Gear Review: Assassins Guitarist Steven Taylor on His ESP LTD EC-1000 Guitar

Assassins are a Detroit, MI-based metalcore/hardcore quintet that recently announced a new record deal with eOne Music/Good Fight Music. Now, on the verge of the March 18th, 2014 release of their new album War Of Aggression, the band is pouring on the hype! We managed to snag some time with guitarist Steven Taylor and ask him about some of the gear he used when recording War Of Aggression.

What one piece of gear do you use to obtain your signature sound?
Taylor: Right now I am using a Peavy 6505+ with an Orange 2×12 cab, a couple of boss pedals and LTD EC 1000. My favorite piece of gear right now is my EC 1000.

What about it makes it so important to you?
Taylor: I like this guitar because it plays great, and has a pretty solid sound, and it’s on the lighter side of guitars I’ve used live, so it’s comfortable to move with on stage.

Do you have a backup for this gear, if so, what?
Taylor: LTD Mh 350.

How long have you had it, how do you use it, would you ever change it?
Taylor: I’ve had it for about a year and a half. I use it while I perform live with the band, as well as using it for pre-production work at home. Maybe someday I’ll try something different, but for now I like it.

Give us your best “gear goes wrong” story.
Taylor: One time, I broke a string in the middle of a song during one of my lead lines, and at the drop of a dime I had to continue the riff on a different string haha, it doesn’t sound that crazy, but I was trying to move around with the rest of the band, and instead of using muscle memory to play the part, I had to suddenly switch focus onto my playing instead of my live performance.

Check out the song “We The People”