ESP LTD M-10 Electric Guitar: Part Two

Quick Links: Part One | Part Two | Part Three

In the previous post, we took a long, hard look at this ESP LTD M-10. Yes, there was lots that needed to be done, and in this post; I'll show you exactly what I did. The very first step was putting 0000 steel wool, 3M Flexible Polishing Papers and Autosol Metal Polish to work. Of course, there was also lots of elbow grease involved.

The most challenging task was separating the frozen bridge stud from its bushing. I'm glad to report that alternately heating the bushing with a mini-blowtorch and "shock cooling" in water finally did the trick. Thorough scrubbing with a steel-bristled brush got rid of any corrosion and caked-on gunk, and after a good lubing; everything was fine and dandy.

The pickups? Yes, they were actually Belcats in disguise. On the plus side, the pickup and control cavities were adequately shielded with conductive shielding paint. However, as I've noticed on other ESP LTDs; grounding tabs were missing. That being the case, I wired in new ground tabs terminating in the control cavity wall; with a jumper cable soldered to the back of a pot. Also added a piece of conductive self-adhesive copper tape to ensure good contact with the foil shield on the back of the control cavity cover.

New electronics comprised new Alpha A500K pots, a 3-way switch, 0.022uF poly film cap; and Neutrik/Rean NYS229 output jack. I've tested the electronics sans neck and strings, and everything seems to be working well. Got a set of Ernie Ball Super Slinkys (009-042) at the ready for the next step; which should be restring and setup. But that will have to wait until tomorrow, at least. Till then, stay home, stay safe, wear a mask; and avoid crowded places.

LTD EX-260 Gets Deactivated

This LTD EX-260 was brought in by its owner, MATTRA frontman Waz Ramzah. As received, it was in none too good shape. Sweat, rust, crud and grime had taken their toll on this once beautiful instrument. Right away I made a mental note to replace everything that could not be saved, and give the fretboard a through reconditioning.

As it turned out, Waz was most concerned about the electronics; specifically the pickups. He'd been gigging all this time with just the bridge EMG-81 (active), as the passive ESP neck humbucker could not work with the 25K volume and tone pots. Understandably, he'd had the neck humbucker and toggle switch grounded so as not to cause any electronic interference.

I'd watched him perform live before, and noted that he was doing quite alright with his LTD EX-260 and EHX Metal Muff; given the "heavy" music he favors. However, he'd grown weary of having "just one sound," and felt that having a working neck humbucker would expand his sonic palette.

After some serious discussion, which included cost concerns; it was decided that we swap the EMG-81 for an F-spaced DiMarzio® Crunch Lab™ (DP228FBK). A couple phone calls to my main man Hezlan at Music Bliss sealed the deal. The DP228FBK arrived via PosLaju not long after, and it was time to get to work.

The EMG-81 and its associated electronics were desoldered and packed away carefully. I wired in a new three-way toggle switch, Alpha 500K volume and tone pots, K73-16 0.022uF cap; and Switchcraft #11 mono output jack. And, as the pickup and control cavities were already shielded with conductive paint; I also added a ground lug from the back of the volume pot to the control cavity wall.

The electronics having been taken care of, it was time to address the rust, grime and crud issue. Rusty screws and springs were replaced, and the fretboard reconditioned. Meanwhile, I had to do something about the poor condition of the tune-o-matic bridge and low-E side bridge post (see pic). I decided to do some de-rusting via electrolysis (thank you, Dan Erlewine and StewMac), and was extremely pleased with the results.

Once all the hardware was reinstalled, the LTD EX-260 was strung with Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys (10-46), and set up for maximum playability. I hope to see Waz Ramzah and Mattra in action onstage once the Covid-19 pandemic blows over, and hear for myself how he utilizes his newfound tonal flexibility.