ESP M-II Standard Series - help please

[Bellzemos]

Hello,

I've ordered a new electric guitar ESP M-II Standard Series (made in Japan in 2012). The music store asured me that the guitar is new and in perfect condition, even though it was on display for quite a long time. When I received the guitar I noteced lots of things and am now thinking about returning it or getting it fixed.

Here are the photos that correspond to the following points:
http://imgur.com/a/O2ZyT

1. Neck pickup (SD 59) dances left and right, it doesn't seem to be really fixed, is that normal?
2. Bridge pickup (SD JB) is set way higher than the neck pickup, is that OK? When I use the Floyd, the strings touch the pickup.
3. There is some damage on the neck.
4. There is some damage on the back of the body.
5. Where the neck is bolted-on to the body is a crack - and this bothers me the most. Is this from the factory or was done later, is it dangerous?
6. A wire on the neck pickup is visible, I'm afraid I can damage it during playing.
7. If I push the Floyd (original) down or bend the strings, the guitar gets out of tune. If I then push the Folyd upwards a couple of times, it gets back in tune (well, kinda) - is that how it's supposed to work? I tought that Floyd keeps the guitar in tune at all times.
8. The clean sound of the guitar sounds like it's distorting a bit, maybe cause the bridge pickup is set too high? But the neck pickup distorts as well...

I've paid 1700 EUR for the guitar, do you think that the music store should give me a discount regarding all the wrongs? Which of those shuld be fixed in order for the guitar to serve me for many years? Shold I even try fixing it or simply return it? It plays OK (except for the out-of-tune Floyd).

Thank you!

 

[mwalluk]

Re: ESP M-II Standard Series - help please

I'd return it. You paid for a new one, not a store beater. It may have never been sold prior but how many times have people picked it up and tried it at the store? Of those times, how many of them had no business touching it? If you love it, ask for a a huge discount and take it to a shop to get work done.

 

[Bellzemos]

Re: ESP M-II Standard Series - help please

Thank you for the reply, I'm still deciding... It plays pretty nicely and I like the looks. If the floyd de-tuning can e fixed I think I'll rather keep than return it.

I have another question about the Floyd Rose:


The question mark points at (I think) what's called knife edges. My question: is it true that you can ruin the Floyd Rose if you turn those when the Floyd Rose is set up (with strings and springs and all)? And that you should only adjust those when there's not tension?

Thanx!

 

[daenius]

Re: ESP M-II Standard Series - help please

About the knife edge: no

While it's recommended that you slacking the string tension a bit when you turn them, a high quality OFR like the one in your guitar should definitely be able to survive the minor adjustments with no damage to the knife edges. Sure it's still better to loosen the string tension when adjusting, but not doing so shouldn't cause a huge problem either.

VERY sorry to hear about your misfortune on such an otherwise beautiful and amazing guitar! I have a Japanese ESP myself and it's just incredibly well made and great playing, along with a phenomenal tone coming from the JB in that guitar.

The condition of the guitar is at best a "decent condition used", definitely NOT anywhere near new! You can tell from the neck pocket finish cracks and the damages on the neck and body, in addition to the less-than-shiny Floyd. Now the neck pocket crack looks like a finish crack, so it shouldn't affect the wood underneath. You should be safe with it, but again, for a "new" guitar this would be unacceptable. You should definitely try to return it or demand a significant discount given that you basically bought a used guitar instead of a new one.

The pickup distortion comes from both your amp and the pickup height. Pickup height is personal preference, but a lot of people would press down on the 24th fret, then measure the distance from top of the pickup pole piece to the string at 1.5mm to 2mm. Neck pickup should be lower than that, so 2.5mm is a good start. Your amp plays a VERY big role here too. If your amp doesn't have enough headroom for the clean channel then it'll get pushed into distortion easily. For example, a great amp like the Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier does not have a lot of headroom for the clean channel, so it starts to get crunchy if you use a full humbucker in the clean channel. A Carvin Legacy's clean channel has tremendous headroom and refuses to distort even if you run a high output humbucker into the channel. That said, I would not worry about the clean channel distortion because it's not really a fault of the guitar. You have other things to worry about in that guitar, unfortunately >__<

Good luck resolving the issue!

 

[Bellzemos]

Re: ESP M-II Standard Series - help please

Thank you for the reply. About knife edges: I've seen guys go crazy on the topic, saying taht adjusting them with tension damages every FR.

Anyway, apart from the cosmetic/financial problem, do you think there are any funcitional flaws? I think I could eat up the cosmetic crap and keep it. I'll ask for a refund-discount but I know they will say not. So I'll just send them to hell and keep it I guess.

What I'm asking is, can you see any functiona/tonal flaws or only cosmetic flaws? Thanx again.

 

[daenius]

Re: ESP M-II Standard Series - help please

Obviously I can only see pictures, so I can only tell you if anything visually jumps out at me. Of course, how it plays and sounds will depend heavily on how well you set it up

So besides the cosmetic flaws I'm seeing just 2 things:

Pickup height adjustment for both neck and bridge
Neck pickup's pole pieces don't seem to be aligned with the lower strings

That's about all I can see. You should definitely check other things yourself such as neck relief, intonation, action, etc

 

[dave74]

Re: ESP M-II Standard Series - help please

If you do need to make an action adjustment while under tension just attach the bar and hold it in major dive-bomb position with your left hand while turning the hex with your right.
You can feel how much easier it turns like this. Less tension and any wear (if any) would essentially sharpen the edge not dull it.

 

[Bellzemos]

Re: ESP M-II Standard Series - help please

@ daenius: Do you think that the neck pickup should be set higher and the birdge pickup lower, or just the bridge pickup lower? Neck pickup's pole pieces aren't aligned only on those 2 pics, because I'm trying to show that the neck pickup is loose (point 1 in my oroginal post). Action is maybe a bit too low, probably becasue the Floyd is not 100% parallel with the body, intonation is pretty good, I don't really know what neck relief is (English is not my native language) but I guess neck's OK.

@ dave74: OK, but there's still tension from the springs?

 

[daenius]

Re: ESP M-II Standard Series - help please

@ daenius: Do you think that the neck pickup should be set higher and the birdge pickup lower, or just the bridge pickup lower? Neck pickup's pole pieces aren't aligned only on those 2 pics, because I'm trying to show that the neck pickup is loose (point 1 in my oroginal post). Action is maybe a bit too low, probably becasue the Floyd is not 100% parallel with the body, intonation is pretty good, I don't really know what neck relief is (English is not my native language) but I guess neck's OK.

@ dave74: OK, but there's still tension from the springs?

The neck pickup looks a bit high too. You should take a ruler and measure it. I suggest starting with 2.5mm for the neck and 2mm for the bridge.
Definitely set the Floyd 100% parallel to the body first!
Follow this guide for Neck Relief: http://www2.fender.com/experience/tech-talk/how-to-measure-neck-relief/

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Re: ESP M-II Standard Series - help please

I'd denigrate the guitar to the level of 20-dollar whore on Vegas strip, considering the number of people who have given it a test drive. Yeah your guitar is like that car in a dealership used for a test drive.

Anyway, it's common for a Floyd Rose to go slightly out of tune when depressed. Even the most stable Floyd of all, which is the Ibanez Original Edge, goes out of tune a little bit when depressed, even with the nut locked. But they should return to normal when you pull the bar up.

Don't worry about the knife edge, it is tough as nail. I have a licensed FR since 1995 and I have adjusted the bridge with tension on with no problem.

 

[dave74]

Re: ESP M-II Standard Series - help please

@ dave74: OK, but there's still tension from the springs?

Just try it,,,,,the screw turns much easier,,,,,,,,,or with less friction we could say.
Deep dive bomb hold with left,,,,,,then turn with right.

 

[Bellzemos]

Re: ESP M-II Standard Series - help please

Thank you all for your help! The cosmetic flaws are hard to swallow, on a "new guitar" but I'll probably keep it... Still have a few days to think it over.

 

[Mincer]

Re: ESP M-II Standard Series - help please

You can always play hardball, go back with the intention of returning it and show them the flaws. They can either refund some $ or throw in some extras. Let them know if they don't , it gets returned.

 

[Chad]

Re: ESP M-II Standard Series - help please

Just wanted to add that modern era M-IIs in the color white are rare as a hen's tooth. Love that color and the look of the guitar. Sorry to hear about the problems.