Your pick...? (LTD content)

What have I been up to lately? I've been bothering Janet & company at Davis GMC by returning to the store premises to try LTD guitars. The model you see above is the manufacturer's top of the line Horizon offering, the Deluxe H1001.

I've been pitting the Deluxe against its little brother, the H-351. As you would have observed, the instruments, at a single glance, are identical but let me just highlight to you the differences because there is a $250 gap between them:

• the H-1001 features a more defined flamed maple top
• the Deluxe's neck binding spills over to the fretboard
• locking tuners (ESP brand) in the Deluxe
• locking TOM-type bridge in the Deluxe
• Deluxe- made in Korea, H-351- made in Indonesia

The remaining features are identical. Feel wise, there are hardly any marked differences to highlight. You'd thought the Deluxe would be a little heftier due to the locking tuners over at the headstock but those tuners were careful selections so as not to make the situation a little too complicated in this category. They are also equally responsive, hence likeable. Both models are incredibly light, in fact, my Schecter Omen 6 would be considered heavy after handling these babies. 

Tone? These guitars are equipped with a pair of EMG (active) pickups; the 81 in the bridge, 85 in the neck. You know how it is when you have actives in an instrument; you'd hear the pickups' performance more than what the guitar itself has to offer; akin to spreading very sweet honey on 2 different slices of bread brands only to taste the honey more than anything else. So my friends, the H-1001 & H-351 performed on like terms in this category.

What would your pick be in view of the perspectives presented above?