ESP MX 250 VS Gibson Explorer

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ko112
Hi, I have owned and traded a few ESP's over the course of the last 5 years, and finally I have been playing my KH2 vintage for 6 months and to me, it's the best all around guitar I've played. Now, I needed a secondary guitar, one which I could quickly tune differently, so no floyd rose needed. I decided to purchase The 1984 Gibson explorer reissue, (apline white with EMG 60 + 81 - truly beautiful guitar) brand new and I was lucky enough to find one. On to the tough part... having only owned ESP's I can't help but notice there is a significant difference in quality between my Gibson and the ESP's Ive owned... so much so that I'm debating returning the Gibson guitar, and jumping on a mx250 on ebay. No matter how many times Ive had it set up, I cant get rid of the fret buzz, and the guitar just wont stay in tune (gibson explorer) Is it worth trading up to a MX 250? I mean the difference in price is quite substantial. Will I notice a difference in quality? any help is appreciated.
vitod

Well, based on the comments here. People have complained about their Gibby's and have married their ESP's.;)

Dark Alone

Having played both, the ESP is nicer in the fit & finish department. But it's not double the price nicer. To me anyway.

andrei

are those real inlays? it looks to me as if they're not in the middle o the board.
the drawings aren't bad, allthou a bit colorful for my taste and the classic line of the EXP.

but the Eclipse is just... wow! i think it turned out great.

how did you make the graphics, are they on the finish... or stickers?

sean106OCD

are those real inlays? it looks to me as if they're not in the middle o the board.
the drawings aren't bad, allthou a bit colorful for my taste and the classic line of the EXP.

but the Eclipse is just... wow! i think it turned out great.

how did you make the graphics, are they on the finish... or stickers?

Just graphic decals. Nah the inlays are lined up perfectly. I made sure and actually used a ruler for that. Pic angle I suppose. ;) The MX is my beater axe :rollin:rollin

gothicpheonix

maybe you should check out a real 80's gibson explorer for comparison, i have a black 1985 and have never had any issues with it and ive been using it for over a year now

phil

Is it worth trading up to a MX 250? I mean the difference in price is quite substantial. Will I notice a difference in quality?

Well that depends if your auditory and tactile senses are functioning properly.

Short answer: Yes.

andrei

where do the edwards explorer fit in this story (if at all) quality/tone/payability wise?

they also go for about 800usd... are they below gibson?
are they worth the money?

Colin Parks ESP Artist

I have owned about 7 explorers, the best one I have ever played including my Jh1 Was an E2 gibson explorer to be honest.

But If i was you I would get an ESP if you cant get a e2 explorer, the custom shop mx series are fantastic.

Gfunk

JH1 is a vee, correct?

Speaking of which, where are pics of that white DV8?

Dark Alone

I'll defend my 84 Reissue to the death. It sucks that there's gimped ones out there, but I made sure to snag a quality one and I fucking love it.

Dark Alone

That's because Gibsons are finished with Nitro as opposed to Poly. Nitro is much softer and takes a great deal of time to fully harden. And if there's a problem with it going flat in the upper frets, try a setup sometime.

sean106OCD

I can't even comment on the Gibby Explorers as it has been like 10 years since I had one and EMG'd it out. I just love my MX's. Can't wait to haer the tonal differences of the new ones.

Why can't it be 2-3 months morefor them ?????:|:|:|:|

*crys*

Metfuk

That's because Gibsons are finished with Nitro as opposed to Poly. Nitro is much softer and takes a great deal of time to fully harden. And if there's a problem with it going flat in the upper frets, try a setup sometime.

Then why do the fuckers still use nitro? If cheap guitars use something else, and it feels even better, then I really don't understand why Gibson have to use nitro.
And to comment on the harding time: The guitar is 10 years old now! Come on!

It has been setup more than a year ago and it plays so nice that I don't wanna fuck with it.

Dark Alone

Because that's how they've always done it, and people would probably freak if they changed. There are people who insist nitro sounds better than poly.

And guess what, if it's been more than a year, it's way past time to get your guitar setup.

Metfuk

And guess what, if it's been more than a year, it's way past time to get your guitar setup.

Yeah but if it ain't broke don't fix it right? Yes I know it's running flat, but it already did that just before and after that setup.
Still it's not the frets being off because we checked their position with harmonics. The action isn't really high either...so I don't get it.

Fordman65

If you have gone that long without a setup then yes it is broke. You really need to get some neck relief in there. I am sure you have changed strings at somepoint and if you haven't you don't ever play it. If it's that flat you really need a good setup plus with giving the neck some relief your frets stand a better chance of not getting fucked up.

Metfuk

If you have gone that long without a setup then yes it is broke. You really need to get some neck relief in there. I am sure you have changed strings at somepoint and if you haven't you don't ever play it. If it's that flat you really need a good setup plus with giving the neck some relief your frets stand a better chance of not getting fucked up.

So it basically comes down to loosen the truss rod a bit and to cover that up I need to lower the bridge?

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andrei

great site you got there! abolutely sick - i love it!

the stuff also sounds good.

Colin Parks ESP Artist

great site you got there! abolutely sick - i love it!

the stuff also sounds good.

Thanks dude for the positive comments on my band, much appreciated.

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Curt Daddy

also want a ken lawerence how much those go for.

chevy Z 302

^~6.5k+

emg32

^~6.5k+

And a 2 or more year wait time.

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heavenremains

Can always re-fret the guitar. Thats what I'm doing to one of my explorers right now. Running me around 200 bucks.

Metfuk

Can always re-fret the guitar. Thats what I'm doing to one of my explorers right now. Running me around 200 bucks.

I'm able to re-fret myself, but I really don't think that's nescessary. :lol First I should do a fret levelling job, I think that will do the trick just fine.

gainiac

I've got two KLs on order, so we'll see. The Explorer style KL will have a mean MX-2 and a very sweet vintage 1984 Gibson to go up against when it arrives. Not to mention a Hamer Korina Standard. Explorers rawk, no matter where they come from.

The other KL I have on order is more experimental...will have lots of inlay on the body, and we're still in the design process. Lord knows how long it will take, but I have other guitars to tide me over - that's the trick for a KL customer dealing with the wait time!

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