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are there any ESP guitars which come close to a Historic ?

Dr. Green

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 12, 2018
Messages
683
any of you guys who have played or owned ESP guitars .... anything come close to a Historic Les Paul tone wise ?

( and for a lot less money )
 

Maitreyoda007

New member
Joined
Sep 3, 2021
Messages
2
Hi,
Yes, Navigators are some of the best Les Paul. The woods, the finish, all the hardware are very high level.
My N-LP550 with Wizz pick-ups and bumble bees.
The sound is crazy and for a third of the price of a R9 it kills!

some specs here : https://espguitars.co.jp/product/5876/
 

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Nobody_G13

Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2021
Messages
19
Navigators!!!
But Edwards and GrassRoots are pretty darn decent as well..
The Navigator guitars have a very respectable reputation all over the world,and now approaching almost $4k usd which is literally used Gibson R8-9-0 territory..
The Edwards would be next in line in terms of quality
And the Grassroots (which I actually own one) would be the next level under Edwards
All Esp owned guitars go through extreme qc at ESP in Japan, and they'll knock guitars off the line for the smallest issue or defect, as in Japan everything is done with honor and to allow an instrument out of their possession bearing their name with defects is a problem that could bring dishonor to them and that's worse than death for the Japanese..
I'll sum it up like this

A new Navigator(Japanese) with historic specs is around $4k usd plus shipping and on top of that a customs fee(you'll have to purchase from Japan) ,so you're better off buying a used Gibson R series..

A used Navigator in America will set you back $2-$3k which is new Gibson LP standard territory, but would be worth it for historical specs..


An Edwards(Chinese) will set you back $600-$1000+Usd given the model such as als (all lacquer series) which is new Epiphone territory, but the Edwards will definitely be better than any Epiphone or lower to mid range Gibson..

A GrassRoots (Chinese) will set you back $350-$500 usd and you'll probably have to get it from Japan, but with the current customs fees anything under $800 from Japan doesn't qualify for added fees, the GrassRoots will smoke any Epiphone with ease in stock form but at $350-$500 that leaves alot of room for mods...

All of these will get you in the ballpark of solid lp tone, but "vintage Gibson tone" is super subjective as no two sound the same..

Bare in mind everything started is subjective, you'll also have to consider long time value increases (which definitely favors Gibson) and just guitar to guitar differences as no two guitars are the same..
Just because I or someone else has an exceptional specimen from a certain brand doesn't mean they'll all be like that..
And most of all your budget plays the biggest role..
I hope this helps..
 
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