StevenC
Needs a hobby
Sort of person that would get banned from Rondo
New Javier Reyes LTD strat
- Thread starter StevenC
- Start date
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Hollowway
Extended Ranger
Well, it's not a strat, per se, but the Edwards 8 with Floyd I just got I paid retail and had it shipped from Japan to my door in 2 days for just over $2000. I think it retails for a bit over $1500 before taxes in Japan. So there is definitely a premium for this, because it's a sig model, and because it IS cool that it's such a Strat-like shape, which is different from the Schecters, BC Riches, etc. that are 8s with Floyds. I just wish it wasn't so expensive. I had specced out a very similar look a couple of years ago from Balaguer for about $2000. Shoulda bought that at the time.
I WILL say that I think they did a good job with the design in that, for me, I like the fret markers (i.e. they're not dots), the color is cool, and the FB is maple, not a god awful rosewood lookalike. The HSS is pretty cool, too.
HeHasTheJazzHands
Well-Known Member
From what I understand the high end LTD sig models are still guaranteed Made in Korea while the 1000 series stuff is either/or Korea/Indo, while leaning more towards Indo.
Fair enough, but that's still not something that's really visible and readily available to people in the US (as far as I know anyway). But the bigger point is those options are few and far between, and the whole appeal of it is what a specific thing it is. I just don't think there are a ton of other super close options, regardless of price. And the price is basically expected at this point.
StevenC
Needs a hobby
Yeah, like, I want this because I want an 8 string strat. Ideally I want an 8 string with 3 single coils and a Fender style trem. This ticks enough boxes for me.
Secondly I want an 8 string with a Floyd. I would buy the Edwards but it's short scale, and I would have brought the Snapper 8 home with me if I knew it existed when I was in Tokyo. The other options are hideous.
The price is high, but it's also the only acceptable option under £4000.
HeHasTheJazzHands
Well-Known Member
If you're dead set about the 3 single coils, you can probably get someone to trace and make you a S-S-S guard and you can get a 3rd Fishman single coil once they're available. Sure it's more $$$, but you'll get the ideal-specced guitar.
StevenC
Needs a hobby
I've got a much better and more expensive plan in the works.
But I'm buying this too.
Emperor Guillotine
The Almighty Ruler
Pretty sure that the new JR sig might have a coil-split installed for the bridge pickup.
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G_3_3_k_
Probably diddling an Oni
Exactly. Sourcing materials is getting harder to do as shipping prices have gone way up over the last few years. Most lumber comes from remote parts of the globe from these factories. They also generally have dwindling supply. It’s just economics until we figure out a better way to use these materials. I’m all for composites and synthetic materials going forward. In the end, it will make manufacturing processes and results more efficient. Could also reduce costs over the long term as processes streamline and the productions of those materials becomes more ubiquitous and efficient itself. Anyone still knocking on richlite as inferior at this point literally doesn’t know what they’re talking about. And I don’t have to tell this community how awesome Aristedes is.
If we’re going to stick with the traditional wood approach prices will continue to get higher and higher, and quality can stagnate at higher price points because material cost is going to continue to rise. This doesn’t even factor for inflation. Which has been nuts as well. My rent has almost doubled in the last couple years and my salary has barely moved. While I make more hourly by about 10%, my buying power has dropped enough that I effectively make less money than I did five years ago. I understand why people think $2500 for an Indo guitar is a lot. But the cost going into that guitar in hard and soft resources is also much higher than it was 5 years ago. You can cry about it, but it costs what it costs. If you want those companies in business building the guitars you love, you have to deal with it.
This is basically the expected response here.
G_3_3_k_
Probably diddling an Oni
I mean…. Coil split is great for an approximation. But it doesn’t get the same sound as a single coil with the characteristic tilt that a bridge single in a strat has. More versatile? Yes. But sometimes versatile isn’t what you’re looking for.
Hollowway
Extended Ranger
When I specced out the Balaguer 8FR, I was going to do the pick guard, then swimming pool route it, and install the fanned Instrumental single coils Tom Drinkwater had them (Instrumental) design for his SS8 guitars. Then I'd have a cool Strat 8 with Floyd, SSS, and reverse slanted for the tonez. Ultimately I didn't do it, because I couldn't rationalize it, and I knew damn well I'd never put the pickups in.
Daevasmodeus
Well-Known Member
There aren't really any good passive options for single coil 8 string pickups that I'm aware of. BKP will make you some, but they don't make covers so you will have exposed copper wire. I have experimented with my Dimarzio Ionizer single in the bridge of my custom Floyd Ibanez 8 with a swimming pool route and my split coil Lundgrens sound better to me so I ended up with HSH instead of SSS which I was considering.
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G_3_3_k_
Probably diddling an Oni
That’s not exactly the point I’m making. And to be completely honest, there’s not enough appreciable difference between pickups in a mix to matter all that much. I know that’s not how everyone approaches tone. But it’s the only thing that matters to me, so talking about anything else doesn’t really hold any water IMO. You can tell a strat in a mix. Or a Tele. Beyond that, most things sound pretty similar. Split coils get close, but it’s not the same. Pickup position has maybe more to do with EQ than the pickup itself. The tilt of a strat bridge or Tele bridge is part of what makes the sound they make. A single from the middle position with the wrong pole spacing to be tilted to begin with isn’t going to cut it. That spacing and additional copper wire required to wrap the longer bobbin is going to change the sound too a little. I don’t think the additional copper and spacing will matter in a mix at all, but if we’re splitting hair about pickups like guitar players typically do, then it’ll likely have a higher DC resistance and thus be slightly hotter and more mid focused.
The reason there aren’t many options though lies in the fact that while 8 string is pretty common now, it’s still mostly a niche market. Most of the players are extreme metal or prog metal guys, and then there’s a handful of jazz guys. Not many (any) blues or country players with 8 strings. If you’re looking for a good single coil option, I’d actually look at how/who Charlie Hunter’s guitar company sources their pickups. You’ll likely find better options that way for single coil.
Daevasmodeus
Well-Known Member
There wasn't an appreciable difference between my Lundgren M8 split coil and a real Dimarzio 8-String single coil angled in the bridge position in a mix. I just ended up liking the M8 better for subtle eq and F# clarity reasons. Other humbuckers I find split coil to sound like garbage for the most part so I was surprised it sounded so similar. I don't even play in full humbucker on the bridge much at all anymore on that guitar.
Perhaps I could custom build a single coil to sound better but in this instance I compared to the only mass production 8-String single coil that's available and the M8 came out on top for me. The M8 split gets me close enough to actual 6 string strats I own but then there are other tonal differences than just the pickups.
r3tr0sp3ct1v3
Well-Known Member
Nope not buying it
G_3_3_k_
Probably diddling an Oni
Taste is taste. There may be an EQ curve the M8 has that makes it similar to a strat single. However, I don’t honestly believe, either from experience or from knowledge of physics that any pickup, regardless of materials is going to do much more than be louder or quieter, or more or less clear in character. Unless it’s a pretty radical design like the Q-Tuner. Which I’ve had a couple sets of to play with. Or and active pickup.
That said, I agree, that with an 8 string, typically a longer scaled instrument, you’re going to get some differences in tone based on where the pickup is placed along the string and the differences between the distances between harmonic nodes on the string. Effectively, a standard aperture humbucker on a longer scale guitar is going to be closer to a really hot minibucker or a hot rails by comparison. Placement is under the strings is extremely important.
soul_lip_mike
Contributor
do we definitively know this new one is indo and not korean built?
No.
There are no markings on the single prototype pictured in the pre-order listings. No serial number or anything.
All the other signature models above $1500 are still MIK, not sure why this one would break the mold in that regard.
8195229
Active Member
I have the Merrow Fishmans in my 8 string and the split tones sounds great. I keep seeing comments on wanting a single in the bridge. And when I first saw his custom model i was onboard with an SSS setup. But I believe the versatility with an HSS setup is too good to pass up. If Javier Reyes and the team at ESP made this change, then it's got to be the better option.
StevenC
Needs a hobby
His custom had Dimarzios that he's been using for 6 years without changing the pickups. This is a marketing choice.
