JimBobTTD Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 [color=#000000][font=Helvetica][size=3]I am in the midst of horrendous GAS. This always happens around this time of the year - the band is on a Christmas hiatus and I am on holiday and restless. Restlessness leads to internet, to music, to looking at things…to GAS.[/size][/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Helvetica][size=3]Anyway, here is the backstory:[/size][/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Helvetica][size=3]There were two things that led to me playing music: Guns N Roses and Metallica. GNR was the first band I really liked (honestly, my world changed after I saw the video for Paradise City in late 1988) and they got me into music. Metallica was the first band I discovered for myself and got me into heavier music. In early 1990, I decided I wanted to learn guitar. I had a picture of Kirk Hammett on my wall - very similar to this one:[/size][/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Helvetica][size=3][/size][/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Helvetica][size=3]That was the band, the man and the guitar that started it all for me. I know that Hammett is not particularly rated amongst many, but that is not the point. He was always my inspiration.[/size][/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Helvetica][size=3]Now to the GAS bit:[/size][/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Helvetica][size=3]I am in the market for a Floyd-equipped metal monster. It makes sense to go to the source - the guitar I have lusted after since 1990. [/size][/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Helvetica][size=3]There are dozens of versions of this guitar. Do I go for:[/size][/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Helvetica][size=3]1. The LTD KH602 version - Floyd, EMGs, neck-through, but not quite the real thing.[/size][/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Helvetica][size=3]2. The ESP KH2 version - Floyd, EMGs, bolt-on, still not exactly the real thing but about as close as I could ever get.[/size][/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Helvetica][size=3]3. The ESP M-II - Floyd, EMGs, neck-through, different controls and no skull-and-crossbones inlays.[/size][/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Helvetica][size=3]4. A Jackson with a Floyd, EMGs, bolt-on etc.[/size][/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Helvetica][size=3]Price is not exactly irrelevant, either. The LTD would be about £500, the ESP about £800, the M-II about £600 and the Jackson could be had for as little as £300. [/size][/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Helvetica][size=3]Of them, the M-II is by far the best guitar. My concern is whether I could live with the fact that it is not the guitar in the picture on my wall in 1990![/size][/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Helvetica][size=3]What do the guitarists of Basschat think?[/size][/font][/color] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhysP Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 My own personal opinions on this are: I wouldn't buy any LTD guitar - the quality is not that good IMO. ESP guitars are superb quality - I've played a lot of them & never played a bad one. A friend of mine has quite a few of them and although they are not the style of guitar I would buy myself I still love them. Secondhand Jacksons are a good bet these days as they can be had pretty cheaply. Go for US or Japanese ones though for best quality. I'd go for the M-II & by some stick on skull & crossbones 'inlays' if they're that important to you. If you can afford it buy the ESP KH2 - by the sounds of it you wouldn't really be as happy with anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykesbass Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 Got to disagree with RhysP on LTD - I used to stock them when I had a music shop and rated them highly - did have one problem guitar, but that was sorted by the distributor. There is always that little bit of extra magic with the real deal ESP, but a 600 series LTD will be a very fine guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBobTTD Posted December 29, 2015 Author Share Posted December 29, 2015 I too have once owned an LTD and found it to be a fantastic guitar. It was one of the Korean-made guitars; I have heard that they have moved production of the lower-lines to Indonesia and China and they are no longer as good. I am leaning towards the ESP M-II. Change the toggle to a stacked volume/tone and put in a toggle switch between and below the two knobs and I would be set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 I'd also check any 80s or 90s Yamaha Super Strat that you can find. No EMGs but you could always fit them if you really want to. The big plus IMO is that the Yamaha version of the FR vibrato doesn't require you to cut off the ball ends of the strings and therefore is quite a bit easier to restring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBobTTD Posted December 30, 2015 Author Share Posted December 30, 2015 Thanks for that, BigRedX. A Yamaha (or Fernandes, Charvel, or, indeed, ESP) Super Strat may be a good choice, but I'm doing this to scratch a 25-year itch, though, so it will one of the guitars mentioned above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schnozzalee Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 (edited) I would highly recommend trying out the necks on these models beforehand. I play Superstrats but only those with Stratocaster neck profiles, whereas 'shredder' necks can be so thin and wide that you cannot play with your thumb over the top and you have to adopt more of a Classical guitar technique. This is an absolute deal breaker for me, but all Superstrats have flat or compound radii and medium to jumbo frets, which is great. If the guitar has a floyd rose, the nut makes the neck narrower, so you only have to worry about the thickness front to back. I hope this helps! I've always found Jackson and Charvel very playable, although Fender doesn't finish the frets very well on them and they tend to be sharp! You won't have this problem with ESP. I hate Ibanez necks. Edited January 1, 2016 by Schnozzalee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBobTTD Posted January 1, 2016 Author Share Posted January 1, 2016 Thanks for the info, Schnozzalee. You make a very valid point. The good news is that I know the necks and I know I get along with them - they are thin, but not Ibanez shredder-thin. When I first started learning the guitar, I had a classical and a teacher (who simply [i]did not[/i] [i]understand[/i] that I wanted to play like Kirk Hammett) who taught me to play with my thumb at the back of the neck. In retrospect, this was a good thing; I never played with my thumb over the neck, even though I sometimes wanted to as I thought it looked cooler. I have an ESP - an Eclipse II CTM (the Les Paul Custom copies) - that is one of the most wonderfully created instruments I have ever had the pleasure of playing. For a short while, I also had an LTD M400 which was 90% of the way there but very heavy. Hence, I am leaning more and more towards the M-II - ESP quality, the right sounds, albeit without exact appointments of the Hammett signature. Although, thinking a bit more, it might be possible that the M-II would be better as it would become my guitar rather than be someone else's. It is also somewhat local to me, so I would be able to try it first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBobTTD Posted January 10, 2016 Author Share Posted January 10, 2016 I picked up an ESP M-II today. What a guitar! Neck-through, EMGs, Floyd, a few dings and scratches and fantastic tone. I'm a happy bunny! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBobTTD Posted February 27, 2016 Author Share Posted February 27, 2016 Today, I stripped it and gave it a thorough cleaning, then an oiling and a polish. I switched the Floyd block for a big brass one, changed the tremolo claw for a thick brass one and changed the springs for noiseless ones. A new set of strings (perhaps a new gauge? I'm a bit unsure of what was on it when I bought it). Now, the guitar really sings. Joy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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