Jiterator
New member
Noticing that there aren't many reviews for Edwards models in this section, I decided that maybe a short write-up of my own Edwards E-LP-117CTM might be good.
Features:
Body: Mahogany with burl maple top
Neck: Mahogany
Fingerboard: Ebony with block inlays, 22 Frets
Additional features: Abalone binding
Scale: 24.75"/Medium
Joint: Set neck
Pickups: SH-1n (Neck) / SH-4JB (Bridge)
Bridge: Tune-O-Matic / Stop Tailpiece
Controls: Neck volume and tone / Bridge volume and tone
Finish/Construction:
On first glance, this Les Paul copy comes off as a magnificent looking work of art, mahogany body and neck with a burl maple top, ebony fretboard, abalone bindings and matching block inlays, and not forgetting the gold Gotoh hardware. The body and neck have been finished to a transparent high gloss, all the more adding to the guitar's already enormous presence among others. Upon closer inspection, the ebony fingerboard is smooth as a baby's bum, but with some spots of dryness along the middle. As I had purchased this guitar only a long time after it had arrived at the shop, I would not know if it was like this out of the factory though, but nothing that can't be fixed with a bit of lemon oil. The headstock design takes after the Gibson LP headstocks, with a burl maple top and abalone bindings to match the body. The manufacturer certainly did not hold back when it came to choice of hardware here, as proven by the gold Gotoh tuners. Going down to the body, Gotoh once more with its Tune-O-Matic and Stoptail bridge, all flawlessly placed into the body.
Tone:
To tell the truth, the last thing on my mind on purchase day was actually purchasing this particular unit. On the contrary, I had my mind set on an Edwards Alexi Laiho signature model. It was only by pure chance that a friend who was with me suggested trying out this guitar, and that's where I was sold on it.
The manufacturer once again displays its passion for building instruments that not only look good, but sound good, with its choice of Seymour Duncan pickups. In the neck, you will find the SH-1n, and in the bridge, the SH-4JB. On the clean channel, the neck pickup is capable of a very desirable warm and full tone, and is yet also very responsive to the tone control for an entire range of sounds from deep and bassy to slightly brighter ones.
The SH-4JB in the bridge position is another great choice. Being a hotter pickup than the SH-1n in the neck, this pickup is markedly brighter, and gives you a very sweet sounding clean, while retaining its fullness. As with the neck pickup, it also responds very well to the tone knob, being able to roll off from a sweet singing sound to a warm and round one. The magic, however, is when both pickups are engaged. With the smooth and bassy tones from the SH-1n coupled with the more trebly SH-4JB, you end up with a very full sounding tone that absolutely sings when u want it to. (Or at least this is the way my ears perceive it to be..)
On to the driven settings now. With its cleans already so desirable, one can only expect the same when the guitar is put through the drive channel. The neck pickup is smooth when driven, good for rhythm work. On a personal level, I find that my tone knob is constantly at its highest when the signal is being driven (and I really mean driven as my musical influence is mostly metal and hard rock), as bringing it down would give u mostly quite a muddy tone. That, however, is easily fixed if you turn down the distortion/overdrive. On low drive settings and a rolled off tone knob, you get warm notes good for jazz or blues.
While the neck pickup is smooth and warm, the bridge pickup, on the other hand, is where you would find all your harmonics and squeals when driven. Under a high gain setting, it produces very rich harmonics, and a very hot sounding yet full, driven sound. This is where the metalheads or any other distortion-oriented player would feel at home, with the SH-4JB offering many possibilities in terms of tonal range.
Playability:
Upon handling the guitar, one would note its excessive weight, but I for one have never handled the real deal, so I won't be able to give an accurate comparison of the two. It does, however, still come across as one hell of a bat. A good sounding one at that. The frets are well dressed, on a neck that's not too chunky, yet not too skinny as well. The feel here is just right. Being an MIJ unit, I would assume that the neck might have been given the same treatment as most other Japanese makes, being a little smaller and thinner to accomodate smaller asian hands. Take this with a pinch of salt though, as I mentioned earlier that I have never handled a Gibson LP and thus am unable to make a comparison to the fat, chunky neck the original is known for. What I can tell though, is that the guitar plays like a dream, at least until you hit the upper frets where anyone would face the gripes of any Les Paul owner - limited upper fret access due to its blocky heel. Other than that, the Gotoh tuning heads keep your tunings locked down really tight as well. No signs of string slippage or any of that sort of problem here. Action on the .010s - .046s was spot on, although I did send it in for a setup in the end anyway as I usually do with most of my new purchases.
Conclusion:
I would say that Edwards has produced a top notch guitar with close to flawless construction, and a beautiful one as well, while maintaining the price in a comfortable range. If you are worried for your pockets and don't mind owning a copy, I would really recommend this unit as it really gives you bang for buck. With the awesome array of tone on offer, most players ranging from smooth rhythm and blues to the aggressive picking metalhead would find this guitar a worthy acquisition.
Amps that I have tried this guitar on:
Laney Hardcore Max 15R
Roland Cube 30X
Roland MicroCube
Marshall AVT50
List price at time of purchase: $1.4k
Likes:
Stunning visual presentation
Top notch hardware and electronics
Overall feel and tone
Dislikes:
As bro Subversion mentioned in his other Edwards LP review, small strap buttons.
Features:
Body: Mahogany with burl maple top
Neck: Mahogany
Fingerboard: Ebony with block inlays, 22 Frets
Additional features: Abalone binding
Scale: 24.75"/Medium
Joint: Set neck
Pickups: SH-1n (Neck) / SH-4JB (Bridge)
Bridge: Tune-O-Matic / Stop Tailpiece
Controls: Neck volume and tone / Bridge volume and tone
Finish/Construction:
On first glance, this Les Paul copy comes off as a magnificent looking work of art, mahogany body and neck with a burl maple top, ebony fretboard, abalone bindings and matching block inlays, and not forgetting the gold Gotoh hardware. The body and neck have been finished to a transparent high gloss, all the more adding to the guitar's already enormous presence among others. Upon closer inspection, the ebony fingerboard is smooth as a baby's bum, but with some spots of dryness along the middle. As I had purchased this guitar only a long time after it had arrived at the shop, I would not know if it was like this out of the factory though, but nothing that can't be fixed with a bit of lemon oil. The headstock design takes after the Gibson LP headstocks, with a burl maple top and abalone bindings to match the body. The manufacturer certainly did not hold back when it came to choice of hardware here, as proven by the gold Gotoh tuners. Going down to the body, Gotoh once more with its Tune-O-Matic and Stoptail bridge, all flawlessly placed into the body.
Tone:
To tell the truth, the last thing on my mind on purchase day was actually purchasing this particular unit. On the contrary, I had my mind set on an Edwards Alexi Laiho signature model. It was only by pure chance that a friend who was with me suggested trying out this guitar, and that's where I was sold on it.
The manufacturer once again displays its passion for building instruments that not only look good, but sound good, with its choice of Seymour Duncan pickups. In the neck, you will find the SH-1n, and in the bridge, the SH-4JB. On the clean channel, the neck pickup is capable of a very desirable warm and full tone, and is yet also very responsive to the tone control for an entire range of sounds from deep and bassy to slightly brighter ones.
The SH-4JB in the bridge position is another great choice. Being a hotter pickup than the SH-1n in the neck, this pickup is markedly brighter, and gives you a very sweet sounding clean, while retaining its fullness. As with the neck pickup, it also responds very well to the tone knob, being able to roll off from a sweet singing sound to a warm and round one. The magic, however, is when both pickups are engaged. With the smooth and bassy tones from the SH-1n coupled with the more trebly SH-4JB, you end up with a very full sounding tone that absolutely sings when u want it to. (Or at least this is the way my ears perceive it to be..)
On to the driven settings now. With its cleans already so desirable, one can only expect the same when the guitar is put through the drive channel. The neck pickup is smooth when driven, good for rhythm work. On a personal level, I find that my tone knob is constantly at its highest when the signal is being driven (and I really mean driven as my musical influence is mostly metal and hard rock), as bringing it down would give u mostly quite a muddy tone. That, however, is easily fixed if you turn down the distortion/overdrive. On low drive settings and a rolled off tone knob, you get warm notes good for jazz or blues.
While the neck pickup is smooth and warm, the bridge pickup, on the other hand, is where you would find all your harmonics and squeals when driven. Under a high gain setting, it produces very rich harmonics, and a very hot sounding yet full, driven sound. This is where the metalheads or any other distortion-oriented player would feel at home, with the SH-4JB offering many possibilities in terms of tonal range.
Playability:
Upon handling the guitar, one would note its excessive weight, but I for one have never handled the real deal, so I won't be able to give an accurate comparison of the two. It does, however, still come across as one hell of a bat. A good sounding one at that. The frets are well dressed, on a neck that's not too chunky, yet not too skinny as well. The feel here is just right. Being an MIJ unit, I would assume that the neck might have been given the same treatment as most other Japanese makes, being a little smaller and thinner to accomodate smaller asian hands. Take this with a pinch of salt though, as I mentioned earlier that I have never handled a Gibson LP and thus am unable to make a comparison to the fat, chunky neck the original is known for. What I can tell though, is that the guitar plays like a dream, at least until you hit the upper frets where anyone would face the gripes of any Les Paul owner - limited upper fret access due to its blocky heel. Other than that, the Gotoh tuning heads keep your tunings locked down really tight as well. No signs of string slippage or any of that sort of problem here. Action on the .010s - .046s was spot on, although I did send it in for a setup in the end anyway as I usually do with most of my new purchases.
Conclusion:
I would say that Edwards has produced a top notch guitar with close to flawless construction, and a beautiful one as well, while maintaining the price in a comfortable range. If you are worried for your pockets and don't mind owning a copy, I would really recommend this unit as it really gives you bang for buck. With the awesome array of tone on offer, most players ranging from smooth rhythm and blues to the aggressive picking metalhead would find this guitar a worthy acquisition.
Amps that I have tried this guitar on:
Laney Hardcore Max 15R
Roland Cube 30X
Roland MicroCube
Marshall AVT50
List price at time of purchase: $1.4k
Likes:
Stunning visual presentation
Top notch hardware and electronics
Overall feel and tone
Dislikes:
As bro Subversion mentioned in his other Edwards LP review, small strap buttons.
