NGD: Les Paul Custom by ESP Edwards

[GuitarIV]

So a little bit unexpected I got a new guitar:



This is an ESP Edwards Les Paul Custom John Sykes model. Edwards is a division of ESP that makes traditionally shaped instruments solely for the domestic Japanese market, so you can grab these only by importing them. Quality wise they are in between the LTD and E2 Series.

I have been trying to sell my ESP M-II in Candy Apple Red for almost a year now. I simply don't gel with Floyds, plus I don't play only metal anymore and dabble in Blues a lot, so all the pointy guitars have been sold over time, the only one that remains is my black ESP M-II which I'll probably keep. Blocked the Floyd on that one and it's my only 24 fretter.

Anyway, this popped up on my local auction site and the seller was willing to trade. He already paid the shipping and the taxes for it, so price wise we were even, I offered the Red M-II and we agreed to trade.


Now right out of the box I could instantly tell why he didn't keep it. The guitar was pretty much unplayed, I even had to remove the plastic foil from the pickguard and the backplates (love doing that, so satisfying). The setup was simply horrible. I plugged it in to see if it works, got a terrible fizzy and boomy tone (Seymour Duncan Distortion set in this bad boy) and the strings felt like playing bridge cables.

Ouch.

So I took the old strings off, gave the fretboard a polish and some oiling, tightened the bridge volume pot as it had become loose during shipping. Put on a fresh set of Elixir 9-46s, applied some graphite in the saddle slots, lowered the pickups (before they were almost kissing the strings), adjusted the truss rod yada yada - just a basic setup. The guitar was in need of some TLC.


Gave it a proper spin today and voila: no more boominess or fizz, plays lightning fast, feels amazing!

It's quite ridiculous what a quality instrument you get for the fraction of the price of a "real" Gibson. It's even got the long neck tenon.


I could go on writing more but for now I'll leave you with some pictures as I have to leave for work in a few minutes. Just let me say I don't regret the trade at all.

Cheers!

 

[ampeq]

HNGD! Very nice fiddle, their made in Japan stuff is very good. I have an E2 Eclipse that I put DiMarzio’s in and it’s a great guitar.

 

[lespaul339]

HNGD! Looks sharp. I dig that! I wasn't aware of Edwards before, but I'll have to keep an eye out for them.

 

[Eric'45]

That's a nice looking axe.
I hope you have ditched the Chome pickguard/ Toggle Switch chip.

 

[AlvisX]

That's a nice looking axe.
I hope you have ditched the Chome pickguard/ Toggle Switch chip.

Unfortunately , that's what makes it a "John Sykes"

 

[AlvisX]

I had a soapbar Edwards Custom , but a crew guy all excited about strippers n blow after the gig , left the trailer door unsecured ,spilling guitars out on the road . A couple were recovered , not mine

 

[Eric'45]

Unfortunately , that's what makes it a "John Sykes"

That's understood, but you have to agree: The one you had, with black/ gold hardware looks way better.

 

[GregM]

Hngd . Killer looking pickguard .
Glad you're l iiking it

 

[GuitarIV]

HNGD! Very nice fiddle, their made in Japan stuff is very good. I have an E2 Eclipse that I put DiMarzio’s in and it’s a great guitar.

I too own an E2 Eclipse. That guitar got me hooked on ESP in the first place. Great instruments, the Edwards feels just as high quality

That's a nice looking axe.
I hope you have ditched the Chome pickguard/ Toggle Switch chip.

As Alvis pointed out, that's the signature feature of the John Sykes model. I already own an Orville LPC with gold hardware, so I'm keeping the chrome on this. I kinda dig it, it's something different for a change



Anyway, I finally got to play around with the guitar a bit more:

After a proper setup now and especially after lowering the pickups the thing sounds a lot better and plays like a dream. The jumbos make it a shredder, a lot faster than my Orville LPC (which has quite low vintage style frets), still the neck profile has a nice thickness to it and the frets and the fretboard feel smooth like glass!


Now my verdict on the Duncan Distortions is pretty much the same as before: I'm not a fan. They are not bad pickups, as a matter of fact if I was still playing solely metal, and downtuned for that matter I'd be in love, but these days I need something more versatile and dynamic. These pickups bark at you with a seriously pissed off attitude, no matter how much you roll off the volume control. My JCM 800 and my Laney Ironheart both sound way better and smoother with my Alnico 5 equipped guitars.

I have a Suhr Aldrich bridge pickup lying around which I'll install next, those scream in LPs.

Also I am very happy to report: the guitar stays in tune! The nut is cut differently than I've seen on other guitars and I can go all Gary Moore on this thing, bend to heaven and back and the G-string is neither sharp nor flat - massive win!

The weight is nice for a Les Paul, 4 kilos (8,8 pounds), the finish is smooth and well executed and I really have no complaints.

Some of the frets in the upper register need a bit of leveling and as said I'll put in different pickups (and probably upgrade to CTS pots), but that's the only negatives I have found so far.

If you can grab one, go for it. With a bit of TLC these are amazing guitars for the price!

Cheers guys