Hey guys. Well, I know this style of guitar probably won't apply to most of you bluesy guys on here but for any rock/metal orientated guys check this thing OUT.
I walked into my guitar center today, they are now gladly welcoming ESP's, and they had a little podium with ESP's on it. I saw this beast out of them all. Noticed the pretty flamed maple top, and grabbed her. Instantly I felt something special. Honestly, the weight of the guitar was JUST right. Extremly balanced. Well, I got down on one knee and proposed, no LOL I got down on one knee and figured I'd throw a couple of chords @ it like I do to test most guitars not plugged in. The action was high, but WOW did this thing PLAY. The neck was nothing short of an Ibanez Prestige! I swear it the guitar's neck was like shockingly good. I was so desperate to drop the action down a little, and do some intonating but I just let it be, and gave the guitar a look down.
Gun Metal Hardware
ESP Tuners
ESP Neck-Plate (looks GREAT in gunmetal)
Floyd Rose "Special" Tremelo (FANTASTIC Floyd BTW)
Standard ESP LH-100 Pickups
Locking Nut
Flamed Maple Top (sure it may only be 1/8th" thin, but w/e lol)
Agaithis Body
Well, the features aren't screaming top $$ but I figured I'd ask how much it was.
Lady behind the counter came back with a STUNNING 319$!
Well, I just figured what the hell I'll plug her in. Walked over to one of those Vox Valvetronix Amps (great for distortion, rock)
Turned it up, and with the plastic cover sheets STILL on the pick-ups those LH-100's absolutley MELTED the place. I kid you not, I had 2 people walk by and watch for a couple of minutes.
Now I didnt break out some balsy hot fender twin or something for you bluesy guys, so Idk what its like clean or classic but for rock this thing was ridiculous. If I would compare it to anything else, I'd say it would stand up to a Ibanez RG550, Prestige 2550Z, Anything Jackson Japan, etc.
Now, when I actually order myself one, I'll set it up to play like a god, take those pick-ups to the test, and give a more in-depth review on it's tone but for a quick 10 minute shred in guitar center it was flawless.
I figure worst case scenario it needs some DImarzio's, or Seymours thrown in it. Big deal, 2 Dimarzios @ 150$ that would be a 500$ guitar that plays, sounds, and looks like a 1,500$ ESP/Jackson/Ibanez
Well I don't have much of a point but to exlaim my find. :mrgreen: Its not very often I can walk into a music store and be impressed anymore. I don't know what it is, but my expectations are like too high for my own good. I will put down a 3,000$ Les Paul anyday. Fenders? Love strats to death but they need a lot of work to get them to shine. I have never really picked up but a FEW strats that were set-up right. Prestige Ibanez's and USA Jackson's are usually great but again if set-up right. SG's are cool too but latley Ive been disapointed.
Check one out of these out if you get the chance. I know this wasnt an "off chance player" because the action was high and it needed some work but again, for 300$ you CAN'T beat the beauty, playability and tone of this instrument. For any beginners/intermediates out there this thing is PERFECT for you rock players. I wouldn't consider myself Pro, but anyone who has heard my music or seen my You-tube stuff knows I can play and I'm not dumb with this stuff.
Honestly, no catch at all lol, this instrument is a peice of quality. Chinese made, and all of the online reviews complain about it not being able to stay in tune well its called learn how to run a floyd rose. Anyone who says a Licensed floyd has more tuning problems then a USA floyd clearly doesnt know how to set-up, tune and USE a floyd style bridge.
Anyway, enough rambling. I'll add to this post when I order mine in a few days.
Check it out!
-Josh
Sing Me A Song Your a Singer, Do me a wrong, your a bringer of evil. - Dio
I've always been confused with reviews that say something like:
Turned it up, and with the plastic cover sheets STILL on the pick-ups those LH-100's absolutley MELTED the place. I kid you not, I had 2 people walk by and watch for a couple of minutes.
and then say something like this:
I figure worst case scenario it needs some DImarzio's, or Seymours thrown in it. Big deal, 2 Dimarzios @ 150$ that would be a 500$ guitar that plays, sounds, and looks like a 1,500$ ESP/Jackson/Ibanez
If a guitar can result in "absolutely MELTED the place", why would you want to change it? I see that all the time. Same thing with speakers or tubes on amps. I can understand the desire to fiddle around and try new things, though. I'm more guilty of that than many. :oops: :oops:
Still, if I had something that sounded that nice, I ain't messing with it. That's kind of how I feel about my Epi LP Custom.
Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin
You clearly missed my statement of how I lacked to TEST these pick-ups. I played them on a Vox amp and for general distortion the rock melted the place. Does that mean that the pick-ups will carry a high standard with glassy bell tones on jazz? Does that mean the guitar will do a good job @ clean passages or crunchy blues? My first preference is heavy rock, and the guitar did GREAT with that.
My key point was that when I get home I will TEST them out and I "FIGURE WORST CASE SCENARIO" they will need some SEYMOURS or Dimarzios. Just because it sounded great on the Vox in Guitar Center doesnt mean it will fit in my rig. I doubt it will have metal trouble, but I test my instruments IN-AND-OUT. If it doesnt stand up to all I've got for it, out goes the pick-ups and in with the only thing that COULD be the weak link of this guitar.
Clarified?
Sing Me A Song Your a Singer, Do me a wrong, your a bringer of evil. - Dio
Someone needs to take a chill pill today. :roll:
"The only way I know that guarantees no mistakes is not to play and that's simply not an option". David Hodge
Wow! Um, sure. Clarified. Carry on.........
Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin
Gotta LOVE this forum sometimes. :roll:
Sing Me A Song Your a Singer, Do me a wrong, your a bringer of evil. - Dio
Maybe it'd help a little, Met. Man, if you told us what YOUR particular amp set up is? I think I know what you're getting at - feel free to correct me if I'm off target - but I'm guessing what you actually mean is something along the lines of, "The pick ups sounded fine in the shop through a small modelling amp, but to know for sure I'd have to test them out at home through my high-end amp/head/cabs etc to see if I can get MY tone....otherwise it's the di Marzios, which I know for sure WILL get the tone I want."
Am I on the right track here?
:D :D :D
Vic
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
Someone needs to take a chill pill today. :roll:
Ditto!
Ahhhh to be young and lack patience. And people say I got cranky when I got old. :lol: Bear with us old geezers young sir MMan, you will be one of us soon enough. I just woke up yesterday and was one. :? Oh yeah, and cranky too. :lol: My son jumps all over me the same way sometimes for not quite grasping what he meant. Shhhhhh ... he might be watching. (I think it's the testosterone)
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
LOL testosterone lol.
Yes, your dead on Vic.
Sing Me A Song Your a Singer, Do me a wrong, your a bringer of evil. - Dio
my thought is that if a guitar has a weak link in it, i.e., the pickups aren't quite right, then it's clearly not the right guitar. It's one thing if you pick it up used at a killer deal, or if you play it for years then decide for something new, but if you have to replace pickups as soon as you buy it, it's not the right guitar. i would never buy a brand new guitar, with a huge retail markup, just to go spend more cash on it. That's the reason I didn't buy that SG a few months back (if you remember my post about that).
you sound like you're trying to pitch that guitar, btw. I found that sense of salesmanship to be a little distracting from your message. if you want your posts to be understood a little better, be clearer and more tactful. I feel like with what you said you are alienating the core base of this forum. I won't go into specifics but you make certain comments in your review that can be offputting. I'm not trying to start something, I'm just pointing out some observations that might make everyone's experience here a little better. maybe then we can avoid the need for chill pills...you build up a tolerance to them you know :lol:
but back on topic, it looks like a nice guitar. not my style of course, but it's still nice. the chinese are making good stuff.
