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LTD experts - help me out here

Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2024 8:21 pm
by Zeegler
A guy has offered me this guitar in trade. He says it's a M-200FM, but on the ESP/LTD website, the M-200FM has dot inlays, and is a bolt on neck. The truss rod cover also says M-200FM.

Anyone know what it actually is, and approximate value?

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Re: LTD experts - help me out here

Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2024 8:26 pm
by Zeegler
M-300FM?

It's not on the website so I assume discontinued?

Re: LTD experts - help me out here

Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2024 8:47 pm
by RaceU4her
never saw an ltd with those inlays, must be older?

Re: LTD experts - help me out here

Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2024 8:49 pm
by RaceU4her

Re: LTD experts - help me out here

Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2024 9:35 pm
by Zeegler
Looks just like that except it doesn't have the battery box.

Re: LTD experts - help me out here

Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2024 10:14 pm
by iff
Get him to send you a photo of the 12th fret inlay, it should say the model on it. I think you're right that it's an M-300FM though.

Re: LTD experts - help me out here

Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2024 2:00 am
by ninjaraf
Yeah these inlays were on older ones from the early 2000s.

Re: LTD experts - help me out here

Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2024 1:29 pm
by Zeegler
Okay weird. The 12th fret inlay does indeed say M-200FM, but if I Google LTD M-200FM, the results shown are bolt-on guitars with dot inlays. Weird.

So now I find another identical one for sale on Kijiji. LTD M-200FM with neck-thru and the same inlays, and even the same finish.

Anyway NIGD!

Re: LTD experts - help me out here

Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2024 9:23 pm
by iff
Ah okay, looks like the model was M-200FM until 2009 and M-300FM after 2010 with some slight spec changes. ESP has their old catalogues here https://www.espguitars.com/pages/product-archive

Re: LTD experts - help me out here

Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2024 1:45 pm
by Zeegler
iff wrote: Fri Feb 16, 2024 9:23 pm Ah okay, looks like the model was M-200FM until 2009 and M-300FM after 2010 with some slight spec changes. ESP has their old catalogues here https://www.espguitars.com/pages/product-archive
That's it. Mystery solved.

I got the guitar. It's in great shape, but the set up was hilariously bad. The Floyd saddles were installed in the wrong places. The string heights were all over the damn place. As it was, it was pretty much unplayable. Not to mention the truss rod needed a tweak, and the intonation was way out. The bridge pickup is some kind of Fishman Fluence Modern. No neck pickup at all. I'm going to put in a Dimarzio X2N and PAF Pro. Overall I really like the guitar. It looks good and has a great neck.