# NGD: ESP LTD TE-212 (Telecaster content)



## pkgitar (Jun 20, 2013)

I've been looking for a new 6-string guitar since I've had my one and only discontinued SZ-series Ibanez for almost 8 years now. The thing is if the guitar is too expensive and pretty, I won't be able to take it to gigs etc. I get too attached... 
So I was on the hunt for something cheap-ish that I could swap pickups on if need be that I wouldn't cherish so much I'd get mad if it got a ding or 5.

I love teles, but I'm not a fan of the ashtray bridge, 9.5" radius and 21 frets on the fenders/squiers/g&l's etc. 
Then ESP came out with their new line of LTDs for 2013 that aren't distressed (unlike the 202-203 series, not a fan). And it had exactly what I was looking for! "Modern" bridge, 22 frets, flat-ish fretboard radius (emailed ESP about it, it's 350mm/14") and a really nice unfinished neck which is very similar to my Ibanez SZ. Also love the humbucker in the neck slot.

I'm thinking about putting a BKP Flat '50+Mississippi Queen (HB sized P90) in it. Stock bridge pups balls haven't dropped that far and the neck pup is a but muddy for my taste.

Enough text, behold the ESP LTD TE-212 in (semi sparkly) candy apple red baby.

1st fret birth mark, I like it.






The binding looks great with the maple neck and fretboard!





Mandatory "it's just dust" picture.





Sweet joint for good access.





Belly cut for comfort yay!





I thought it was funny the way the knob on the pickup selector was put on 





Out of the box the guitar was sort of in tune. Strings were in tune in relation to each other, but they were just very flat. Might need a better setup for when I put 10-52s on it. Fret edges were ok, but for the price I didn't expect perfection. Feels almost just like my Ibanez, which is what I was going for. It's what I've been used to for so long I didn't want to take any chances. And I knew from trying other ESPs that their "thin U neck contour" is really nice.

So far so good! Will compliment my HH Ibanez very well 

edit: When I mention that the LTD neck (thin U contour) is similar to my Ibanez SZ series guitar, it's not similar to the wizard necks on most RGs etc. Has a bit more girth, but not fat. http://ibanez.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_neck_types


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## Daf57 (Jun 20, 2013)

Congrats! That's a good looking tele!


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## Abbath78 (Jun 20, 2013)

Nice! Some BKP'S will get you some ballsy tone


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## AkiraSpectrum (Jun 20, 2013)

Love it! I too definitely fell in love with all of the new non-distressed models LTD is offering in classic shapes (Telecaster, Strat, etc.). I haven't been able to try them but they look fantastic and work better for me than say a MiM with 21 frets (I hate 21 fret guitars, lol) and a neck I can't really get overly comfortable with. Really hope LTD keeps up this series of guitars because its great to have those traditional looks with a modern feel.

Congrats and looking forward to see your pickup mod


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## Miijk (Jun 20, 2013)

That is freaking SWEET! I been looking for a nice tele for a while and this post really makes me want one


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## gunch (Jun 20, 2013)

GASing for one of these or a ST for the neck specs and the better esp/ltd neck joint.

The frets were pretty good you say?


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## Miijk (Jun 20, 2013)

I got a question as well, how is the weight? I'm used to mahogany so is there a big differens?


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## pkgitar (Jun 20, 2013)

Thanks guys! It really is like Akira said; a guitar with traditional looks and a modern feel.



silverabyss said:


> GASing for one of these or a ST for the neck specs and the better esp/ltd neck joint.
> 
> The frets were pretty good you say?



The frets themselves were just fine! But some of the fret edges weren't 100% smooth. Not bad, just not perfect. Mostly noticeable when you deliberately run your fingers across the edges, but it has not struck my mind once when I've been playing it.



Miijk said:


> I got a question as well, how is the weight? I'm used to mahogany so is there a big differens?



I just weighed it (using a bathroom weight lol) and it said 3.7 kg = 8.1 lbs 
Doesn't feel heavy at all to me compared to my Ibanez which weighed in at 2.9 kg/6.4 lbs.


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## Miijk (Jun 20, 2013)

3.7 kg, not bad at all! I'm a small guy so weight is rather important to me! So yeah, that was the answer I was hoping for, thank you


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## r3tr0sp3ct1v3 (Jun 21, 2013)

Hmm sold. I want one now. xD


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## pkgitar (Jun 21, 2013)

Miijk said:


> 3.7 kg, not bad at all! I'm a small guy so weight is rather important to me! So yeah, that was the answer I was hoping for, thank you



You're welcome  I'm a skinny guy so too much weight is really uncomfortable to me too.


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## Miijk (Jun 24, 2013)

Oh and how's the tuners? Keep in tune well?


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## madrigal77 (Jun 25, 2013)

I want this one


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## cult (Jun 25, 2013)

Those are sweet Teles, congrats on yours!
Have you compared them to any other teles in that price range? Can you say something about spread in the production?

No dealer near me carries them, but they are quite intrigueing!


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## mulgreaux (Jun 25, 2013)

Slick as hell. Happy New Guitar Day.
Check out the BKP Piledriver if you're thinking of swapping out the bridge pickup.


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## kris_jammage (Jun 25, 2013)

Happy NGD! Love Tele's, especially non-Fender ones for some reason(nothing againts Fender though!)


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## s4tch (Jun 25, 2013)

Lovely Tele, and thanks for the little review which answered most of my questions when I saw the images.  If it had an arm contour á la Kotzen Tele, it would be very close to my idea of a modern Tele. Still too pretty to ignore.


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## pkgitar (Jun 25, 2013)

Miijk said:


> Oh and how's the tuners? Keep in tune well?


The tuners are OK. I've just been playing it with the strings that were on it when it arrived (cleartone 10s I think, not very good...) which I haven't stretched much. So they sag a bit if I bend a lot. Buying strings in Norway is expensive -_- But my new ones arrived today! So will test that out later with a good stretch session 



cult said:


> Those are sweet Teles, congrats on yours!
> Have you compared them to any other teles in that price range? Can you say something about spread in the production?
> 
> No dealer near me carries them, but they are quite intrigueing!


Thank you! 
I haven't. There are only 2 shops around where I live and they are quite small and don't really specialize in anything so they carry a little bit in each category of guitars, basses, drums, studio gear etc. Very friendly though.

I know what ESP/LTD's feel like for the most part because I've tried guitars from other series which I thought felt nice. Regardless of body type. They have the thin U neck contour on most of their guitars and the quality is very good I'd say, for the price(s).
I bought mine through Thomann.de (Germany). I would have loved to try one it in a shop before I bought it. 
For that reason I don't know much about the spread in production, sorry. (If I understood your question correctly)



s4tch said:


> Lovely Tele, and thanks for the little review which answered most of my questions when I saw the images.  If it had an arm contour á la Kotzen Tele, it would be very close to my idea of a modern Tele. Still too pretty to ignore.


I know right! An arm contour would be a sweet sweet bonus, but I'm used to not having an arm contour anyway so it doesn't bother me at all 


Forgot to mention I had to adjust the intonation, which was a bit flat across all strings. Easy fix with the 6 saddle bridge.

Edit: Put new strings on and the guitar just came to life!


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## wildchild (Aug 8, 2013)

sweet guitar congrats
Is the neck pick up splittable?
Are the frets jumbo?


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## AkiraSpectrum (Aug 8, 2013)

wildchild said:


> sweet guitar congrats
> Is the neck pick up splittable?
> Are the frets jumbo?



Q#1: Not sure about this, probably not, according to the ESP website but ESP has been known to forget to include coil-tap on their website for certain guitars.

Q#2: According to ESP website its 22 XJ Frets


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## tank (Nov 20, 2013)

hei buddy,there is space under the bridge for an humbucker? (with a proper bridge of course)


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## pkgitar (Nov 30, 2013)

wildchild said:


> sweet guitar congrats
> Is the neck pick up splittable?
> Are the frets jumbo?



I don't know if it's splittable. I replaced it with a humbucker sized P90.
Frets are XJ.



tank said:


> hei buddy,there is space under the bridge for an humbucker? (with a proper bridge of course)



I can't remember but I doubt it!


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## Connor94 (Apr 2, 2014)

Im interested to know if theres room for a humbucker in the bridge? after swapping the bridge of coarse.


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## danny17 (Apr 3, 2014)

I also have the red version of this guitar -- bought it about 5-6 weeks ago from Sam Ash. I am in the "beginner" category at age 55 and enjoying it. I first had an ebony Epiphone G-400 -- purchased used online from an out of state Guitar Center. That was a big mistake as it had electronics problems that I had to fix myself and it still wasn't perfect in that regard as I am not an experienced luthier or electronics technician. I waited quite awhile before buying the ESP LTD TE-212 as I wanted to do my research. I knew I'd be in a modest price range with the idea I would upgrade components on the guitar as I progressed in my playing -- assuming I liked the guitar. I did not pick this guitar because it is a telecaster; it is not a true telecaster -- just in body shape. I picked it for the neck, which no true telecaster has and it doesn't have two single coils but rather one humbucker and a single coil. I can imagine why some would change pick ups, but as someone learning with a small Vox practice amp they are just fine with me. For me, I like learning on this neck (a U profile with, I believe a 13+" radius) versus the Epi G-400. I admit to liking the look of a tele body so I am happy about that; in fact, the guitar is really good looking overall IMHO. The red sparkles in the red finish are not too visible in photos but look great in person. The tuners seem decent and the luthier who did my set up said they are serviceable, middle of the road quality tuners. He thinks it has a basic synthetic nut -- not high end but much better than the crappy plastic one on the Epi. I hope this post is helpful to someone early in the process of learning guitar like me. I know advanced players have different expectations -- though it seems to me this is a good guitar for upgrading even for more advanced players.


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## R8ers_4_ever (Apr 9, 2014)

Yes if I can get some tips on which pickups for mine to replace the stock ones with would help alot. I'm looking to get EMG's to make it more metal sounding. I just not sure if they make any that will fit it without ruining the body. Well if and one can help would be well appreciated.


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## Dazzadeath (Apr 9, 2014)

I have the LTD TE-212 BLK. It is an excellent guitar for the AU$330 (new) I paid for it. The ESP headstock shape is probably the best tele style hybrid Ive seen as I'm not a huge fan of fender one. Had to adjust the intonation & truss rod and a new set of strings always sounds good. Sustain is great and i love the "flatter" style radius fretboard and fairly thick neck. Its an alder body, maple neck combination but I don't think these are as bright sounding as the fender teles.

I did some fret leveling as some of my frets were raised and were causing buzzing on the frets previous to them, anyway it was nothing a sharpie pen, flat file and fret redress couldn't fix. The stock pick-ups were very so-so (especially the single coil), and as I play metal I've replaced the bridge with a mini humbucker Dimarzio Tone Zone T, and the neck with a Dimarzio Air Norton. It was a choice i made after reading a whole heap of forums and sussing out quite a few videos on youtube. Anyway I recommend this combo as its not at all muddy or over gained and these pickups have excellent clarity and definition but can also produce great and heavy distortion tones when needed. 

My next upgrade to this guitar will be a set of locking machine heads and perhaps a new nut at some stage. The stock machine heads are ok but it doesnt hold its tuning as well as my fender clapton strat.


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## danny17 (Nov 2, 2014)

I purchased this guitar in red in Feb, 2014. I like the telecaster body shape as well but of course that's where the similarity to a traditional telecaster ends. I bought it for the U shaped, 13" radius neck. Unfortunately, Fender doesn't do a variety of necks in their more affordable guitars and certainly not in the tele. I am a beginner, this being my second guitar after a year or two experience, so my input may not be all that valuable to many of you. My neck had big time buzzing issues. Had set-ups at two different guitar techs and determined the neck had issues and I should send it to ESP for warranty repair. I bought it online at Sam Ash and they would not exchange it because it had been more than 30 days since purchase. Luckily, I saved my receipts, which I uploaded to ESP on their website AND saved all the packing material and the shipping box. I sent it to ESP in California. They said the frets were off but it was easier to replace the neck, which they did -- no shipping charges or charges of any kind. I am satisfied with this neck and really enjoy learning to play on this guitar. Seems a solid good buy for the $$ and a good one to upgrade as well.


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## Scruffy1012 (Nov 2, 2014)

That looks sweet dude, HNGD!


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## Staccato (Nov 2, 2014)

Great looking guitar, Congrats!


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