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LTD M-53
List: $299
We continue to have reservations spending good money on licensed off-shoots; most of these are haphazard units capitalizing on the original popularity & desirability, often short-living our great expectations. That my friends, is the thing of the past, it’s rather strenuous finding a production flop these days. The LTD range of guitars put its parent brand name in good stead. The M-53 is one of many in this selection.
Construction, fit, finish
Are you really expecting an ESP-grade final product? You shouldn’t but rest assured, LTD has put together guitars to impress. The M-53 is a variation of the M-series of guitars where an offset, dual cutaway & reverse headstock are common features. The M-53 here differs via the pickup selection; it has a pair of single coils on board. The M-53 features a satin finish body which is one of the best in the market. The neck, according to the manufacturer, is of the ‘extra thin, flat’ make but in this reviewer’s hand, it feels rather sumptuous (but not excessively meaty) & round. Shredders & heavy metal fanatics will be attracted to it for its fine playability. In this aspect, it is rather difficult to fault the M-53 on any grounds. The audition model displays no aggravating flaws to make us feel we are dealing with a low-grade offering. A great production display.
Rating: 90%
Playability/ tone
Kirk Hammet (Metallica) & Jeff Hannemann (Slayer) are perhaps two of the many M-series loyalists & if one handles these guitars in person, one would understand why it’s a swear-by piece of instrument instead of just another, Strat-themed model. The guitar by virtue of its outline, promotes playability & in this case, LTD has its grand QC manifestations to further this interest. It’s also evident that the default set up was well done to keep the player going from the initial strum. The M-53 is anything but problematic in this category.
The unplugged tone of the M-53 has clarity stamped all over; the instrument sounds bright & authoritative. Upon plugging in, we can hear definition across all three pickups. In overdriven/ distortion mode, the M-53 manifested its true tonal colour as it accepts high dosages of fuzz, drive & distortion very well. There is, however, a distinct difference in volume between the single coils & the solitary humbucker with the latter being louder in use. This disparity is only evident in dirty settings, in clean mode, the differences isn’t marked. The implication here is that the manufacturer has equipped the guitar with a hotter humbucker while the singles coils remain very polite in their outputs. To the metal monsters out there, the inherent brightness of this guitar might prove to be its Achilles heel because supplementing extra low frequencies would not quell this issue comprehensively. It’s all about dealing with the issue at source; the guitar was equipped with a set of rather prickly pickups to begin with, rather typical of instruments in this price bracket, coupled with the maple fretboard, it’s quite excessive top end for some of us.
Tone test equipment:
• Amps: Marshall MG50FX/ Blackheart Killer Ant
• Effects: Line 6 Pocket POD express/ Biyang EQ-7/ Ibanez TS7
Rating: 70%
Conclusion
The M-53 remains impressive in terms of QC despite being Indonesian in origin; it is evident then that eastern craftsmanship could indeed be praise-worthy. Should we worry too much about the bright nature of the M-53? Don’t blame the instrument without understanding the pickups it’s equipped with. Be liberal with your amp EQ & ensure a good mix of frequencies in the mix because the M-53 is a simple guitar that works. Works well, mind you.
Final rating: 85%
Product availability: Davis GMC
Likes:
• Impressive QC
• Playability
• Price
Dislikes:
• Pickups might be too bright for some of us
• Humbucker hotter than single coils
Worthy competitors:
• SMASH S2 Lite
• Ibanez SA260
• Yamaha Pacifica 112
• Hamer CX3T
