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ESP M-II w/ maple board, thoughts??


mightyjoeyoungxnj

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This guitar is very appealing to me, but I have a couple issues with it:

 

Alder body. I wish it was a mahogany body, although I have never owned Alder. Does it sound thin in comparison w/ mahogany?? I'm talking D standard or C# rhythm tones for this. I want a thick chunky sound.

 

And upper fret access. From the pics it looks like upper fret access might be a bit restricted. I hope it's not as bad as my '87 RG550. That thing is a bitch to access the upper frets.

 

-Joe

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I have a 25th aniversary esp mIII. M2 with a single coil in the middle. It is one of those guitars that I could never sell.

Alder is bright but that will just help it cut in the mix. with emg 81's it really gives it a kirk hammet, metalica vibe. It's not his sig model but it is no wonder he chose it.

It is better playing and feeling than the jem I have.

with the new price drop at esp you cant lose.

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I had one for 1 month. Sold it due to money problems, I regret selling it.

The neck was butter, the fret acces was great. ESP shaves some of the heel joint so it isn't as clunky. The damn thing nearly played itself. It also sounded pretty damn full and thick for being an alder bodied guitar. I was surprised by this especially having a smaller body (with floyd rose) than my strat.

I don't think you can go wrong with it IMO! :thu:

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MII is my dream guitar, only i'd prefer one with rosewood fretboard.

i played one in a music store a week ago and it was just plain perfect.

 

ok it was a bit brighter than the eclipse ive played but in no way thin.

in germany they are far out of my reach even used. what do these guitars go for used in the states?

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Hehehe, another one on my list man. I dig Caparisons for sure, I used to own a Walnut Horus. Only bad part is the wait time when ordering from Japan. Then again I don't have the $$ right now for it, so that's also possible.


-Joe



CLICK HERE

They have it here. Translates to about $1365 before shipping.:eek:

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Man, finding the perfect guitar is hard!


-Joe




Tell me about it. I've got about $3,500 to spend right now. The two guitars that I want most other than maybe going custom are the ESP M-1 and the Caparison pictured above - but with the fixed bridge. Neither are readily available.

I have an alder Jackson SL2HT. I like the guitar alot and it is not that bright at all. I just prefer mahogany as well so I think I'm going to sell it too.

P1010034.jpg

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Tell me about it. I've got about $3,500 to spend right now. The two guitars that I want most other than maybe going custom are the ESP M-1 and the Caparison pictured above - but with the fixed bridge. Neither are readily available.


I have an alder Jackson SL2HT. I like the guitar alot and it is not that bright at all. I just prefer mahogany as well so I think I'm going to sell it too.


P1010034.jpg



I hear you bro...I'm sick of being half happy with my purchases, so the next one I make will be a keeper.

-Joe

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I don`t think you can go wrong with any of the ESP M-series guitars. I`m not big on maple fretboards, but if I was I would definitaly go for that M-II. I actually have already ordered one of the new M 1`s that Matt mentioned. It should be in soon. I hope. I`ll post up and let you know how the alder body works with the 81 in the bridge.

As far as alder being too bright. Well, I think that is bull{censored}. IMO, that`s one of the least true internet facts that there is. Just think about the thousands and thousands of metal and hard rock songs that feature guitars with an alder body. Look at all of the pro artists that use Jackson USA models. Almost all of those guitars are alder bodies with maple necks and they don`t sound thin. I think alder is a pretty well balanced tone wood. It doesn`t have the big soft mid-range that mahogany does, but that keeps it tight. I`ve found alder bodied guitars to have very good bass that doesn`t get muddy with high gain. And the top end has a soft roll off that keeps it from getting harsh and strident. It also has a decent weight to it. Not too heavy and not too light.

I would go for it bro. I think you will be pleased.

Eric

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I don`t think you can go wrong with any of the ESP M-series guitars. I`m not big on maple fretboards, but if I was I would definitaly go for that M-II. I actually have already ordered one of the new M 1`s that Matt mentioned. It should be in soon. I hope. I`ll post up and let you know how the alder body works with the 81 in the bridge.


As far as alder being too bright. Well, I think that is bull{censored}. IMO, that`s one of the least true internet facts that there is. Just think about the thousands and thousands of metal and hard rock songs that feature guitars with an alder body. Look at all of the pro artists that use Jackson USA models. Almost all of those guitars are alder bodies with maple necks and they don`t sound thin. I think alder is a pretty well balanced tone wood. It doesn`t have the big soft mid-range that mahogany does, but that keeps it tight. I`ve found alder bodied guitars to have very good bass that doesn`t get muddy with high gain. And the top end has a soft roll off that keeps it from getting harsh and strident. It also has a decent weight to it. Not too heavy and not too light.


I would go for it bro. I think you will be pleased.


Eric

 

 

I agree about alder being too bright...I don't think it is either..if anything, it's really balanced...fender's been makin' strats outta alder for years....and well, the proof is in the pudding now innit =D

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