Ok nostalgia has been getting the better of me recently so ive decided to get something with a floyd. As a 13 year old kid in '87 i always wanted an Ibanez RG/Jem or a Kramer Baretta. Very different guitars i appreciate. So looking around now the choice is baffling, the Jem Jr caught my eye as does the Baretta vintage. Ive also always liked the look of the LTD KH202 and the EVH Wolfgangs. So If you had £500 max to spend on such a guitar what would you choose? I realise you can get a great guitar on this sort of budget - like the MIJ Charvel San Dimas but not sure if nostalgia will blur my decision process and sway me a certain direction. I know the answer is to go and try before i buy but im also intrigued to hear any other suggestions.....
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Ringleader of the Cambridge cartel, pedal champ and king of the dirt boxes (down to 21)
I use one as my main gigging guitar. You can probably pick one up for about £3-400
I've played a lot of shredders and I've not found many better in terms of playability or quality.
Theres 2 types, one with smoked chrome hardware, one with black + a black painted neck. I had the former, with a licensed floyd, wheras the black type has a floyd special. No idea on differences... the licensed one I had, had Esp embossed in it, which looked nice.
Then theres the 3rd type, the one with the caution hot & Kirks guitar stickers.
Same guitar though just with decals.
Andertons currently have 2 of the plain type in on sale at around £450 or thereabouts.
My only gripe is for a lil bit extra, or less if its full price, you can get a much better guitar, ie the quilted see thru blue esp model (on sale at £650) which has emgs, thru neck, grovers but no floyd.
Really do seem to be paying for the skull n crossbone inlays, as apart from that, its a bolt on with lh-150 (i think) pups, of which there are a lot of Esps for cheaper.
Twas a well built and good guitar though.
I'd have the 602, but as its almost a grand odd, I may well look for his demonology new sig if its still around by the year 2076 when I have the money.
I'm not sure I understand the game.
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I believe the one you had (which was also the one I had) with the unpainted neck is made in China while the painted neck was Korean. But as you say, both are great quality. The 3rd type which is the KH-25 is the newer replacement for the 202, and is made in Vietnam.
I also found the stock LH-300 pickups (the 150s are less output) lacking in a gigging situation. They were voiced really bright and rather thin, but through a cheap solid state practice amp, which typically lacks top end, they sounded perfect. I replaced mine with an EMG Het Set and that really brought the guitar up to gigging quality.
The KH-602 though is really a step up in quality. The neck and fretboard is finished beautifully, and the through-neck makes playing fast and complex lead lines above the 17th fret (which Kirk does a lot) effortless. The neck profile is also slightly different to the 202, which is a very flat U. The 602, whilst still flat, has a slightly fuller back which gives your palm more to grab on to. There is also a difference in the frets. The 202 has the standard ESP extra jumbo, but the frets on the 602 are slightly thinner, whilst keeping the extra jumbo's height, making bends feel even easier. The tone is also darker compared to the 202, due to the through-neck, which compliments the 2 x EMG-81s nicely. It is also I think slightly weightier than the 202, which is not a light guitar itself. The deep contoured body though makes it a very comfortable guitar to play standing up for long periods of time.
Luckily both of my 602s were older models with the real German Floyd Rose. The current ones will have the Korean FR1000 series and also an EMG-60 in the neck, which oddly is not what Kirk actually uses.
Anyway, this is turning into some sort of ad for the KH-602... I do love them though, and am always surprised at the fact that there's so little in it between my Korean LTD 602 and my Japanese ESP Horizon.
At the moment I'm looking for:
* Hamer Watson, SS2, Vintage S, T62.
* Music Man Luke 1, Luke II
Please drop me a message.
Or how about a Jackson Adrian Smith SDX.Well within budget, brand new.
On another note, must start another thread on the best alt rock guitars!