Edwards Les Paul... advice needed please

skullfunkerry · November 2018

Seen this on facebook and I must say, I really like the look of it. Seller hasn't given much information, other than it's got SDs and it will 'rip other Les Pauls apart'. Asking price is £1000... what do you guys think?

Philly_Q · November 2018

Edwards guitars are very good. They will be proper USA Duncan pickups, hardware is all quality Gotoh stuff and the fretboard is actual ebony. The quilt top is probably a veneer but they use decent timber.

Not sure about the price, when I was buying Edwards guitars years ago they were well under a grand, but exchange rates have been bad and guitar prices generally have gone up a lot.

And I like the colour.

guitars4you · November 2018

Edwards and Navigator Guitars have a big reputation - Most are sold in Japan with little distribution and stockist outside of home turf

For what it is then 1K is not a bad price at all - Colour is a bit of a 'marmite' colour - Not a problem if you like it and don't intend to sell it, but might not be a quick seller if moved on sometime in the future

Twinfan · November 2018

Looks great - very Justin Hawkins!

I'd echo what Mark says.

horse · November 2018

£1k feels high to me, but if you like the colour then you probably won't see another, so depends on what that's worth to you.

This Edwards was better value for example, with less risk when it comes to resale:

http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/144252/sold-edwards-e-lp-90ltc-vintage-white-les-paul-style#latest

I sold a 335 on here for a little more than that this year, and bought a 'standard' Edwards LP off eBay for £450ish 3 or 4 years ago.

John_A · November 2018

IMO it's overpriced by a good bit, should be closer to £500-£550 maybe even less considering its marmite colour

jdgm · November 2018

John_A said:

IMO it's overpriced by a good bit, should be closer to £500-£550 maybe even less considering its marmite colour

Hmm....you won't get it for that. I'd say £850 minimum - does it have a case?

John_A · November 2018

jdgm said:

John_A said:

IMO it's overpriced by a good bit, should be closer to £500-£550 maybe even less considering its marmite colour

Hmm....you won't get it for that. I'd say £850 minimum - does it have a case?

Is it new? Then maybe I was a bit stingy with the valuation

Schnozz · November 2018

I like the colour, but you can get them for 1100 new - not in that colour though.

KrisGee · November 2018

IMO overpriced, 600-700 is top what I'd pay for it. They play great, I bought one off @Chalky few years back. But from what I understand based on various online sources these are not fully Japan made, assembly takes place in China which regardless of quality makes a grand rather steep, especially second hand.

absolutpepper · November 2018

Lovely guitars but i also agree its overpriced. A few years back - when Rich Tone were selling them - i picked up a brand new black beauty for £600ish. Everything was great except the fret ends which were a little sharp in areas and actually i flaw i thought i shouldnt expect to see when clearly so much care had gone into the flawless finish of the rest of the guitar. I ended up selling it for about £450 i think and at the time i was happy with that price. I agree exchanges havent been kind but while they are nice i wouldnt pop any more than £700 on one used.

absolutpepper · November 2018

Ps, there are at least 4 LPs showing up on the completed items on ebay that have sold. The highest was £595 (John Sykes model)...2 sold for around the £350 mark. Its a unique colour so i guess that factors in but im gonna say value wise £550 is more reasonable

Philly_Q · November 2018

KrisGee said:

IMO overpriced, 600-700 is top what I'd pay for it. They play great, I bought one off @Chalky few years back. But from what I understand based on various online sources these are not fully Japan made, assembly takes place in China which regardless of quality makes a grand rather steep, especially second hand.

I don't think it's ever been fully confirmed exactly how and where Edwards guitars are made, but lots of sources on the internet claim the woodworking (and presumably finishing) is done in China, then final assembly and setup is done in Japan. Which probably qualifies them as "Made in Japan" under some arcane legal definition.

It's a bit like the somewhat grey area between higher-end Mexican Fenders and lower-end USA Fenders, all made by Mexicans. Donald Trump must love 'em.

absolutpepper · November 2018

Philly_Q said:

KrisGee said:

IMO overpriced, 600-700 is top what I'd pay for it. They play great, I bought one off @Chalky few years back. But from what I understand based on various online sources these are not fully Japan made, assembly takes place in China which regardless of quality makes a grand rather steep, especially second hand.

I don't think it's ever been fully confirmed exactly how and where Edwards guitars are made, but lots of sources on the internet claim the woodworking (and presumably finishing) is done in China, then final assembly and setup is done in Japan. Which probably qualifies them as "Made in Japan" under some arcane legal definition.
It's a bit like the somewhat grey area between higher-end Mexican Fenders and lower-end USA Fenders, all made by Mexicans. Donald Trump must love 'em.

Thats my understanding...i think theyre initially assembled in china (or possibly Korea) and then finished in Japan. Tbf mine easily stood up with some gibsons i’ve had over the years so its no big issue but compared to my all Japanese Yamaha SG or my Gretsch it was as well finished

skullfunkerry · November 2018

Thanks everyone. Think I'm going to give this one a miss; I know what I'm like with flipping gear and I'll end up taking a big hit on it, even if I can get the price down

Dave_Mc · November 2018

Philly_Q said:

KrisGee said:

IMO overpriced, 600-700 is top what I'd pay for it. They play great, I bought one off @Chalky few years back. But from what I understand based on various online sources these are not fully Japan made, assembly takes place in China which regardless of quality makes a grand rather steep, especially second hand.

I don't think it's ever been fully confirmed exactly how and where Edwards guitars are made, but lots of sources on the internet claim the woodworking (and presumably finishing) is done in China, then final assembly and setup is done in Japan. Which probably qualifies them as "Made in Japan" under some arcane legal definition.
It's a bit like the somewhat grey area between higher-end Mexican Fenders and lower-end USA Fenders, all made by Mexicans. Donald Trump must love 'em.

That was the case several years back, but I thought that changed and they were back to genuinely all-MIJ now? At least, that's what I read, it could well have been wrong.

Philly_Q · November 2018

@Dave_Mc ; you could be right, I really don't know.

I'm just thinking back, I think I've owned 8 Edwards guitars and I didn't think the 2 most recent (around 2011-12...?) were as good as the older ones. But whether that's Japanese production or Chinese production, I have no idea.

Dave_Mc · November 2018

LOL I don't even know if I'm right- IIRC I said what you did in a thread over at (I think) Ultimate Guitar a few years back, and someone chimed in to say that, while that had been true for a while, they had moved the production back to Japan. I'm not sure exactly when it happened (if it even did). EDIT: Just to clarify, since that sounds pretty skimpy evidence, I think the guy in the thread provided a little more info than that.

I've only tried 2, mine and a s/h one in a shop several years back (and I have no idea how old it was).

goldtop · November 2018

Edwards were definitely assembled in Japan (not MIJ) when they first appeared, and were priced below equivalent actually-MIJ Tokais.

I've just got back from Japan and don't recall seeing MIJ stickers/labels on the Edwards. The Japanese market is now swamped with Chinese stuff: Photogenic, Grassroots, Buskers, Lumber (which seemed a bit meta to me).

Dave_Mc · November 2018

^ There definitely were some which had "Made in Japan" stamped onto them- I think (might be misremembering) the second-hand one I tried said "Made in Japan" on it, and I've definitely seen pics online of ones which had "made in Japan" stamped into them. Mine (which was definitely within the period where they were only assembled in Japan) doesn't have the MIJ stamp.

Philly_Q · November 2018

There was a brief period when Richtone had some Edwards guitars in stock, 6 or 7 years ago. I think they had "Made in Japan" stickers - not stamps - but that may be a figment of my imagination, TBH.

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Edwards Les Paul... advice needed please

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