Edwards E-LP-100LTC

For those who want a three pickup Les Paul style guitar, Edwards has you covered. They make a three pickup version for those who absolutely need that third pickup and want those older style Les Pauls that were made way back when. The guitar has the following specs:

Mahogany body with a maple top
Mahogany set-neck with an ebony fretboard
22 frets with Gibson-style inlays
Tune-o-matic bridge
Seymour Duncan 59 in the neck + middle and JB in the bridge
Two volumes
Two tones
Three way switch

UTILIZATION

The guitar itself wasn't put together too bad. It was fairly solid overall with few flaws. The finish was nice and free of swirl marks, the fretwork was pretty good (although the ends were a bit sharp), the guitar felt nice and everything was roughly on par with what Edwards normally delivers. However, the guitar had one major issue, and that was the middle pickup. No matter how much I try to get used to these middle pickups, I just couldn't jive with it at all. Tone aside, I kept hitting it, and to prevent that, I had to basically slam the pickup into the cavity via the height adjustment screws.

SOUNDS

The guitar sounded very nice, but I honestly feel that the magnetic pull of the middle pickup adjusted the sound slightly on the neck and bridge pickups. The bridge is a JB, and it works great for pretty much anything from blues to metal. It's got enough output to hang with the metal guys, but it cleans up nicely if you lower the volume knob a bit, too. The middle pickup is a Duncan 59. This is a great pickup, but I couldn't find much of a use for this middle pickup. It always seemed like it was lacking something. The 59 in the neck, however, was wonderful. I was able to get a nice, thick and full sounding lead tone, along with a great clean tone on this guitar.

OVERALL OPINION

If you're one of those guys who likes three pickup Les Paul style guitars, I'm sure you'd love this. However, this just isn't for me. The biggest issue I had was the middle pickup, and it seemed to ruin everything for me. Thankfully, Edwards makes more than just one Les Paul, and they have more than enough guitars to suit my needs, so I can't complain about this guitar too much.

Well, for the record, I bought the guitar seb_c_bien, so I'll tell you about the same guitar.

First, I made my inquiry, and must return the record straight ... I walked up the history of this guitar up at ESP Japan (e-mails in English, written by Japanese, I will not tell )....

It is therefore not an LP-100LTC as specified ... According ESP Japan, is an E-LP92CD / P 2005 version. As this is the same guitar, I do not redo a separate sheet ...

So the guitar, was originally fitted with 2 P90. The 92CD / P have a current white binding, a maple top and a polished finish.

So talking about ours:
Guitar wants a copy of a Les Paul Custom Black Beauty of '56, so:
- Mahogany body, table ditto (not maple this time on the black beauty);
- Mahogany neck, ebony fingerboard, abalone inlay type "custom";
- 7-ply body binding front, 5-ply back, neck and head binding, finishing "aged" (yellow what);
- Black Finish "painted" satin effect vintage wholesale;
- Tuneomatic;

Changes made to the guitar by the original owner:
- Changes in the cavities to install humbuckers;
- Added a third cavity for humbucker central;
- Installing a bigsby vibrato type;
- By changing the mechanical Gotoh;
- Change in buttons and electronic course redone.

The three microphones were installed above: SH1 in the heats, Orville a humbucker in the middle and a Gibson 500T in bridge ...

Personally, I changed a few things:
- Grounding of vibrato and string: it had been forgotten by the first owner (or so the contact was done via the support of vibrato on the ankles of the old stop bar). View ankles than a little under the bigsby, I felt it was ugly. So I placed two black markers as discrete bigsby at these locations, such as those found in the bigsby to protect the table and I connected the vibrato to ground through a wire connecting a screw vibrato and the mass of former stopbar;
- Change rings fixings humbuckers: the middle one was slightly smaller than the other two, too ugly
- Change all the screws on humbuckers (originally black) with all new beautiful golden screws;
- Replacement of a 500T SH4;
- Modification of electronics: assembly of neck and bridge pickups like a Les Paul Classic (2 volumes and 2 tone), and control means using two micro push pull;
- Creation of a pickguard adjusted by a luthier (impossible to find a pickguard for Les Paul 3 pickups in spare).

Frankly not easy to note a guitar that was modified so ... I put 8 for '56 Les Paul features and good finishing factory, can not save more because too changed ...

Edit: 23/03/2010:

Ben was so in love with my Edwards that I found another: a 100LTC LP, a real this time

Unable to write two separate opinions, so I complete the following:

The differences with the previous one:
- Much thicker 5 mm;
- Maple table;
- Seymour Duncan SH1 Neck in the neck position and middle bridge in SH4;
- Oddly, nobody seems to be satisfied with the original e-mail, it also has also been amended. The knobs have been replaced by the CTS (and therefore the holes were enlarged), the switch has been replaced by a 3 way Les Paul Classic 2 microphones and microphone means is controlled by a push-pull. So I have a config similar to the first, except that I have put only one push-pull means for coupling with the bridge. If one day I found a pickup selector 3, I would do the original mounting ...
- It is vintage white ", the class ... (Photo on my profile)

Commonalities:
- Handle even close to perfection;
- Even satin-super nice;
- Key friends, what key, perfect ebony, unbelievable for this price;
- I always look at the first failure, I see no reason why it would have ...

I increase the note, serenely ... I challenge anyone to put my Edwards would try not to appreciate ... Of terrible guitars ...

UTILIZATION

Then the handle is a big fat log Gibson rounded type (I compare with my SG Special is the same size) ... Therefore not unpleasant, but as it is shorter than the SG, it seems a tad larger in hand ...

Access to acute type Les Paul, not easy in the 16th Box ...

It is very heavy (4.6 kg on the scale), bulky frankly, what a Les Paul ...

Redone with electronics, I have 7 positions:
- Neck pickup;
- Neck and bridge pickups;
- Bridge pickup;
- + Mics handle means (controlled by the volume and tone handle);
- + Bridge pickups average (controlled by the volume and tone bridge);
- + Mics handle means (controlled by the volume and tone handle) and the bridge pickup;
- + Bridge pickups average (controlled by the volume and tone bridge) and the neck pickup;

Well, the neck and bridge pickups, it's known: SH1 and SH4 ... We will not return it. Sounds good, and with guitar in mahogany only, it sounds very heavy (sometimes too much so) ...

Adding to the neck pickup as action to reduce the output level decreases a little treble, clarifies his point that it would almost seem to have a single coil, and it gives a small effect " hollowbody. It therefore gives her a little more vintage, frankly nice and clean sound that complements the sound of the neck and bridge pickups alone.

Both positions 3 pickups are not really useful ... The assembly allows me to have them, but it does not add anything transcendent, it does not help me ...

through the microphone is sometimes inconvenient for the right hand, just type in the plectrum (I have a little down, it's going better).

Gotoh mechanics hold well the agreement, despite the bigsby, which I use very little, I must admit.

8: heavy, poor access to acute ...

Edit 23/03/2010: Edwards second, the LP 100LTC:

same weight as the first, is the normal maple top, a little thicker but not Bigsby ...

So even critical than the first, then the same note ...

Noted for two guitars, the settings are very easy and the action is very very low, with no frieze ... There's no denying they know how good at guitar ESP ...

SOUNDS

All mahogany, the sound is far too heavy for some thing. Not really a question of style, it can play everything, but mainly a question of tone: it's not a guitar solo ...

For rhythmic, rock broad, blues or jazz, on the other hand, all mahogany and the 3 humbuckers allow many things ...

7 / 10 ... less versatile than my ESP horizon with the same microphones, because of overly typed the violin ...

Edit 23/03/2010:

The second: sound very close to the first means still a little more clarity provided by the maple top (a little more acute), it's pretty subtle, but audible when one pays attention.

on the other hand I increase the score + 2: both guitars are much more versatile than I thought. No problem for the metal, it has become my guitars reference to the big sound ... Seymour Duncan thank you ...

OVERALL OPINION

I've had a good month now.

I appreciate not having the same guitar as the neighbor, a Les Paul Black Beauty '57 for that price, it's a real pleasure. The violin is downright fun. And I'm a fan of ESP, then that Edwards was quickly adopted ...

Too bad this brand reserved for the Japanese market is so rare among us, it's worth ...

I regret the shortcomings of traditional Les Paul: weight, access to acute. The third microphone is a plus and a minus: it is really nice clean sound, sometimes it's annoying when it interferes with plectrum ...

I would do this election ... Yes ... But now I want another Edwards ...

Edit of 23/03/2010:

Hey ben, as explained, I found another, and I do not regret my choice ... Two guitars very well done, very well finished, regardless of fault (except those due to the Les Paul shape) ...

Do not hesitate if you find one, you will not regret ...

I increase the overall score a bit