Original or custom Charvel?

Warren E.Warren E.
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    Warren E.

    Hi. Longtime lurker. I just cant resist ESP. Love/hate relationship. Gorgeous instruments . Yet I have not enjoyed the ones I owned. An old M-II, a KH 202, and a ludicrously overpriced bolt on Hammett version. Do they take getting used to? Are they hard to set up properly? Am I an idiot? Almost wonder if I got a fake or a second at some point. Sold them all without regret.

    There is something about the brand, maybe it's marketing. Doesn't hurt that I love Vernon Reid and am listening to Alexi Laiho lately. 

    I really dig Ibanez necks but the wizard is not what I reach for when I have 10 minutes to burn. 

    Sooo shopping a (lefty) ESP original. A popular website features high end ESP, BC Shredzilla, and a great looking Charvel San Dimas. 

    And of course i can only afford one or two good guitars.

    A "better" guitar does not yield a better player...maybe worse even...BUT it does inspire me to practice! Lately I'm more collector than player anyway....what to do?

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    espSpain
    espSpain wrote

    Hi Warren,

    Late reply, so most likely you have already made up your mind and bought/ordered a guitar by now. 

    There is not right/wrong answer to your question, as it boils down to your personal preference and what makes you tick and want to practice/play.

    I have owned my fair share of guitars across quite a few price ranges. Of the latest I’ve owned, I absolutely loved a 2019 Ibanez RG550 Genesis, but did not care at all for a Suhr Standard. For some reason the €1k Ibby made me want to play, but the €3k Suhr wasn’t inspiring me at all.  As you can easily guess, the Suhr didn’t last long.


    To cut an already long story short, try as many guitars as you can (even different samples of the same model) and pick the one that makes you grin like a loon. That’s likely the one that’s going to make you want to play the most.

    Cheers,

     

    Jose

     

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      Warren E.
      Warren E. wrote

      Hello Jose and thanks so much for the reply. I have not made a big ESP move yet but send a lot of inquires and scour ebay/dealer websites. Also ordered a Schecter Banshee. Should be cool. Knowing I should save for the kids' college fund and play what I own, I do find motivation to practice when something like your RG550 inspires. I dolove the old Vernon Reid era ESP look and wonder if the new Jem Pia will be made lefty. Hard to decide without living with a neck for a while.  Thanks again. 

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