ESP recently expanded its heavier offerings with the new Black Metal series – and now they’re showing off the M-7HT Baritone, featuring the playing of José Macario of Ladrones.
The guitar is built with a through-body 3-piece Maple neck paired with an Alder body, a combination chosen for rich sustain and a lightweight feel on the shoulder. The neck carries an Extra Thin U profile, and is capped with a Macassar Ebony fingerboard loaded with 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets. A 27″ scale length rounds out the neck, giving the guitar enough string tension for seriously low tunings without going slack.
Electronics come from a single bridge-position Seymour Duncan MortalCoil active humbucker, which puts three distinct voices at the player’s disposal.
Voice 1 is tuned for modern metal, with a tight low end and sharp presence suited to high-gain playing
Voice 2 reproduces the passive-style character of Seymour Duncan’s JB and Jazz humbuckers, delivering crisp highs and full-bodied sustain
Voice 3 offers a split-coil tone closer to a single-coil, aimed at clean and light-gain playing. An onboard preamp keeps all three voicings clear and defined while also extending battery life.
Hardware includes LTD locking tuners and a string-thru Hipshot bridge, both chosen for tuning stability and easy access to drop tunings. The guitar is finished in an eye-catching Black Red Burst satin finish, paired with blacked-out hardware throughout for a cohesive, aggressive look.
The ESP LTD Black Metal M-7HT Baritone is available now through Sweetwater for $1,299.
