The ESP Guitar Company

the DKMG Dinky is nigh on half the price of the ESP.

With good reason.

You get what you pay for.

well that would mean that esp is better than jackson (judging from the price only) and even if you (maybe) wont notice that much of a difference in sound, the quality of build and wood will be much higher on ESP, and parts and hardware will wear out faster on dinky. Thats as much as I can tell you, since i have never played a dinky :) Hope this helps

Thanks Guys,

I've had my sh1tty Aria Pro II for 17yrs and I deserve a change! I had considered the LTD KH-602 but then decided that I may as well consider a M-II (much the same as a KH-2) but without the Hammett tweaks.

I've heard of some M-IIs suffering from a dead note on the 14th fret...(high E string). Do any of you guys have (or have heard of) any problems like this?

Thanks again all, the M-II is £972 in the UK so need to make sure I make the right choice.

Cheers

M-II all the way dude. I've never heard of that problem accuring with any of the M-II guitars.

MII - dead note on 14th fret? sounds like it needs a fret level.

Well since you said you had an aria pro for 17 years. Two things you need to consider.

1. Do you have the cash to throw at an MII.
2. You may not buy a guitar for another 17 years so get the better one. The MII.

Get the M-II, trust me. I've had import Jacksons these past 2 years, and I had to either sell or return them because the quality is NOT top notch ranging from the mid price to the high end import stuff, I've wasted so much time with that company it wasn't worth the hassle. I got fed up with that company so I decided to go with ESP. I bought the M-II and I was much much happy with it. Far exceeded everything else the import Jacksons have ever put out. Caraluzzo got really lucky with his Jackson, because none of the Jacksons I bought was up to par with his 1 DXMG.

Thanks for the input all.

This is a big move for me...it's not every day that I spend this sort of money on a hobby (aside from my bicycle racing) so it's good to get some feedback from informed people on the forum.

Also, I've been toying with getting a POD XT Live....are they any good?

:)

Well, the axe is on order...

I've gone for an ESP M-II NT and also treated myself to a POD X3 Live....will be another 17 years before I spend this amount again on guitar kit lol!! As soon as it arrives...pics will be up..!! wooohoooo!!!

I need to get a stand for it now....which one should I go for??

17 years? You should have got both -_-
For the stand, if you're not on a budget, get one of those 'Hercules" stands
they're like 20-30 dollars >.>
But you need a strong stand for a guitar that expensive XD
PLUS, 17 years later, if you decide to get a odd shaped guitar, it will fit on the Hercules stand!

You should try out a USA Jackson. The SL2H would be a very good comparison to the MII I think. I have an sl2h and its just friggen awesome. Quality is top notch, usa jacksons are gorgeous guitars....

Hercules stand!

ftw!

Hiya peeps,

Well, I am now in possession of the M-II, and I have a few gripes which I hope you can help with. Here goes:

1. The paint job in the recess where the floyd sits is OK...BUT...there are two scratches on the paintwork...so white primer/resin is visible...not happy.

2. The locking nut is not located centrally on the top of the finger/fretboard - this results in my top e string being pulled down towards the edge of the fret...should the distance between the string and fret edge be the same for both top and bottom e strings - thereby signalling that the lockin nut is central?

3. FRET BUZZ....loads of it..

Any thoughts peeps?

First off, where did you purchase the guitar from? If you got it from Musicians Friend or another 'chain' retailer, they sometimes get guitars that aren't quite 2nds but are lower quality than those that reach better ESP dealers. Sounds like you got one with a shitty setup, which most good shops would set up to perfection upon purchase. As for the locknut, how far off center are we talking? Try loosening the screws that hold the nut to the neck, shift it over, and retighten when you're satisfied with the end result.

I have yet to play an ESP I didn't like, as long as it was set up properly.

To be honest, paying this amount for a guitar, to have a shite setup is bloody annoying! It's been a long while since I last bought a guitar (17 yrs) so I thought I'd get something of high quality...at the moment I feel let down big time.

The locking nut edge (bottom e side) is about 5mm from the edge of the fingerboard whilst the top e is nigh on flush with the side of the fingerboard....not good at all :(

I may ask for the guitar to be replaced, what d'ya reckon?