This Edwards RIPS!

RevDrucifer

RevDrucifer

Well-known member
The second MIJ LP I bought in two weeks and I’m fighting myself not to order a white one right away.

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I’ve heard so many mixed reviews on these things that I just quit looking and bought them. I’ve played enough Gibson’s to know what the shittier ones feel/sound like and there’s not a single thing on these guitars that I could say Gibson does better. The Edwards feels exactly like my buddy’s E-II Horizon III, as far as the fit, finish and overall feel goes. I heard these were being made in China with the electronics being done in Japan but I call bullshit on that. Apparently that only occurred for a very brief period before they went back to being MIJ. If they ARE making them in China, then they got REALLY fucking good at building guitars. Hell, my ‘97 Ibanez JEM wasn’t even this perfect when I bought it new back then.

I’ve had mixed thoughts about the Orville, it’s a great guitar and it sustains like a motherfucker, almost unnaturally so, especially with how underpowered the pickups are. The Edwards I bonded with immediately. Neck is slightly thinner than most LPC’s I’ve ever played, but not by much at all. A fairly meaty C. The ebony is a beautiful piece, super tight grain. Not a fan of the JB in the bridge, though. Not for what I want to do with this guitar. It might end up in the Orville if I don’t dig the Aldrich in it. I’ve got the Zakk Wylde EMG’s on the way for the Edwards, as much as I dislike EMGs sometimes. I just want this to be balls-out, NRFTW/No More Tears era Zakk-ish.

Really having a hard time not buying the white version, but I’m going to hold off until I get the Adam Jones Epiphone and see how that is. I’ll probably still end up with a white Edwards LPC. I fell for this thing enough that I could see myself buying a few of them and making them my main players.

And a family shot for shits and giggles.

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Always good when we find gear that works for us.

A white guitar would be sweet, IMO...
 
I think the whole deal with Edwards is the husk is built in China, but they're "finished" in Japan, whatever that means. Not just the electronics, but I'm guessing the fretwork and finish are done by ESP.

Do Edwards have the same headstock angles as Gibsons or is it shallower like Epis?

I really really really want an Edwards LOL.
 
I've got a 2005 white / off yellow now edwards and apart from the lower rets, mine absolutely rips. Has an ebony board and it is just smooth and a joy to play. The finish on my Schenker black/white V is also great. Also a really nice player. I'm an Edwards fan. That simple.
 
Rex Rocker said:
I think the whole deal with Edwards is the husk is built in China, but they're "finished" in Japan, whatever that means. Not just the electronics, but I'm guessing the fretwork and finish are done by ESP.

Do Edwards have the same headstock angles as Gibsons or is it shallower like Epis?

I really really really want an Edwards LOL.
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Mine does, bridge sits high as well to compensate for the pitch in the neck but action still super low.
 
RevDrucifer said:
The second MIJ LP I bought in two weeks and I’m fighting myself not to order a white one right away.

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I’ve heard so many mixed reviews on these things that I just quit looking and bought them. I’ve played enough Gibson’s to know what the shittier ones feel/sound like and there’s not a single thing on these guitars that I could say Gibson does better. The Edwards feels exactly like my buddy’s E-II Horizon III, as far as the fit, finish and overall feel goes. I heard these were being made in China with the electronics being done in Japan but I call bullshit on that. Apparently that only occurred for a very brief period before they went back to being MIJ. If they ARE making them in China, then they got REALLY fucking good at building guitars. Hell, my ‘97 Ibanez JEM wasn’t even this perfect when I bought it new back then.

I’ve had mixed thoughts about the Orville, it’s a great guitar and it sustains like a motherfucker, almost unnaturally so, especially with how underpowered the pickups are. The Edwards I bonded with immediately. Neck is slightly thinner than most LPC’s I’ve ever played, but not by much at all. A fairly meaty C. The ebony is a beautiful piece, super tight grain. Not a fan of the JB in the bridge, though. Not for what I want to do with this guitar. It might end up in the Orville if I don’t dig the Aldrich in it. I’ve got the Zakk Wylde EMG’s on the way for the Edwards, as much as I dislike EMGs sometimes. I just want this to be balls-out, NRFTW/No More Tears era Zakk-ish.

Really having a hard time not buying the white version, but I’m going to hold off until I get the Adam Jones Epiphone and see how that is. I’ll probably still end up with a white Edwards LPC. I fell for this thing enough that I could see myself buying a few of them and making them my main players.

And a family shot for shits and giggles.

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Click to expand...

Also it is nice not to worry about banging up a 1k Edwards vs a 3 or 4k gibson!
 
Rex Rocker said:
I think the whole deal with Edwards is the husk is built in China, but they're "finished" in Japan, whatever that means. Not just the electronics, but I'm guessing the fretwork and finish are done by ESP.

Do Edwards have the same headstock angles as Gibsons or is it shallower like Epis?

I really really really want an Edwards LOL.
Click to expand...

A buddy of mine who is generally quite knowledgeable with guitar brand histories had this to say about it-

The China thing is basically a myth. There was apparently a brief period around 2010 when they were having the cutting and basic assembly done in China with lumber shipped in from Japan, but the final assembly and finishing work (the stuff that matters) was done back in Japan. That only lasted a couple years at most--all of that back and forth can't possibly have made economic sense.
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I’ve only got internet rumors to go off of as these weren’t even on my radar until recently, from a purchasing standpoint, anyway. Comparing my buddies E-II to this thing, like I said, they feel identical, not the specs, but everything else about the build and finish. I don’t mean ‘kinda like it’ All Gotoh hardware, too boot.

Just like Kapo said, the bridge is pretty high to compensate for the angle. The Orville isn’t as high, I’ll try to remember to post a comparison shot later. That’s the best side-view I have on my phone right now. I had to raise the action a bit because it was LOW.


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Edwards discontinued all their Gibson-esque guitars in September, so the chances to score a new, unplayed one are going to get slimmer and I doubt the prices are going to drop. If you want to get one, now is the time to do it!
 
RevDrucifer said:
A buddy of mine who is generally quite knowledgeable with guitar brand histories had this to say about it-



I’ve only got internet rumors to go off of as these weren’t even on my radar until recently, from a purchasing standpoint, anyway. Comparing my buddies E-II to this thing, like I said, they feel identical, not the specs, but everything else about the build and finish. I don’t mean ‘kinda like it’ All Gotoh hardware, too boot.

Just like Kapo said, the bridge is pretty high to compensate for the angle. The Orville isn’t as high, I’ll try to remember to post a comparison shot later. That’s the best side-view I have on my phone right now. I had to raise the action a bit because it was LOW.


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Edwards discontinued all their Gibson-esque guitars in September, so the chances to score a new, unplayed one are going to get slimmer and I doubt the prices are going to drop. If you want to get one, now is the time to do it!
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Good to note! I was kicking around the idea of getting another one and might have to if this is in fact the case. Will the same go for the Shenker Gibson V lawsuit design as well? I imagine so as it is dead on to shape and headstock from what I can see.
 
Just found this article about Edwards and China, I can certainly buy what it’s selling, that said, it’s entirely based off the ”evidence” from an e-mail that was posted on a guitar forum. Not exactly hard evidence, but I don’t find it unbelievable.

https://vintagejapanguitars.com/edwards-esp-made-in-japan-or-made-in-china-guitars/
tl;dr- In 2009 ESP set up it’s own factory in China where the woodwork and painting was done, with electronics and setups being done in Japan. It’s a small shop with about 130 employees and they’re trained and managed by ESP, it’s not a big factory that spits out other brands like Cort.

Pretty fuckin’ crazy that they sent supplies from Japan to Russia, then had it freighted via train to China, to be sent back to Japan again.
 
Kapo_Polenton said:
Good to note! I was kicking around the idea of getting another one and might have to if this is in fact the case. Will the same go for the Shenker Gibson V lawsuit design as well? I imagine so as it is dead on to shape and headstock from what I can see.
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Your guess is as good as mine, I’ve just been reading posts around the Edwards FB group or whatever I’ve seen when DuckDuckGo’in the company.
 
Edwards are fantastic. I have the same one but with P90's. It SMOKES my 2007 Gibson LP custom. So much so that I want to get my Gibson plek'd so I don't feel like I have an overpriced hunk of junk that's only nice to look at. Congrats on your new baby.
 
thenine said:
Congrats.

Did your pedalboard too. Lets see a full pic of that!
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Not overly exciting, but that was/is my live rig when I was gigging. I’ve been in Fractal land for about 5 years, still strong prefer coming out of actual cabs and the last few months I’ve been going on a dirt pedal binge. I’m building an all amp/pedal based rig for shits and giggles, mostly going towards Gilmour/EJ tones, so there’s always a few pedals in front of it while I figure out what I want to assemble into a rig.

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Congrats; great when an untried guitar purchase goes well!

I’ve had 2 Edwards; a Sykes from 99 and a black one like yours from 06. Very cool. Then, 5 Grecos which are a little more ‘exact’ LP copies with the right carve, neck etc. The cheapest Greco I had, sounded incredible with most complex heavy tone I’ve ever heard. Stupidly sold it. Have a 1980 now and it’s killer..
You can’t go wrong with these MiJ LPs as long as you read up on them to avoid certain years that ‘might’ be substandard.
 
Racerxrated said:
Congrats; great when an untried guitar purchase goes well!

I’ve had 2 Edwards; a Sykes from 99 and a black one like yours from 06. Very cool. Then, 5 Grecos which are a little more ‘exact’ LP copies with the right carve, neck etc. The cheapest Greco I had, sounded incredible with most complex heavy tone I’ve ever heard. Stupidly sold it. Have a 1980 now and it’s killer..
You can’t go wrong with these MiJ LPs as long as you read up on them to avoid certain years that ‘might’ be substandard.
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Hey man... hope all is well. What are some good year Greco's? Im actually in the hunt for a great LP style MIJ.... Have my R0 as main axe but looking for something as backup or just to sub in once in awhile. Have Wolfetone Timbre Wolf/Marshallhead set to throw in one so not worried about electronics. Greco's and Orville by Gibsons have always peaked my interest a bit. Cheers
 
We should sticky a thread on " Best Year MIJ LP's" so we have it as reference. I have a 2005 MIJ Edwards, can vouge for that year at least. The argument made/assembled/finished in China or Japan argument doesn't even factor in for me. As long as Edwards Japan had the final look over and made sure it all was up to par, who cares. That's MIJ for me. How many times do you see a 300$ MIC piece of crap get sent to a luthier and then turns out to be killer with fret work and new hardware/electronics? A body cut in China doesn't spell doom for a guitar.
 
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