ESP GRASSROOTS, EDWARDS

Hello Everyone:
I like many of you who play or own a guitar have always wanted a Les Paul, especially one by Gibson.
but the main problem anymore is the fact Gibson's are over-priced for what they are.
the guitar is made on an assembly line, it is not hand made unless you are getting a signature model, a historic or a special resissue.
Yes Gibsons on the most count is CNC anymore, but where's the justification in the price increase?.
but there is hope if you are not concearned about the name on the headstock.
in Japan ESP sells some guitar lines that are more or less copies of famous name brand guitars.
you have Navigator and Edwards as the Japanese models, and Grassroots as the Korean Import model,
Navigator is top of the line, geparable to Gibson's custom shop, they use aged woods and top of the line parts and electronics.
Edwards is their main line, they make a lot of copies, but their Les Pauls are top notch, they make the les pauls in both Lacquer finishes and in Poly finishes.
then you have Grassroots, some people knock this line because it is a Korean Import, well they are really decent guitars, better than an epiphone, the only main geplaint I have is the electronics, and the plastic nut, but other than that they use real woods you are supposed to find on a les paul, unlike epiphone which has been known to use alder on a lot of their les pauls.
a new edwards les paul standard in a poly finish runs around $700 - $800 US, but the guitar gees with seymour duncan pickups, not the designed ones, the real deals, and a gig bag.
an edwards les paul with a lacquer finish runs around $800 - $1,500 depending on which version you get, they have a clone of the Jimmy Page model geplete with the Jimmy Page wiring.
on the edwards models they use the following woods, mahogany for the neck and the body, a maple top with a thin flame maple laminate, now they do use non-laminate maple tops also, and they do have quilted maple on their les pauls also.
the fret boards are rosewood for the standards and ebony for the customs.
Navigator uses the same woods, but they usually use exotic woods and they do not use laminate tops.
Grassroots, there have been instances where they have not used laminate tops on their guitars, but all of their guitars use a poly finish except a few reissues such as the les paul special , a sg, and a strat, they have lacquer finishes on those.
all of the grassroots les pauls use rosewood for their fretboards except a few that have maple fretboards, they did make a Zak Wylde clone a while back that did have a maple neck.
They do not use ebony for the fretboards on their les paul customs, unless it is a special run model.
Grassroots les paul customs were made out of basswood on the older models, the newer models use mahogany for the bodies, so if you buy a used one made prior to 2009, it more than likely has a basswood body,
all grassroots guitars have a short tenon neck joint.
Edwards guitars use both a short tenon neck joint and a long tenon neck joint, usually the lacquer taste series has the long tenon neck joint, this varies on the model.
Navigator supposedly uses the long tenon neck joint on all of their les pauls.
all of these guitars gee with a gig bag only, some navigators gee with a case
go to Esp Japan's website for specs and pics on all of these guitars,
I am only posting this guide out of kindness, I have owned Gibson Les Pauls over the years, the last one was in 2001 and it was Les Paul Stanard with a Plus Top, I paid $1299.00 for it, but now the same guitar is $2200.00 and up and I cannot see the justification for that huge of a price increase.
this is why I purchased a couple of edwards les pauls and a few grassroots les pauls within the last 4 years.
In my opinion, the edwards les paul offer more bang for the buck, and you will have money leftover for that amplifier you always wanted.
Edwards, Navigator and Grassroots are not sold in the USA due to a Legal agreement made between the USA Guitar gepanies, that is why these brands are only sold in Japan.
there is a lot of honest okay sellers from Japan selling these guitars brand new, just remember the shipping isn't cheap from Japan, but in the end you will have a kick butt guitar.
take care and keep rockin
George