So, how do you put $5k worth of goodness into a guitar in a Japanese shop that can't be replicated in a Korean shop? $6,718...
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Or $1,713...

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I don't get paying big money for foreign copies.  For that kind of money you can buy a real explorer.

I have seen some absolutely beautiful used Ibanez Destroyers for sale for under a grand that would only need a pickup swap to perform like this JH model.

Meh.    If I were planning to spend that kind of money on a guitar it'd be a PRS.   ESP stopped being a brand I had any respect for the moment they created their LTD budget brand.

What major guitar brand doesn't have a budget line-up? Even PRS has a "budget brand" in their Korean guitars. I've owned five LTDs (admittedly, two of them were made in Japan), two ESPs, and an E-II and I've only ever sold one. They've all been/are great guitars. Don't shit on the LTDs just because they say LTD on them. Even Hetfield plays an LTD Viper on stage and in their Whisky in a Jar video. And Gary Holt used LTD guitars to record Repentless because his signature guitar wasn't ready in time.

Anyway, OP, I also don't get the price delta. The specs on the guitar are virtually identical. I am sure there is some extra love that goes into the craftsmanship on the Japanese model, but not $3,000 USD worth IMO. I own an LTD Snakebyte and it's an awesome axe.

I own an ESP KH2 that I bought in 2000 back when they were like $1600-$1800. I also own an EII-M2 that I bought new on clearance at 25% off ~ 1.5 years ago. They're both Japanese made and fantastic players.

I just recently sold an LTD M1000 Snow White that was Korean made that was also a great playing guitar. Having the KH2 and then buying the E-II bumped the LTD out. LTD can make some awesome guitars. ESP makes better guitars. You just have to decide if it's worth the 300%-500% price increase.

Korea and Mexico are putting out some fantastic instruments; don't ignore them.

Do you really not understand why a guitar that's hand made in a custom shop by actual luthiers would cost many times more than a guitar that's mass produced by a random Indonesian guy who knows how to use wood glue

How dare they play these disrespectful budget guitars

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People who buy the JH model buy it 99% because that's what JH plays. Those people (myself included) don't give a shrimp about an Ibanez Destroyer.

Pretty safe bet that those two are paid pretty well to play ESP guitars and are loyal to a brand that sponsored them when they were a small band.  That said, even if you plate them in gold, they are still unlicensed copies of Gibsons and Fenders.

And I'd take one of these unlicensed foreign copies over a fucking Gibson any day of the week.

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People used to say the same thing about Toyota and Honda.

Metallica was NOT a small band when they went with ESP in the late 80s.

If anything, ESP improved on the Explorer.  Short of the 1984, Gibson come up short IMO. The fugly chrome hardware, fugly pick guard, odd location of the pick-up switch, plastic & non-knurled volume/tone knobs, and pups (yes, the Dirty Fingers are aggressive but not EMG agressive). Every time I think about wanting to buy an Explorer, I grab one of my ESP Explorers and the want of the Gibson goes away.

And please tell me how they copied Fender any more than any other guitar company ever. Most all guitar companies out there that have a super strat body style; I guess Gibson doesn't but that is probably the most common body style out there. Back in the 80s could you get a Strat with 24 frets? How about a Strat with a Floyd Rose? How about a Strat with an ebony fingerboard? How about a Strat with an HH set-up? What about some EMGs or other metal style pups? Short of some one-off signature model (like the Root for example), you can't get that stuff from Fender today.

You're not giving ESP enough credit. They came into the market with hard rock and heavy metal in mind. They did it right and nabbed some of the best in the business right away (Het, Hammet, Mustaine, King, etc.). Today, who else is there? Jackson? Sure, but a shell of their former Jackson/Charvel selves IMO. Not quite the same since the Fender acquisition (same with Charvel for that matter). Schecter? Yea, they're good... but not as prominent as ESP.

ESP is the leader in that category and for metal heads like me, they rule.

Absolutely perfect.

Epiphone almost had my money when they released the 84 Explorer EX. No pickguard, controls are in the right place, and factory EMGs. Of course the actual 84 Explorers were based off the 76 Explorer reissue shape with it's slightly more pointy corners (like the MX250 I posted before). Gibson obviously realized that if Epiphone sold a version of that nobody in their right fucking mind would ever buy a Gibson Explorer ever again, so they gave the Epiphone version the original 58 Explorer shape

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And they're made in China. Maybe they're good, maybe not. Korean and Mexican guitars surely have made inroads in the past 10-15 years, maybe Chinese ones have as well. But, until proven otherwise, China and Indonesia are the lowest rungs on the ladder IMO and I'm not going to pay $700 to find out.

And, again, every time I thought about it for a brief second I'd just play one of my Japanese made EXP-200s or my ESP EXP and any want of the Epi would vanish. I'd rather put that $ towards an Olympic White ESP (or LTD for that matter) Explorer when one pops up at the right price.

Or maybe just buy a legit MX-220 EET FUK for $30k.

https://reverb.com/item/11716493-esp-mx-220-eet-fuk-olympic-white-metallica-james-hetfield-custom-explorer-mx250

Gibson actually had a few super strats briefly.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstrat

I don't feel like making a multi-quote, so here goes...

Well, for one thing, with the ESP, you're getting much better wood selection and the body isn't going to be 5 or 6 pieces glued together. And the attention to detail is going to be much better.

But that said, there's no way I'm spending that much on that guitar. For that kind of money I can get something from the Fender, Gibson, Jackson, Charvel, Suhr, Tom Anderson or other custom shop, and it'd be made exactly how I want it.

For that kind of money it better be hand made by Japan's top swordsmith...

They make great guitars, you want them to remain pigeonholed, yet you would buy a guitar brand that has literally no resale value as compared to others.

K.

PRS has two budget brands

Does that mean you don't "respect" Fender or Gibson because of Squire and Epiphone?

I just toured the ESP website and I'm not sure how to justify $5,500 for more fancy finishes on the USA models over the nicest Japanese models at $1,900.  If you read between the lines on the descriptions it's "we're extra special setting it up and checking the frets...plus exclusive paint jobs." I get it that with US models you can get a few mods but nothing you couldn't get aftermarket for a few hundred more. Interesting that almost all the models in the custom shop inventory are hardtails.

Jesus christ....  The ESP USA models are hand made in their new custom shop in North Hollywood.  I don't understand why you don't seem to get that hand made guitars cost significantly more than mass produced guitars.  And you really need to stop quoting MSRP, especially if you're going to quote MSRP for the USA guitars and actual retail for the Japanese ones

Do you also wonder why a Springfield Professional costs almost three times as much as a TRP does?

Don't like it?

EET FUK

I completely understand the cost of handmade instruments.  But when the quality appears to be there on the Japanese instruments, what are you truly gaining in terms of fit/function vs. finish?  Actually just trying to get more info from some of you that may have these.  Seems like the Suhr offerings (no neck thru though) are about 2/3 the price of the USA ESP's...

Lol I just got that

My comment was geared towards MirrorMirror...articulated weakly, albeit

I'm just a gearhead so I get that handbuilt cars and guitars are soooo nice but the wording of the sales pitches for the Japanese CS and the US CS don't seem to leave much middle ground and it leaves one wondering what you get for that extra scratch... It sounds like maybe more select fretboards and better dressing of the frets?  Seems that should be pretty squared away with the cost of the Japanese CS models IMHO.  Heck the 6yo Korean guitar I picked up is flawless as far as finish, frets, inlays, binding... Maybe getting a preferred finish and bridge would have been nice but not $3000 worth of nice

I have wanted an ESP since the 80's but still have never pulled the trigger. I love them and still really want one,  but have never been able to justify the cost.

What're you looking to spend? ESP's E-II lineup are very nice, Japanese made, guitars.

I have an E-II M-II in urban camo. MAP is $1,799 (the black ones are $1,699). I had been eyeballing one for a while, but not may places had them and $1,800 was a little too steep. I found one on sale from B&H Photo (who knew they sold guitars? ) for 25% off, free shipping, etc. So for $1,350 it was a steal and I bought it. It's a great guitar and smooth as butter. The only guitar I've played that's smoother is my KH-2, and even still, they're comparable.

So don't look past the E-II stuff, put some cash aside, and wait for a good deal.

Ltd is a top value in budget electrics. Having owned ten Ltds and three ESPs... I can tell you that the Ltds give players 90% of an ESP. Some people want to pay a premium for that final 10%. The same goes for the PRS SE line. My SE Tremonti is 90% of the pair of American CU24s that I owned. Imports in this day and age are freaking awesome.

Regarding someone's comment about China/Indonesia being the bottom tier... I disagree. I've owned probably somewhere around 150-200 guitars, and in today's product... the Mexican strats always leave me feeling VERY flat when compared to Asian instruments. I sold off my three high-end Spanish-made Cordoba flamenco, because I liked my Chinese Cordoba GK Pros better. I told Cordobas CEO that very thing when I met him in June. I've owned 14 Cordobas and the only ones left here are the Chinese ones. They're excellent. When I acquired my 1st Cordoba (a $600 GK Studio), I giggled it that night alongside my $4K Breedlove Masterclass Bossa Nova... ended up playing the cheap Cordoba all night. Sold the American Breedlove the next week. It was flawless... but didn't have the soul that the Cordoba had. I only typed all of this because the old axioms about Asian instruments being junk are now wrong. The household name American companies had better get their shit together.

Instead of owning 150-200 cheap guitars, why not own a handful of nice ones?

WTF are you talking about? I've OWNED that many guitars over the past 35 years of playing and gigging all styles. Right now there are USA-made guitars from Tom Anderson, Schecter, Breedlove, Fender and Gibson in the man cave... along with high-end Japanese ESP and Ibanez guitars. There are Friedman and Tone King tube amps. I like to collect, buy, sell, and trade all kinds of guitars... of all price levels. I've forgotten about owning more boutique gear than many players have even owned. I acquire it, I enjoy it for a time, and it gets moved along for something else.

The Tex-Mex Strat I had after I got my SRV strat was a fun guitar, raucus sounding but rough around the edges. The fit and finish on the $99 Mitchell Guitar I had recently from Asia was better in every way with exception of the paint job. The Tex-Mex was still a good platform for a project IF you have experience cleaning up frets.

That's cool then if you are treating yourself to good stuff instead of 150-200 shitty guitars.  What constitutes a high end Japanese guitar?  I looked at ESP and Ibanez websites and cannot see much customization beyond some off the shelf metal pickups or different color finishes.  No choice of neck contour, fret size, wood, etc.  Is the set up and fret work superior to other manufacturers?

I imagine that you have to place a special call to these custom shops affiliated with big brands to get your choice of woods, fret size, etc.  Even Suhr doesn't list these options on their site but I'd bet they'll give you what you want for the right price.

Red_Label has those bases covered, too. He's a bit of a cork-sniffer, but we love him anyway.

Now, you want insane cork-sniffing, meet the guy that hired me for my job and is my mentor at work. He favors Fender Masterbuilts and has John Bolin build him bespoke guitars.

Yeah, import quality has gone waaaaaaay up. I have several imports and they're all great. Their quality ranges from what I call "a good workhorse" to excellent.

But the one that really dropped my jaw was my G&L Legacy Tribute. If it didn't say Indonesia and Tribute on the headstock, you could fool me into thinking it was a USA model. Impeccable fretwork, great feel, fit and finish. The only thing that's meh, are the pickups.

Wood (They may have the same wood for the body and neck, but the quality/density/look (if the finish is see-thru) of said wood is important... the better woods go to the higher priced guitars), quality of parts (higher end FR trem system, tuners, etc. for example), craftsmanship (one luthier vs assembly line), general quality control.

A lot of time the "stats" don't tell the full story.

It is true that I've become a bit of a cork-sniffer over the years...

But I did start out and spend many years gigging cheap gear. I was even a fully pro working/touring musician during the 90s. Many cork sniffers are doctors/lawyers who rarely (if ever) gig. So I know what it's like to play on cheap gear. It used to chap my hide that I was gigging more than all of these guys around me who had all of this boutique gear. It took me a long time to open myself up to the "good stuff" because of all of that. But once you plug into stuff like Tom Anderson guitars and Dave Friedman amps, it's really hard to go back to pedestrian offerings. I don't play those brands for gear forum cred. I play them because they are sheer pleasure to play and hear.

Imports are definitely gaining ground on domestic... and in many cases they are better. I've owned a bunch of Les Pauls over the years... and I've had ESP and Ltd single cuts that were nicer than all but my R0.

I'm guilty of being a non-gigging doctor, so there's no way I'll cast stones.  I haven't actually played music with anyone since my little garage duo got the cops called for a noise complaint 25 years ago.  

I can tell the difference between decent stuff & outright crap, so I try to go with quality. The only arguably boutique things I have right now are the Boogie Mk5 and the Diamond half stack.

The guy I mentioned actually plays out quite a bit and horse-trades gear all the time. I traded a pile of nice cymbals and drum hardware to him for a MIM Tele Deluxe.

Edit. Doubletap from working in a cell signal black hole.

I totally forgot that you are an MD. I seriously wasn't taking a swipe at you. Ha ha ha!!!

Anyways... everyone's opinion is valid, regardless if they've "paid their dues". I just sometimes like to throw it out there that over the past 34 of playing on stages, I've more than paid mine. As well as the fact that I've made a living with bottom tier, crap gear... and supplemented a living with top tier gear. At the end of the day all that matters is that you enjoyed what you're doing, and that you put something out there that someone appreciated (even if it was only your cat or your mom).

Am I the only person that likes just about every guitar?

I have my preferences of course but I’ve enjoyed cheap guitars or “foreign” guitars sometimes more so than American expensive ones.

I have a 2006 Gibson SG Standard. I play my MIM Telecaster and MIM Strat just as much because they sound so different and for the money are still incredibly playable instruments (although even MIM stuff is expensive these days.)

Hell I sold my Taylor Acoustic because I like my 15 year old Charvel Acoustic that maybe cost $150 more.

If you like a guitar, play the shit out of it and who cares about the rest (I do however understand people that only want American because it’s made in America. Similar to cars or w/e but I don’t subscribe to this.)

If you want just utility and not aesthetics I think $1000 is the max you need to put into a guitar.

Buy something with good bones (mexi-strat etc.) , and put on a nice bridge, tuners, graphtech nut and or saddles, and pickups that you like.

I've never played or owned a mexi strat/Tele that could hold a candle to the import Yamaha/Ltd/Schecter/Sterling/Ibanez strat style guitars in terms of playability, and even tone. So I never understand the recommendations that people give regarding them. I spend many hours hanging around and helping out at my buddy's guitar shop... they sell just about every brand (whether new or used). The Mexican instruments are by far the least favorites of all the sales guys. They're just more limited in terms of quality and tonal options. Doesn't mean that the customer who picks one is wrong. But there are just so many better choices in Asian import start style guitars. Just like they've got a ton of Epiphone LPs, but the Ltd EC series single cuts are BETTER. Better playability. Better electronics. Fender and Gibson have been guilty of mailing it in on their premium American made instruments... much less their imports.

I don't have any respect for Gibson in the modern era because of poor and erratic quality control and really absurd business practices and a total lack of focus on providing guitars to working musicians that are like the classic models we wanted as kids,  at a price a working musician can afford.    While an R9 is reliably a very good guitar to buy, its price tag is very steep for a working musician.

It's already looking to me like Gibson's bankruptcy and change of direction is going to help put things  back on track.

Gibson at its best made instruments that built their own legendary reputation.   Enough said.

But the hallmark of the Henry J. era, to me, was Gibson deciding that what they needed to do was make another "limited edition" oddball guitar every two weeks,  aimed at the guitar collector by price alone,  hoping that high income professionals who fart around with music (hobby musicians) would buy them.

And then there such disasters as the Firebird X.  (Fireturd) Robot tuners.   What Model T owner ever thought he needed a radiator cap that was also a digital alarm clock?  Nobody.
And no guitar player ever thought he wanted robot tuners on his guitar, or the few that did changed their mind when they discovered just how BAD they really are.

As for Fenders, I just don't like them.  I've had several Strats and never had them for long.  No "That's the guitar for me!" thing ever occurred.  I am not a single coil guy.

ESP's current body shapes are modified Gibson shapes.  Modified just far enough from the Gibson pattern to pass legal muster.

Their SG and Explorer and LP shapes are obvious examples of this.

I have yet to pick up and play a Korean made guitar that did not suffer from one fatal flaw, in my estimation:  The thick as hell polyester plastic finish.

If they'd go to something that's thinner and less like a sheet of polycarbonate glued to the guitar, that'd help.   No complaints about the workmanship overall, though.

I consider PRS to be the guitar world equivalent of Apple.  Very well designed and executed products.  Low resale value.  But their build quality and attention to detail is unmatched by Gibson or Fender.    Of the guitars I've owned and sold or traded,  the only two I would buy back are the PRS SC245 and the Knaggs Kenai.   (Joe Knaggs being PRS alumni.)

I would probably decline to buy back MOST of the Gibsons I used to own.  OK, I'd buy back the ES-355 at the right price.    But the Fenders I've had?  Nope.

I've owned an SRV strat and a Mexican strat and I think it's difficult to compare those superstrats to them. The Fenders just have different character, rougher around the edges than a Schecter or finer Gibson but that's okay because you want something lighter, raw, and twangy.  The Mexi wasn't really even a disappointment after having the SRV, but the SRV was rough compared to my Schecter.  The Strat is just a classic design and if you refine it too much it loses it's character.

ETA: and no thick plastic on my 2012 Korean Schecter..

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Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think any Asian makers are finishing guitars in nitro-cellulose lacquer.

I dunno man... compared to the dozens of Fender strats that I've had... my Schecter USA is the purest sounding, "stratty strat" that I've ever had. You're right that super strats are different. But my Schecter Traditional is all strat in tone. But it's got Anderson levels of refinement and fit/finish.

Sorry, I wasn't even thinking of the Sun Valley or Nick Johnston models...

Not really sure how they'd top this work by Korean production line for just under $1k...

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