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nickname009
Published on 04/12/11 at 19:13
BODY : Alder
Made in Japan. Edwards electric based off the alexi laiho V.
NECK : Hard Maple 3P
FINGERBOARD : Ebony, 24frets w/White Binding
INLAY : Scythe
SCALE : 25.5 inch (648mm)
NUT (width) : Lock Nut (42mm/R2)
JOINT : Neck-thru-body
TUNER : GOTOH SG360-07
BRIDGE : Floyd Rose (FRT-1000)
PICKUPS : EMG HZ-H4
CONTROL : Volume
COLOR : White with Black Pin Stripe
UTILIZATION
Flying Vs are an acquired taste. They look great on stage but can be difficult to some players to play when sitting down. You have to have it at the 'classical' position to get anywhere with it, which some players just simply can't get used to doing all the time. Though aside from that, the rest of the guitar is great.
The 24 frets are easily accessible with the neck through construction. The trem is a high quality original floyd rose and I've even noticed that the floyd route is deeper than most, allowing you to pull up VERY high. I've been able to get it to pull up about 2 whole tones! Even most Charvels or Jackson floyd routes aren't so deep! I know, I've owned a few jackson RRs.
Otherwise it's easy to use, one pickup one volume. No fuss. Very clean look.
SOUNDS
The sound itself is the biggest downfall. I never really understood how alexi put up with a pickup like this. It doesn't sound good to me at all. The EMG HZ has got to be one of the worst guitar pickups in its series. It's a passive 'version' of the EMG 81 supposedly but sounds nothing like it of course. It's shrill and fuzzy, doesn't have a good clean and isn't high gain on it's own without a boost pedal or a very high gain setting on your amp.
For a guitar with one pickup, I figure it should be a versatile pickup. This one is not. I tried my best to put up with it before changing it, I did everything I can and plugged it in through many different amps, boosted it etc etc and was almost never happy with the sound. I know this is a straight forward metal guitar and I dig that, but the pickup needs to be changed in order to get any decent metal sounds. This pickup just sounds as bad as a stock pickup on a $200 guitar.
OVERALL OPINION
Good metal guitar but it needs a better pickup! Even if it is a straight forward, one trick pony it should do that trick REALLY WELL. In which case it does not with this pickup. I've changed it out a few times and experimented with a handful of different pickups over the span of a few months and decided to restore it back to original specs and restore it. It's alexi laiho's guitar and that's the pickup that he used at the time so it is of somewhat, significant importance to keep the model stock.
Anyhow, minus the pickup change the guitar is great! Edwards guitars have always been amazing, the fretwork is great, the necks are great! I actually prefer them over ESP simply because they don't have the hugely annoying ESP logo at the 12th fret of EVERY MODEL. I figure, any guitar I pay over a grand for, I don't want anymore advertisements on the friggin thing except the headstock.
So unfortunately, I want to say that the guitar is awesome. And it really is, but you need to change the pickup. Which, in my opinion is fine if the guitar was under $500. but it's not, new, it's just over a grand, and for that price one should get a guitar that is ready to go and sounds great from the beginning without needing to change pickups. So this opinion has been judged on this review as so.
BODY : Alder
Made in Japan. Edwards electric based off the alexi laiho V.
NECK : Hard Maple 3P
FINGERBOARD : Ebony, 24frets w/White Binding
INLAY : Scythe
SCALE : 25.5 inch (648mm)
NUT (width) : Lock Nut (42mm/R2)
JOINT : Neck-thru-body
TUNER : GOTOH SG360-07
BRIDGE : Floyd Rose (FRT-1000)
PICKUPS : EMG HZ-H4
CONTROL : Volume
COLOR : White with Black Pin Stripe
UTILIZATION
Flying Vs are an acquired taste. They look great on stage but can be difficult to some players to play when sitting down. You have to have it at the 'classical' position to get anywhere with it, which some players just simply can't get used to doing all the time. Though aside from that, the rest of the guitar is great.
The 24 frets are easily accessible with the neck through construction. The trem is a high quality original floyd rose and I've even noticed that the floyd route is deeper than most, allowing you to pull up VERY high. I've been able to get it to pull up about 2 whole tones! Even most Charvels or Jackson floyd routes aren't so deep! I know, I've owned a few jackson RRs.
Otherwise it's easy to use, one pickup one volume. No fuss. Very clean look.
SOUNDS
The sound itself is the biggest downfall. I never really understood how alexi put up with a pickup like this. It doesn't sound good to me at all. The EMG HZ has got to be one of the worst guitar pickups in its series. It's a passive 'version' of the EMG 81 supposedly but sounds nothing like it of course. It's shrill and fuzzy, doesn't have a good clean and isn't high gain on it's own without a boost pedal or a very high gain setting on your amp.
For a guitar with one pickup, I figure it should be a versatile pickup. This one is not. I tried my best to put up with it before changing it, I did everything I can and plugged it in through many different amps, boosted it etc etc and was almost never happy with the sound. I know this is a straight forward metal guitar and I dig that, but the pickup needs to be changed in order to get any decent metal sounds. This pickup just sounds as bad as a stock pickup on a $200 guitar.
OVERALL OPINION
Good metal guitar but it needs a better pickup! Even if it is a straight forward, one trick pony it should do that trick REALLY WELL. In which case it does not with this pickup. I've changed it out a few times and experimented with a handful of different pickups over the span of a few months and decided to restore it back to original specs and restore it. It's alexi laiho's guitar and that's the pickup that he used at the time so it is of somewhat, significant importance to keep the model stock.
Anyhow, minus the pickup change the guitar is great! Edwards guitars have always been amazing, the fretwork is great, the necks are great! I actually prefer them over ESP simply because they don't have the hugely annoying ESP logo at the 12th fret of EVERY MODEL. I figure, any guitar I pay over a grand for, I don't want anymore advertisements on the friggin thing except the headstock.
So unfortunately, I want to say that the guitar is awesome. And it really is, but you need to change the pickup. Which, in my opinion is fine if the guitar was under $500. but it's not, new, it's just over a grand, and for that price one should get a guitar that is ready to go and sounds great from the beginning without needing to change pickups. So this opinion has been judged on this review as so.