Jakem
Well-known member
I'm in Helsinki so I thought I'd visit couple of distributor stores. I tested some guitars and here are a couple of thoughts on them.
Gibson LP Custom (Ebony,CS, 2007) - This was one of the worst sounding guitars I've ever played. It was very similar sounding to Vai's Jem20th which has an acrylic body. The body was so dead sounding it isn't funny anymore. It was like if someone had glued the neck on a brick because the body didn't resonate at all! Finishing quality and playability were nice though (except for the crooked tuner pegs which weren't in line no the back
).
ESP Eclipse FT Sun (Amorphis' Esa Holopainen sig model) - Damn this guitar sounded nice! Such a thick LP tone and great playability. If the guitar had better colors I'd probably have buyed it! This guitar got me GASsing for a FT glossy white or black Eclipse because the specs are almost the same. Pups, color and inlays are the only differences between those two models AFAIK.
ESP Eclipse I CTM GBK - Regular Eclipse which looks nice but sounds nothing like a real LP which isn't a surprise. I didn't like the tone at all so it kinda ruined it for me. Playability was a lot better on the Esa Holopainen Eclipse as was the tone.
Tokai Ebony LPC with an unfinished neck - Finishing quality was bad on the binding and the fretwork left a lot to be desired. There was a lot of buzzing and even dead zones on the fretboard. I dunno what positive to say about this guitar.
I also tested a Mesa MarkV head thru a stiletto 2x12 cab for a very short period of time on channel 3 only. It sounded like, surprise surprise, Mark series amps but leads sounded strange for some reason. Can't really comment this amp because I tested it for so short period of time and at low volumes (Variac + 5W).
-Jaakko
Gibson LP Custom (Ebony,CS, 2007) - This was one of the worst sounding guitars I've ever played. It was very similar sounding to Vai's Jem20th which has an acrylic body. The body was so dead sounding it isn't funny anymore. It was like if someone had glued the neck on a brick because the body didn't resonate at all! Finishing quality and playability were nice though (except for the crooked tuner pegs which weren't in line no the back
). ESP Eclipse FT Sun (Amorphis' Esa Holopainen sig model) - Damn this guitar sounded nice! Such a thick LP tone and great playability. If the guitar had better colors I'd probably have buyed it! This guitar got me GASsing for a FT glossy white or black Eclipse because the specs are almost the same. Pups, color and inlays are the only differences between those two models AFAIK.
ESP Eclipse I CTM GBK - Regular Eclipse which looks nice but sounds nothing like a real LP which isn't a surprise. I didn't like the tone at all so it kinda ruined it for me. Playability was a lot better on the Esa Holopainen Eclipse as was the tone.
Tokai Ebony LPC with an unfinished neck - Finishing quality was bad on the binding and the fretwork left a lot to be desired. There was a lot of buzzing and even dead zones on the fretboard. I dunno what positive to say about this guitar.
I also tested a Mesa MarkV head thru a stiletto 2x12 cab for a very short period of time on channel 3 only. It sounded like, surprise surprise, Mark series amps but leads sounded strange for some reason. Can't really comment this amp because I tested it for so short period of time and at low volumes (Variac + 5W).
-Jaakko
It is surprising also due to the good reviews from guys that went to NAMM that seemed to really like it.
