For anyone who's interested, here's a quick review of the huge differences between two M-1000HT guitars (Korean vs. Indonesian):
First off, I had only planned on owning one of the M1000HT, but I no shops near me had this model, so I had to order the first guitar directly from ESP, and it was an Indo made guitar that I just couldn't fall in love with. But, I really wanted this model, so I ordered another Korea made guitar. But because these two guitars were so vastly different, I thought I'd put together a quick review since I recently had them both at the same time and could compare them directly.
Indo Serial # (2020):
The neck profile was actually quite a bit thinner than the Korean guitar, which is surprising because they both should have had the same "Extra Thin U" neck profile. But they were VERY different. The profile on this Indo guitar is more of a U shape, and is much thinner than the Korean, which has more of a C shape (at least compared to the Indo). Honestly, I actually really loved the feel of the Indo neck and preferred it to the Korean thicker feeling neck.
The frets on this Indo guitar were disappointing. Because this guitar was a 2020 serial number, the frets were Nickel (which was not a deal breaker at all). Overall the frets were leveled perfectly, however, the fret ends were TERRIBLE. They protruded quite a bit past the fretboard edge and were pretty sharp feeling. They absolutely had to be filed down to be playable. Now this could have been because of climate changes in shipping, but regardless, you'd think ESP's QA would catch these things before shipping out an $1100+ guitar.
The finish on this guitar was really thick. So thick in fact, the tone was pretty damn dark. And that was the main issue that I could not get past. I can deal with finish and quality issues all day if the guitar sounds amazing, but sadly, this guitar did not. It was dead and dark sounding, which I could not get past. In the pics, you can see how thick the finish is on the top, neck joint and headstock of the Indo guitar (pickup selector switch screw shows the finish thickness as well as the thick finish build up along the nut on the headstock and the neck paint joint) compared to the Korean guitar. The finish is so thick that you can even feel (and see) the build up on the neck joint along the back of the guitar so much so that it may need to be sanded down to be comfortable. Very poorly done finish quality for an $1100 guitar.
Other than the Finish quality, fret work, and tone, the Indo guitar was pretty good. It was perfectly intonated and the bridge and tuners held tuning perfectly. It was just sadly a tonal dud..
Korean Serial # (2021):
This guitar is what I believe ESP should be putting out in all factories (in terms of quality and construction). This guitars finish was flawless. The fret work was perfect. And the tone was bright, alive, and punchy.
The finish was much lighter than the Indo guitar, which you can visibly see in the comparison photos of the headstock, neck joint and top. The neck joint finish was so light and well blended that you could not even feel the transition from satin neck to gloss body. With the lighter finish also came a brighter and punchier tone. This is the tone I was looking for out of an $1100 LTD.
The frets were perfect. Perfectly leveled at the top and along the fret ends. Not a single issue. Plus, they are stainless steel, which is a nice upgrade over the Indo's nickle fret.
The neck profile is a bit thicker than the Indo, however. Honestly, I preferred the neck on the Indo guitar, but this is more of a preference over a quality. The shape of the neck is more of a "C" shape over the Indo guitars "U" shape, which is nice. The finish on the headstock was also much lighter. So much, in fact, that you can visibly see in the comparison photos's that the truss rod cover sits closer to flush compared to the Indo guitar.
Overall thoughts:
I am just blown away at how different these two guitars are. And for an $1100 guitar, you'd expect ESP to ensure the same consistency in quality and craftsmanship between both factories. But unfortunately, in my experience, they are not the same consistencies. Which is a shame, because I had to buy the same guitar TWICE just to get the quality and tone I wanted out of an expensive guitar, and then eat the cost of selling the lesser guitar for much less than I paid..
But in the end, I am VERY happy with the Korean guitar. So I would not hesitate to buy another Korean made LTD. Top notch guitars!
Размещение рекламы