Edwards E-LP-92CD/P Arrival & Review

[Udonitron]

Hey guys

So I finally decided to bite the bullet and buy a newer guitar instead of a vintage. I had my reservations as I would rather invest in some older Japanese made wood vs. newer Chinese made mystery wood lol however the price was so stupid, the praises on this forum are too good, and the pups are too darn creamy to pass any of this up. It arrived packaged well beyond belief but as many have said, I was amazed at the weight once I had it out of the packing.

The fit and finish of the guitar overall is very good, it could have been excellent and here is why:

- Inlays are well done, the ebony fretboard is pristine, the frets are not too bad but they still could have been dressed a little better. From the 12th fret on, they still have some sharper edges that should have never been OK'ed from quality control but I can fix that without too much sweat.

- The nitro has been done in a nice satin finish vs glossy and I dig that big time. I had always wanted a black custom but this one made me bite due to the Duncan P90's in a custom set up with the nice aged binding etc. There are a few spots on the top of the guitar where it looks like dust was present and was sprayed over with the nitro...another QC issue that should have been caught...especially on a $1100 or so retail guitar!? I tried to capture a few of the 6 or 7 spots that are not a HUGE deal but still irks me One shows up on the horn and one near the selector switch.

- One last QC issue that I was surprised about is how the made a mistake on the routing lip via the back toggle port. You can see in the pic that a few little chunks must have came out and they just painted over it to try to fill in the damage...this is caused from a dull router bit and once again should never have been passed as OK. These are all minor gripes but it makes me wonder about the final inspection in Japan via the ESP reps and how they either got lazy or just said this one kosher?

OK, on to the good stuff. The neck fits right into a 59 radius and feel...really comfy and not massive or slim. The SD P90's scream and sound so good in this guitar. I took off and looked into the control cavity and the grain of the wood sure looks identical to mahogany but as it has been discussed here heavily, it must be of the SEA variety due to density and weight thereof. After playing this and comparing it to a Honduras mahogany based guitar, I can honestly say that the Edwards sings and resonates equally or better, possibly due to the lower density wood? The weight difference is about a pound to 1.5 more under my Greco custom and is nice to have that option when you do not want to stand with a 10.5 or so lbs plank over your shoulder. No chambering at all, just a lower density farm raised SEA wood.

Anyway, I will make this lame review brief but I hope it helps people out who are considering to buy this or any other Edwards guitar as they are sweet and impressive instruments and a foundation to what China is possible of int he guitar world. Imagine 20 years from now...these will be the new or additional collectibles I am sure Thanks for reading and enjoy the pics.

[Nicks classic]

if you tell me where you live ill spare your life!
THAT IS GORGEOUS!!!!!
nice review to ive been looking into one of these nice to know they are worth the money

[tonebone]

you dog


Beauty!

I'm thinkin that's a discontinued item. Aged binding, and . . . Edwards appears goldish?

Pulled the pups yet? Curious as to whether it's all mahog (whatever...).

Controls. Are they Nobles?


Mine has the same "oopsy" at the toggle port, if that makes you feel better. . .

[tonebone]

I am pretty proof postive this is a discontinued model. I can shed more light on it when I get my '04 catalog.

udo, please pm me the details on this purchase? It appears to be an oldie, and I'm way curious about it.

[Udonitron]

Tone...email you jerk! You never do anymore!

Yeah I think it is an older model...the original owner hardly used it from the looks of it but everything is gold and aged on it. Looks 100 times better than the new white bound ones.

[tonebone]

Lost your addy.

Why? Hmm, there's a story there . . .

I'm pm'in' my address to you again.



Oh yeah, you got an oldie for sure! Prob very low production numbers on that one.

[rideski]

Wow! Gorgeous guitar. Been lusting after an Edwards for a while but haven't pulled the trigger on one yet.

[Udonitron]

ESP got it right combining P90's on a Custom....brilliant!

[slowhand0461]

Sweet Guitar... Welcome to the Edwards owners Guild... You may find yourself forgetting your Gibson....

[Udonitron]

Haha I sold and forgot my Gibson's a year ago...all that $$ went to funding these Japanese guitars. I will never look back man

[w00dsy]

sweet guitar, i got my Eddy the other day and love it to bits. I checked mine for similar issues that yours had and i couldn't see anything. It's the main problem with buying sight unseen. You just cross your fingers and hope it's ok. Great looking guitar though.

[Zoober]

I've been looking at the Edwards for a while and now I got the fever bad. Great looking axe man! Congrats

[the foreigner]

it says `05 on the back of the headstock.

[Udonitron]

They all do no?...every Edwards I have seen starts with 05. The date and batch # etc are hidden in the convoluted serial lol

[the foreigner]

no.

[Udonitron]

Well OK then.

[JackofAllTrades53]

Originally Posted by Udonitron

Well OK then.

My thoughts exactly Congrats on the Edwards! I'm in the market for one at the moment. Thanks for the reviews and pics!

[AlvisX]

I had one of those . I dug it pretty well .Only did 3 gigs with it before a roadie left a trailer door unlatched....

[the foreigner]

.two of mine have no serial numbers and my SG is an `04...the white SG custom I sold was an `04 the 335 type was as well...can`t remember what my junior is but I`ve had it for at least 6 years, got it at a closing out sale locally. Theres an `04 priced at under $400.oo in town, they are quite cheap here on the used market...hope you didn`t pay more than that.

[Udonitron]

Originally Posted by JackofAllTrades53

My thoughts exactly Congrats on the Edwards! I'm in the market for one at the moment. Thanks for the reviews and pics!

Cheers, they are impressive for sure! I am sure you will be happy. I would love to get the Page replica 130 with Antiquity pups!

Originally Posted by AlvisX

I had one of those . I dug it pretty well .Only did 3 gigs with it before a roadie left a trailer door unlatched....

Aw ouch!! That sucks...did insurance cover it?

[Mr. Right]

Looks incredible. Didn't epiphone also do a black version with the yellowish binding and inlays on the headstock? I think I saw one just the other day. Anyway, cheers and happy playing and guitar collecting.

Mr.

[Udonitron]

Hey Mr. Thank you sir! I need to start resisting this now...it is getting bad

[Mr. Right]

Originally Posted by Udonitron

Hey Mr. Thank you sir! I need to start resisting this now...it is getting bad

Um no, not a bad thing at all. You're doing it right.

Mr.

[the foreigner]

EDWARDS E-LP-98LTS - Yahoo!??????


http://page7.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/g82582378

[0x00]

Originally Posted by Udonitron

They all do no?...every Edwards I have seen starts with 05. The date and batch # etc are hidden in the convoluted serial lol

Serial on my 98-ltc starts with 04.

I always try to check out your threads man... very nice instruments.

[Dave1968]

I must've missed this thread.. Nice Custom there Udi!! Im liking those P90's, You have good taste!!

[w00dsy]

the serials are pretty easy to figure out, mine is ED0938661

ED for Edwards
then the year it was made for example = 09
then the week of the year = 38
then the day of the week = 6th
and then the number from that day = 61st

i think that means my guitar was made Sept 12th 2009.

[Udonitron]

Ah OK...so then mine was made on Feb 1, 2005 and #27 off the line?

Originally Posted by Dave1968

I must've missed this thread.. Nice Custom there Udi!! Im liking those P90's, You have good taste!!

Cheers Dave, your praises are always welcomed mate

[tonebone]

Originally Posted by Udonitron

Ah OK...so then mine was made on Feb 1, 2005 and #27 off the line?



Cheers Dave, your praises are always welcomed mate

Or maybe just the 27th to be boxed up that day. It's be nice if they kept excellent records of their product and procedures. They don't.

Like I said before, don't go thinking the serial number on Edwards are gospel as to when it was made. I got this info from an ESP insider.

Don't know why we have this desire to pin down all the particulars on our stuff, in this case, guitars. I have it too. It's been hard to accept I'll prob never know when my Ed was made for sure. Or where. There's still some out there saying some (some, not all, not a couple, just some) Ed's are MIJ, totally. Who the frick knows for positive, absolutely. I know I don't.

I have an old chev 4wd that I needed to check the VIN number to find out where it was made, what options it came with. And it wasn't all that important to find it out, I just had to know.

[tonebone]

Ya know, I just get this nagging feeling that their inventory procedures aren't quite up to snuff.







photo's courtesy of gibiphone.