long, medium, and short replacement saddles, would be awesome if they had replacement screws/springs in different colors too


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## p88 (Apr 15, 2020)

budda said:


> "I am here to riff."
> 
> Love it.
> 
> Does it come as a 6?



it does come in a 6 string version...and incidentally (and weirdly)...it's made in Korea.

Source: https://www.zzounds.com/item--ESPMHT (click on back of headstock picture)

It doesn't appear to come with a fully blacked out bridge though...so...


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## Fluence of Shred (Apr 15, 2020)

JD27 said:


> Exactly, no leads shall ever be played by these hands, haha! It indeed does come in a 6.


Lol that’s alright man, not every guitar is meant to do every thing a guitarist wants a guitar to do! I think the Ibanez M8/0M is the perfect example - no leads but it makes the tightest, hardest rhythms you can ask for.

HNGD, really nice.....

What’s this Indonesian thing? Is this the new “Korea”? Are they like as good, on par , or better than lets say, Schecter Hellraiser quality?


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## JD27 (Apr 15, 2020)

Yeah, lot of brands are moving there as Korea has become a more expensive option to produce guitars. I’ve only personally played a handful of Indonesian made guitars. This one is on par with the tons of WMI made guitars I’ve owned. Definitely better fit and finish than the LTD XJ-6 I had years ago.


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## feraledge (Apr 16, 2020)

Congrats!! I got the M 6er. It’s a killer guitar. The blackened winter is a bit too bright for me but got a full shred to stick in. Eager to do that.


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## JD27 (Apr 16, 2020)

feraledge said:


> Congrats!! I got the M 6er. It’s a killer guitar. The blackened winter is a bit too bright for me but got a full shred to stick in. Eager to do that.



Was kind of curious if there is a difference with the Blackened Winters. It's been so long since I had the Black Winter in a 7 I can't recall how close this one is. The brightness seems to work well for B, Drop A, or A# tuning, though overall I'm having the same issues I have with the regular Black Winter 7 in real low tunings. The EQ just does not seem suited well when I tune to F# or G. Haven't decided whether I will swap it for something else as I kind of wanted this to be for lower tunings since it's 27" and I already have a 25.5". 

I have a strange desire to own another FR, having a hard time deciding between the Black Metal M or the Eclipse Custom 87 FR. It's a tough call, I know I'm going to enjoy the satin finish on the Black Metal M neck more than the gloss neck on the Eclipse 87, but damn I love tele bodies so much. I've been enjoying the DiMarzio Imperium as an alternative to the Black Winter, it's shares some of the same qualities, just not so hot.


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## possumkiller (Sep 15, 2020)

https://reverb.com/item/31931577-es...ck-metal-7-string-electric-guitar-black-satin

Korean version with typical Hipshot chrome springs and screws. Weird. You think maybe the Indo factory goes the extra mile to swap them out, or does Hipshot make two different versions for the same model guitar?


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## mbardu (Sep 15, 2020)

p88 said:


> it does come in a 6 string version...and incidentally (and weirdly)...it's made in Korea.
> 
> Source: https://www.zzounds.com/item--ESPMHT (click on back of headstock picture)
> 
> It doesn't appear to come with a fully blacked out bridge though...so...



Love the description on the site: "_Perfect for a range of genres from black metal to death metal_"
lmao so versatile


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## MASS DEFECT (Sep 15, 2020)

That looks mean af. Been looking at this to pair with my Matte Black Jackson C.O.W.7. One pickup, matte black guitars are the best. This looks better since I like flat tops better that archtops.


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## possumkiller (Sep 17, 2020)

Actually, every one I've seen with Indonesia on the headstock has matching screws on the bridge. Every one with Korea has silver. Check out the pictures on thomann, sweetwater, reverb. The ones I could find in the wild and on youtube are the same. 

So I wonder if it really is the Indo factory swapping them out or did hipshot really do different bridges.


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## zack6 (Sep 17, 2020)

HNGD looks epic!!
by the way, have you tried and compare this with the viper black metal?


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## JD27 (Sep 17, 2020)

zack6 said:


> HNGD looks epic!!
> by the way, have you tried and compare this with the viper black metal?



No, this is the only BM I’ve played.


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## Dawn of the Shred (Sep 18, 2020)

Congrats man and HNGD


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## Rotatous (Sep 19, 2020)

Seriously considering grabbing one of these as a backup. Thing looks killer!


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## CYPA (Dec 11, 2020)

sleewell said:


> that looks awesome. i would buy a white one in a second.
> 
> those side dots are very helpful.



Just your luck, they announced the "Arctic Metal" line today and they look sickkkkk


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## CYPA (Dec 11, 2020)

JD27 said:


> They are pretty bright, very cool addition for sure. Maybe they can release a new "Frostbitten" line to go in the Black Metal series.



You were damn close! They announced an "Arctic Metal" line today. Your suggestion is maybe a bit more catchy.


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## JD27 (Dec 11, 2020)

CYPA said:


> You were damn close! They announced an "Arctic Metal" line today. Your suggestion is maybe a bit more catchy.



Yeah I’d like to think someone read this and made it happen, but only changed the name to avoid giving me a free guitar, haha. Frostbitten would have been awesome though!


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## buck fever (Dec 12, 2020)

JD27 said:


> Been tough to hold out on the LTD Black Metal series, this year finally broke me though. Perfect metal guitars, has basically everything I'd want without needing to switch any hardware/pickups out which is rare for me anymore. It'll tide me over until I can get a hold of one of the new AW-7Bs down the road. This one is made in Indonesia. Not sure how they are choosing which factory they come from, the Phoenix BMs models in stock at Sweetwater both are Korean. Maybe that's due to the Phoenix 1000s being made there too?
> 
> As far as the fit and finish, it's pretty solid, no rough frets or huge issues. The binding on the neck is not super flush in some areas, that's about it. I'll probably round the fret ends off a bit when I give it a setup. The nut is actually cut decently, so I may or may not replace with a graphtech at some point. The setup out of the box is pretty crap though, so I didn't play it much, anything lower than B Standard is buzz city. Bonus on these, the neck profile is an Extra Thin U. Sounded pretty mean in the short spin I gave it, the alder/maple and Black Winter combination seems like it may work well with lower tunings. Definitely not muddy sounding as is. Look forward to giving this thing a proper setup and my preferred string gauges.



have you played the E-II NT-7B? I’m curious about how you’d describes comparison of the necks. I have yet to play an ESP that wasn’t a big chunky C, which is how I describe the TB7 and the NT-7B. I’m curious if this neck is a little faster.


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## JD27 (Dec 12, 2020)

buck fever said:


> have you played the E-II NT-7B? I’m curious about how you’d describes comparison of the necks. I have yet to play an ESP that wasn’t a big chunky C, which is how I describe the TB7 and the NT-7B. I’m curious if this neck is a little faster.



Nope, never played one. I don’t find the Thin U on any ESP/LTD to be chunky either though. Compared to a Thin Ibanez neck they might seem that way I guess, but I’m not a fan of those.


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## possumkiller (Dec 15, 2020)

Will the black ones get the lower horn scoop now like the white one has?


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## Mathemagician (Dec 15, 2020)

possumkiller said:


> Will the black ones get the lower horn scoop now like the white one has?



Did you submit a notarized request in this thread that for some magical reason works miracles?


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## KenEBMM (Jun 5, 2021)

Odd question but how difficult do you think it would be to remove that 3d logo on the headstock


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## JD27 (Jun 5, 2021)

KenEBMM said:


> Odd question but how difficult do you think it would be to remove that 3d logo on the headstock



Probably not too difficult but I’m sure the finish would look like shit afterwards.


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## KenEBMM (Jun 6, 2021)

JD27 said:


> Probably not too difficult but I’m sure the finish would look like shit afterwards.


There's always ways to correct something. I'll look into it and post any pics once I get mine in. Definitely would want to get that off it at all possible.


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## Amer Alameddine (Jun 6, 2021)

This looks like something you could unlock the gates of hell with. Congrats on the superb ax, have a blast riffing on this beast!


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## Matt08642 (Jun 6, 2021)

The black metal and arctic metal guitars are so sick, congrats!


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## CovertSovietBear (Jun 8, 2021)

Looks intimidating with all black and 1 pickup combo. Would love to throw down a few chugga chuggas on one.


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