New Guitar Incoming: E-II vs Custom Shop M-II

[Shawn]

Nice looking guitar.

 

[tomahawkguitarist]

Holy Grail of metal guitars? It doesn't even have tiger stripes.

And no Michael Sweet signature so it can't be all that holy.

Hey listen now, I come from humble beginnings though it may not sound like it. At one point, my holy grail of signature Italian cuisine was Chef Boyardi. Say what you will but it beats Maruchan.

 

[tomahawkguitarist]

3 mortgages sounds painful

So much furniture, too.

I should clarify, I didn't keep the first two. One mortgage is enough. Goddamn Texas property taxes.

 

[nightsprinter]

Congrats on the guitar and the home

 

[tomahawkguitarist]

No experience, but the GAS is strong with this one.

I want one since my teenage years, when I was a fan of Timo Tolkki (ex-Stratovarius).

View attachment 145565

I hope I get one some day.

With the Visions artwork and everything? Damnnn that's sick.

Never heard of them but that looks killer! Definitely see why.

 

[Dumple Stilzkin]

The mustang is an esp? Would love to hear more about it!

Yeah it's an early ESP. I don't know much about it. I Suspect it is pretty old, but it plays really good and sounds like a mustang should. Has a short scale and everything. I have not seen any other ESP mustangs, so I am inclined to believe its a rare one.

 

[tomahawkguitarist]

Finally got it. I never got the "Ready for Pickup" notification from DHL because they temporarily misplaced my package at the service center, but there just so happened to be a guitar store nearby that had several high end guitars available for me to try out.

Including a collection of ESP Custom Shops. And after playing an Iron Cross and KH-2, I now see why they're such a big deal.

Both felt so awesome that that I felt unworthy of playing either of them. And I especially didn't want to walk out of the store without the KH-2. I have never played a more comfortable, brutal, yet perfectly set-up guitar in my life.

I can't even really put it into words, it was just simply perfect. It reminded me of the feeling I had when I played my Gibson J-15 for the first time at Guitar Center.

I wonder if I made a mistake, because now I'm scared that every other guitar I play will feel like a letdown.

Anyways, will share pics and initial thoughts of the M-II Custom soon. Currently stuck in traffic, but I have a really good feeling it will be worth the wait.

 

[tomahawkguitarist]

Well APPARENTLY all my picture files are too large, EXCEPT for the case candy. They even included a silica bag!

 

[tomahawkguitarist]

FINALLY! Here she is.

 

[budda]

As nice as the ones you tried?

I tried a ltd KH a while ago and it played quite well.

 

[Dumple Stilzkin]

FINALLY! Here she is.

View attachment 145716

There's something just right about a blacked out MII, looking mighty fine here.
Let us know what you think once you test it out.

 

[mlp187]

@tomahawkguitarist hell yeah looks great. Looking forward to comparison updates.

@Dumple Stilzkin that teal/turquoise M2 is the bees’ knees.

 

[tomahawkguitarist]

As nice as the ones you tried?

I tried a ltd KH a while ago and it played quite well.

There's something just right about a blacked out MII, looking mighty fine here.
Let us know what you think once you test it out.

I finally got a chance to plug in. The shipment didn't include a 9v battery (which is understandable).

The seemingly effortless playability is definitely similar to that of the ones I tried yesterday, especially the KH-2. The minute differences compared to the KH-2 were probably only down to the fretboard wood, pickups, and body cut in the horn.

I've heard players say they like guitars that put up a fight. They would definitely be disappointed in this one because I didn't need to think much to play what I wanted on this fine instrument.

And I agree, the blacked-out finish and fretboard looks simply evil.

The frets weren't mint, but that's to be expected since this was a used guitar. Overall it looks to have been very well cared for.

After comparing it to the E-II though, I'm actually surprisingly torn. The fretboard is thinner on the ESP which I believe contributes to its better playability. But I prefer the tone of the E-II even though they should have the same EMG 81 bridge pickups (and the ESP's 9v battery is brand new unlike the E-II's). The E-II's tone is just chunkier, idk how else to describe it. One thing I noticed is the pickup height is closer to the strings on the E-II which I know affects the tone, so I will try to adjust it later and see what happens.

Either way, I don't regret not walking away with the KH-2 (which would have been double the price of the ESP and 3-4x the E-II).

 

[tomahawkguitarist]

After spending around an hour going back and forth and adjusting pickup heights to my preference, I've made my decision.

The ESP did indeed sound brighter and chunkier than before after a pickup height adjustment. But the chunkiness still didn't match the E-II.

After initially planning to do the reverse, I'm keeping the E-II and returning the ESP.

I don't mind saving $3k+, but money is not a factor. Maybe it's the fact that the ESP is older (2010) than the E-II (2014+) and they were built differently. Maybe it's the likelihood that less wood went into making the ESP than the E-II, which can also affect the tone.

I still stand by what I said about its playability being second to none, but the ESP is overall simply not worth to me double what I paid for my E-II.

If I played more lead than rhythm, I would probably not hold the same opinion though.

I did not expect to come to this conclusion. I won't rule out a custom shop in the future, but I've decided I'm content with my E-II.

Thank you to everyone who helped and participated in this enlightening experience.

 

[tomahawkguitarist]

Now I'm curious. Does anyone have experience with an ESP USA M-II?

Again, the playability of the ESP Original Series M-II Custom truly felt second to none. The neck truly felt perfect in my hand and it played better than any guitar I've tried so far.

It didn't sound bad either, but it could not compete with the thick, chunky tone of my E-II M-II. Think Rammstein (E-II) vs. Megadeth (ESP). Neither are bad per se, but the former is my preference.

I could see the ESP being a holy grail for a guitarist that plays more leads than rhythm. That's just not the type of player I am though.

 

[Marked Man]

I should clarify, I didn't keep the first two. One mortgage is enough. Goddamn Texas property taxes.

Think Texas is bad? Try Kali or New York!

 

[mlp187]

Now I'm curious. Does anyone have experience with an ESP USA M-II?

Again, the playability of the ESP Original Series M-II Custom truly felt second to none. The neck truly felt perfect in my hand and it played better than any guitar I've tried so far.

It didn't sound bad either, but it could not compete with the thick, chunky tone of my E-II M-II. Think Rammstein (E-II) vs. Megadeth (ESP). Neither are bad per se, but the former is my preference.

I could see the ESP being a holy grail for a guitarist that plays more leads than rhythm. That's just not the type of player I am though.

I do - for context, I currently have a USA M-II, Original Series Horizon, and an LTD M1 Custom ‘87, and until a couple months ago an E-II eclipse, which I sold after picking up an explorer (there was nothing wrong with the eclipse).

My M-II is my favorite of the three, followed by the horizon.

The M-II has a slightly thicker neck. It’s easy to play and sounds killer. It’s equipped with EMG 89/89R pickups - they are not as hot as 81’s but I’ve had no problem playing the same 5 Metallica songs over and over the last 4 years.
It’s a really great guitar, and I’ve found that I prefer the comfort of the M-II body style over the horizon. The other thing worth pointing out is the M-II has stainless frets, and they do feel nicer than the horizon.

 

[Dumple Stilzkin]

Now I'm curious. Does anyone have experience with an ESP USA M-II?

Again, the playability of the ESP Original Series M-II Custom truly felt second to none. The neck truly felt perfect in my hand and it played better than any guitar I've tried so far.

It didn't sound bad either, but it could not compete with the thick, chunky tone of my E-II M-II. Think Rammstein (E-II) vs. Megadeth (ESP). Neither are bad per se, but the former is my preference.

I could see the ESP being a holy grail for a guitarist that plays more leads than rhythm. That's just not the type of player I am though.

My MII sounds thick and crunchy plugged in, you might try changing the strings and messing with the pickup height. Make sure the battery is good.

 

[tomahawkguitarist]

I do - for context, I currently have a USA M-II, Original Series Horizon, and an LTD M1 Custom ‘87, and until a couple months ago an E-II eclipse, which I sold after picking up an explorer (there was nothing wrong with the eclipse).

My M-II is my favorite of the three, followed by the horizon.

The M-II has a slightly thicker neck. It’s easy to play and sounds killer. It’s equipped with EMG 89/89R pickups - they are not as hot as 81’s but I’ve had no problem playing the same 5 Metallica songs over and over the last 4 years.
It’s a really great guitar, and I’ve found that I prefer the comfort of the M-II body style over the horizon. The other thing worth pointing out is the M-II has stainless frets, and they do feel nicer than the horizon.

That's awesome! Thank you for sharing. What kind of explorer? I know the original ESP copies are hard to come by!

Interesting, my E-II M-II has a thicker neck than the ESP M-II Custom Shop. That may have something to do with the tone difference between the two! I also noticed that the USA M-II's are closer in initial appearance to my E-II M-II, which makes me think they may be more similar in tone.

Yeah, I've been on a Metallica song rotation myself ever since the start of the Fortnite collaboration. I live a ways away from my family and it's something we do together to not feel so far away!

I freaking love the M-II shape. I felt like I had to choose between ergonomics and a fuller sounding instrument prior to trying it. It's my favorite overall guitar at this point. Really makes me wonder how much better other guitars can really be, at least for my tastes!

 

[tomahawkguitarist]

My MII sounds thick and crunchy plugged in, you might try changing the strings and messing with the pickup height. Make sure the battery is good.

I really want to believe there is something I was did wrong. I may have a more experienced tech look it over before I send it back. The strings were in great condition, though they weren't the strings I typically use. I have a couple of extra sets lying around so I may have the tech change them.

I prefer the tone of the E-II even though they should have the same EMG 81 bridge pickups (and the ESP's 9v battery is brand new unlike the E-II's). The E-II's tone is just chunkier, idk how else to describe it. One thing I noticed is the pickup height is closer to the strings on the E-II which I know affects the tone, so I will try to adjust it later and see what happens.

I did check the pickup height and the battery was brand new. Below are my findings.

After spending around an hour going back and forth and adjusting pickup heights to my preference, I've made my decision.

The ESP did indeed sound brighter and chunkier than before after a pickup height adjustment. But the chunkiness still didn't match the E-II.

After initially planning to do the reverse, I'm keeping the E-II and returning the ESP.

I don't mind saving $3k+, but money is not a factor. Maybe it's the fact that the ESP is older (2010) than the E-II (2014+) and they were built differently. Maybe it's the likelihood that less wood went into making the ESP than the E-II, which can also affect the tone.

I still stand by what I said about its playability being second to none, but the ESP is overall simply not worth to me double what I paid for my E-II.

If I played more lead than rhythm, I would probably not hold the same opinion though.

I did not expect to come to this conclusion. I won't rule out a custom shop in the future, but I've decided I'm content with my E-II.

Thank you to everyone who helped and participated in this enlightening experience.

I also forgot to mention that I also did the obvious and tinkered with the amp's EQ too. The ESP Original M-II has a noticeable amount of low end chunk when palm-muting, but it still sounded thinner overall despite apparently having the same bridge pickup.

I have to credit you with triggering the idea of having it looked over by someone more experienced, so thank you!