First REAL proof that Edwards' are actually MIJ

[cyberpunk409]

Yes i know this is the same thread as i posted on JAPANAXE, but i also realise that not everyone who goes on that site necessarily visits this site, so here goes...

I know there's been a lot of speculation if the Edwards line of guitars are made in china and assembled in japan, or how much each country actually contributes to the final product... or if they're completely made in japan, or completely made in China with just hardware added in Japan, etc etc etc.

I have to admit I'm sceptical and believe that SOME of the work/labour/materials are sourced from China, because there's just no-way such a well built instrument could be made entirely in japan and cost so little!!!

Many of you may not know just how special it is to have a true 1-piece neck, where the neck, headstock AND heal are one piece of wood. I just recently saw an Orville by Gibson (ObG - yes the "highest quality" orville with nitro finish and USA pups) on eBay with an additional neck heel glued to the neck. See here for proof: http://imageevent.com/chingo123/april2009/orvillebygiblpscrsb4143 or for the lazy, here's a pic

A true 1-piece, like found on our beloved Edwards' LP's, wastes soooooooo much wood, which is why i believe it would be near impossible for it to be made entirely in JAPAN and only cost around $800 USD in today's current market. That, along with JAPANESE hardware and USA pickups.

And it doesn't help that ESP won't disclose exactly where these are made... BUT.... i have found the first official piece of evidence that indicates that JAPAN has at least "some" involvement in the making of these remarkable guitars:

the full auction is at: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ESP-Edwards-LP-Super-Flamed-Relic-DUNCAN-Tobacco-Nitro_W0QQitemZ380116609863QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar?hash=item380116609863&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A1%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

now you may think the seller just printed off a sticker and added it himself. Luckily, the seller, yasoohmusic1109, is the same seller i got my LP-98LTS from. And i can add that from communications with him, and dealing with him and seeking help from him 6months after i bought the axe, that he is a truely genuine and professional person/eBay store. I honestly do not think that he/they would add the sticker, which means it came from the factory.

Anyways, just thought i'd share this, as it's the FIRST time i've seen "Made in Japan" on an Edwards guitar

 

[TOKAI JOE]

8) maybe they are from this year maybe only some of the high end ones
maybe someone put the sticker not him but someone else.......
if the gtr is more than 60% made in japan then ESP can say proudly
its made in japan which everyone likes. so why they just simply
dont say so on the edwards gtrs? coz not? why everyone hates
made in china so much? i know those things but that doesnt mean
all the way on made in china........

i call ESP now and find out, wait for the answer guys!





8)

 

[leadguitar_323]

I know there's been a lot of speculation if the Edwards line of guitars are made in china and assembled in japan

You need to go back and read those old threads thoroughly, Japan only needs a percentage of the work {60%or less}to be done in Japan to call these MIJ, this is written law. They are all machined in china and assembled in Japan, i was told this in person by a Japanese agent for ESP and he states this in his auctions. I don't understand why people are going out of your way to disprove this, it is quite well known and it was no rumor, it is a fact.
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-ESP-Edwards-112LTS-RE-Relic-Honey-Burst-Super-Flame_W0QQitemZ390033135000QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item390033135000&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14.l1262

Go down to the description to "year of manufacture" and see for yourself,
I would now like someone to explain how Edwards {ESP} manage to build very nice guitars with reasonably good wood far cheaper than anyone else......its very easy to explain....Machined in China and assembled in Japan. Did you know that ESP has a massive factory in China? Keep looking, you will find out sooner or later.


Hello Joe, we already went down this road a while ago and the same thing will happen, they don't want to believe it, so i see no point in going through all this again, have a great day mate. :wink:


Mick

 

[le juge]

If The quality of the wood is good and the assembling/finishing process is made in Japan, it's not a problem to machine them in China ?! No ?!
It's the same thing with some Fender written on "made in USA" (for the %age of parts made in mexico).

 

[leadguitar_323]

I agree, don't know what all the fuss is about.

Mick

 

[cyberpunk409]

oh don't get me wrong... i couldn't care less if my particular E-LP-98LTS was made in Congo or Sierra Leone. It is constructed flawlessly and the materials are exceptional (like i said Japanese hardware, USA pickups, what seems to be quality African Mahogany, a 1 piece neck, etc...)

But it would be nice for it not to be such a secret where they make them. You don't buy a laptop or plasma thinking it's made in Japan, where the makers of some of the BEST electronic equipment reside... only to find out it doesn't have a "Made in..." label on it somewhere!

It would be nice is all.

 

[leadguitar_323]

I agree, i think it may just be a perception thing, you know, its Chinese that must mean its cheap. I don't know, i don't own an Edwards but i would if i found the right one.

Mick

 

[le juge]

I have a E-LP-130LTS/RE model, it's an amazing guitar for a good price. You don't pay for the "the brand", just for a quality instrument well finished and built.

 

[Dave_Mc]

And it doesn't help that ESP won't disclose exactly where these are made... BUT.... i have found the first official piece of evidence that indicates that JAPAN has at least "some" involvement in the making of these remarkable guitars:

i tried a second-hand edwards les paul special in a local store a couple of years ago which had "made in japan" on it. if i remember correctly, it wasn't a sticker either, it was stamped onto the back of the headstock (like tokai do). But it's a couple of years since I tried it, so it may have been a sticker.

That being said, i'm sure the rumours about their being machined in china and only sufficient work done to allow them to be labelled "made in japan" are correct (or at least I wouldn't argue with them). I know my edwards doesn't have "made in japan" on the back of the headstock, just a serial number.

 

[TOKAI JOE]

8) yesterday i called ESP tokyo and osaka and asked about it.
with 3 esp dumb sales guys. what they all said clearly first was that
only "edwards are assembled in japan but the rests are
made in somewhere else". i asked then is it china or korea
or vietnam? then they all only said som like ".....its over there......."
if edwards gtrs are made in japan then why dont they always just
proudly say so? whats the reason they can't say it? what are they
hiding? why hiding? they also said 2 more things super clear.....
that ESP gtrs are made in japan and all grassroots gtrs are
made in china/korea. currently mostly from china before korea...
but always super unclear about edwards gtrs.........
i emailed dirty ESP too last night. so hopefully i get the reply
which is the fact honestly.

i still super strongly believe edwards gtrs are only assembled
in japan but the rests are made in china. i heard that ESP has
a goooood factory in china now. i guess that made in japan sticker
is fake unless maybe some of the high end edwards are now more
than 60% made in japan so only they can have that sticker and
not the rest of the edwards. but if thats so then i should see that
sticker now on every high end edwards models on the net?
at all the major japa gtr shops. i should be able to see it by the pc
but i think i havent seen none yet exception of your friend's.
he is only a minor net seller right? maybe not him but someone
before him did that? u never know but more possible its fake
than the official as long as we dont see more ones with sticker
on the market. so stop confusing us. mick is right...........
i know people wanna believe edwards gtrs are made in japan
but they aint. maybe someday but not yet they aint so far.
stop hating made in china so much/too much. not everything
from there has the problems.......today many chinese gtrs are
pretty good as good as regular made in japan/korea...........









8) i tell you what......ESP is pretty stupid, not-so good company.
u all guys can tell if u r here in japan speaking japanese....
their gtrs are good/great quality often but their moral is always
no........yES they are Pee........a joke about them sometimes....

 

[le juge]

The secrets of ESP are industrial secrets and they prefer to hide them.
I don't care if one part of the building process is made in another country, the fact is these guitars have good quality woods and an excellent quality of building and finishing !
They are not low prices guitars, and regarding to the finish, I think last operations would be made in Japan ( lacquer, assembling ), they sound great so, I don't think ESP is using poor wood material.
Now, if there's not "made in Japan" written on it, we could have a serious doubt.

 

[leadguitar_323]

They are not low prices guitars,

Well they are low priced if you compare them to the guitars they copy as their build quality is as good or better and it looks like ESP use better wood than Gibbo do on their standards.

Now, if there's not "made in Japan" written on it, we could have a serious doubt.

It doesn't matter if it has "made in Japan" on it as it doesn't have to be made in japan to qualify for this label, only a certain percentage is made in Japan.

Mick

 

[TOKAI JOE]

8) ofcourse edwards gtrs are all excellent for that price range and
their finish and parts are well done in japan. but if the body and
neck are made in china thats more than 60% of the gtr. so
they aint given the ID "made in japan" officially. they TELL you
LOUD n super CLEAR if they are all made in japan! no doubt!
they are always hiding and lying coz they can't say it !!!!!!!!
silly ESP! anyways edwards gtrs are excellent no doubt too!

dont think wrong too much on this if u dont wanna be head sick.
there was this member here before named "sneakyjapan"
and he seem to quit his gtr life lately coz his beloved ED was
no longer japanese but mostly chinese. he loved japan
deeply actually although he often was very negative about
japan and japanese and many other things. hope he is
peaceful now in canada. some here says he is lost/gone
in somewhere tokyo lately.........





8)

 

[TOKAI JOE]

8) SORRY GUY YOU WERE WRONG HERE! MICK N ME ARE RIGHT ON!

http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=13235

and now WHO PUT THAT FxxKIN LIER STICKER ????????

 

[TOKAI JOE]

"now you may think the seller just printed off a sticker and added it himself. Luckily, the seller, yasoohmusic1109, is the same seller i got my LP-98LTS from. And i can add that from communications with him, and dealing with him and seeking help from him 6months after i bought the axe, that he is a truely genuine and professional person/eBay store. I honestly do not think that he/they would add the sticker, which means it came from the factory."


:lol: now u ask him seriously if he ever did that......!!!!

 

[Ozeshin]

What it all comes down to is that ESP have satisfied the industrial/commercial governing body in Japan as to the 60% rule.
That entitles them to slap MiJ on the guitar if they so desire...should this change to Crafted in China?
I think so.
My Legacy Explorer was MiC and next to my Tokai LS80 it's the finest guitar I currently own.
I've been over it with a fine toothed comb and can't fault it for anything.
Yes there's still crap coming out of Chinese factories every day...but as a rule the stuff being built under license for the bigger named brands is still subject to the same stringent QC as it would if it was built in Japan.

 

[cyberpunk409]

"now you may think the seller just printed off a sticker and added it himself. Luckily, the seller, yasoohmusic1109, is the same seller i got my LP-98LTS from. And i can add that from communications with him, and dealing with him and seeking help from him 6months after i bought the axe, that he is a truely genuine and professional person/eBay store. I honestly do not think that he/they would add the sticker, which means it came from the factory."


:lol: now u ask him seriously if he ever did that......!!!!

i did, his reply was:

Thank you for your email.
The ESP don't add "the made in japan " sticker on line up of the Edwards LPS, LPC,ESA, ESG now.
But It's made in Jpan surely. you don't have to worry.
Thank you so much.
Yasuo of Groovin

 

[TOKAI JOE]

"now you may think the seller just printed off a sticker and added it himself. Luckily, the seller, yasoohmusic1109, is the same seller i got my LP-98LTS from. And i can add that from communications with him, and dealing with him and seeking help from him 6months after i bought the axe, that he is a truely genuine and professional person/eBay store. I honestly do not think that he/they would add the sticker, which means it came from the factory."


:lol: now u ask him seriously if he ever did that......!!!!

i did, his reply was:

Thank you for your email.
The ESP don't add "the made in japan " sticker on line up of the Edwards LPS, LPC,ESA, ESG now.
But It's made in Jpan surely. you don't have to worry.
Thank you so much.
Yasuo of Groovin

8) so groovy yasuo still doesnt know it or just being a bit too groovy??
anyways we dont need to worry anymore coz now we know the truth!

 

[cyberpunk409]

well i don't mind that they're made in china. Obviously the quality control is being done in japan, and they're not letting ANY dodgy ones get through, they have a reputation to uphold. That's the difference between Japanese and Chinese... PRIDE in workmanship.

China will pump anything out to meet quota's and workers cover their own asses so they aren't personally liable for recouping loses on poorly made instruments (i know workers in Former-Eastern Europe have to til this day, fork out own cash if they stuff something up, don't see why China would be any different).

As long as Japanese workers are doing the final setup and inspection, it's all good to me And if i sound racist, that's YOUR poor interpretation of what i've said. There's a DEFINATE difference in work ethic with Japan Vs China... don't care what anyone thinks or says.

 

[TOKAI JOE]

thanks a lot for loving japanese so much! we didnt know!
u know not that chinese stuff are always no-good mostly.
as far as ones in the international official markets go
they are ok and getting better lately i think. so ok.
sounds a bit strange and funny when you are talking so hot
about japanese when i am actually 100% japanese myself.
you must have been a japanese in your past life or som.....

8) funky chinatown .........