Agilo's Weblog

Well, as I've mentioned in the past I was looking to buy a new guitar.
In search for this guitar I visited many guitar stores in various cities in The Netherlands (sometimes joined by Carl, Ralph, Ed, Michel and/or Mick).

I didn't just want any guitar, I set out to find a guitar according to certain specifications/demands.
It had to…

…have 24 frets.

I want to be able to play everything I want to play without a shortage of frets (I want to play things by John Petrucci and Michael Romeo which have licks/riffs/songs which go that far up the neck).

…have a floyd rose tremolo (double locking, of course).

I felt it is needed for the guitar I want so I can utilize it.

…have a thin U-neck.

I hate very thick necks, I feel limited playing on one because I feel I can perform faster on a very thin one (Ed lent me his Ibanez a while back which has a very thin wizard neck which I really liked).  I also don't want a V-neck or a flat back because they feel awkward to me.

…have a smooth neck (not a woody/slow feel).

I love polished necks, they make me play faster and smoother as I go up/down the neck.

…have a good/soft inlay (i.e. unlike a Les Paul model).

This is an important demand; I play better when my hand is rested properly which I cannot achieve that on a sharp edge.

…be within a 300-700 EUR price range.

Everything below 300 is a waste of money, in my opinion (I've had a cheap Ibanez before and it sucked), and I don't have the patience to save up beyond the 700 EUR price range.

Of all the stores I've been to, and of all the guitars I've tested (and they are countless), I found myself with only two choices which adhered to the required specifications:

1. The Ibanez RG1570 Prestige.
2. The ESP LTD M-200FM.

The only difference being that the Ibanez is a little more expensive (780 EUR) and that it also has a very woody unpolished (and cheap feeling) neck.

After giving both guitars some serious thought (I'm talking weeks of continuous weighing of the two choices and visiting stores to play them) I eventually decided that the Ibanez' (though be it a wizard neck) woody and unpolished feel was just not doing it for me.
My specifications were clear and I didn't base them on nothing; a polished neck just plays a lot better!
Let alone the fact it's 200 EUR more expensive than the ESP.

So I finally decided on the ESP LTD M-200FM (in red — STBC)!
An added feature to this guitar is that due to the push/pull Coil Split on Tone Control I can even play with (albeit simulated) single coils.

After that, I placed the order for the ESP (which is 500 EUR) and the matching case (which is 120 EUR) a few weeks ago at laenenmusic.nl where the guitar is 70 EUR cheaper than other stores I've seen it.
I was told it would take some time for it to arrive and a week ago he let me know (via e-mail) that the guitar had arrived!

Saturday I went to the store with Michel and picked up my brand new guitar, which is really fucking beautiful!
Not only that but Michel bought a Musicman (SUB) bass guitar for only 800 EUR (price on the paper said "999 EUR" but he cut him a deal because it was 800 EUR at another store elsewhere)!

I really love my new guitar, it plays like a dream and I really feel improvement in my play already (I can do things which I previously couldn't because I was prevented by certain things like the neck).

The things I notice most are that pinch harmonics are done so easily and harmonics come through so clean and well and on placed I couldn't even dream of doing them on previous guitars (on the second fret or on the third fret on 3.3, 3.7)!

There are two things which irk me, though:

1. The Floyd Rose needs lots of force to pull up (increase pitch).
2. The metals of the frets are really high (which may result, at times, in unclean notes as I press down too hard).

The Flody Rose can be fixed in a guitar shop for some 30 EUR (which I plan on doing if I can't do it myself) and as far as the metals in the frets are concerned I'll just need to adjust my play accordingly (use less force pushing down).

Anyway, that's about it for now.
Need to get back to playing, I've been typing this entry for far too long.