Edwards ELP90

2006 Les Paul copy, made in Japan. Lemondrop (yellow) clear nitrocellulose finish over flame maple veneer on maple-capped mahogany body, with one-piece mahogany neck. Back and neck have a reddish color in the otherwise clear finish. Les Paul Standard features, i.e. Tune-O-Matic bridge, stop tailpiece, Keystone tuners (Gotoh?), cream pickguard and selector swith ring. Neck is fairly substantial, similar to "50's Rounded profile" a la Gibson. Frets are medium jumbo, rounded. Body is extra lightweight compared to Gibsons due to chambering, I believe. Entire guitar weighs less than 7 lbs.! Seymour Duncan SH-1 and SH-4 pickups with brushed chrome covers. The bridge and tailpiece have a sort of satiny finsh rather than mirrorlike chrome finish as well. I'll rate features as a 7 as they are straightforward, simple, but no-frills.

I play a wide variety of rock from Surf, to 60's garage, and psych, to rockabilly, blues and old-school country/americana. The Les Paul is really pretty simple and some have said a one trick pony. I would not disagree. I tend to be more Fenderphilic as I've always appreciated the twangy single coil bite over the mellow humbuckers, but that being said, there are times that you want and need that classic fuller sound and this guitar provides that in a beautiful, lightweight, and easy to play fashion. The Seymour Duncans on this axe really sing clearly, with a nice difference between the bridge and neck pickups. The bridge is, as expected, a tinge hotter but still well-behaved. For getting "THAT" sound, the Edwards aces it in this category.

Very nice fit and pretty good finish. The neck and frets are all very well finished and dressed. Nothing loose on the entire guitar, the switch and pots are all quality and feel great and firm. When I received the guitar, used, in California via UPS from Illinois in early spring, the action was low with a little buzzing on the first fret or two. The reason was that there was absolutely no relief on the neck. After very little truss rod adjustment (it appears that it hadn't been touched since leaving the factory) the buzzing was gone and it's a darn near perfect set-up now. The finish had just a little orange peel but hardly noticeable. The neck/body joint is perfect. There is a little bit of satiny haze on the side of the headstock and the face of the headstock is a satin finish. The gloss on the rest of the guitar is something I really like--it's slightly dull, or aged looking, with a kind of honey-textured patina if that makes sense to you. It's not mirror-like nor is at all like that crappy "aged" satin finish of the lower end Gibsons of recent issue. The finish on the guitar just has that look like it's been around for 3-4 decades like the real vintage flametops! I've owned twenty or so Gibsons in all my years and none have been perfect so I'd say the score is pretty even vis-a-vis Gibson and Edwards.

I certainly expect that this guitar will stand up to live playing--it ain't a toy. Don't know the long term prognosis regarding how it will last but I think it will age quite nicely. Everything's solid. Being mahogany-necked it has the potential for breakage with a minor whacking or fall. I always bring a backup for safety and variety, e.g. the bomb-proof Telecaster! I'll rate this guitar relative to its inherent fragility only.

I doubt I'd ever need to deal with Edwards directly so I don't know how their support ranks, and I have no warranty having bought it used.

I've been playing regularly since 1977, gigged hundreds of times, in all conditions imaginable. This is my 54th guitar (yes, I've kept track despite feeblemindedness). I'm trying to rely on fairly basic, dependable equipment these days including my 1984 Squier Telecaster I've owned since new, a 2004 Highway One Strat (another great value) and a '59 Bassman LTD. reissue. An assortment of pedals round out my electric gear. I'm super happy with this Les Paul and I'm fairly certain I've got a keeper here, folks. I've not the means to purchase a new Gibson Les Paul Standard and to be honest, I wouldn't if I did have the money. Two grand they simply are not worth, especially if it's the sound and feel (plus less of a need for a chiropractor) the Edwards provides. I wouldn't touch the Epiphone Les Pauls and I strongly recommend the Edwards models if you can't afford the Gibsons, especially since they only set you back a couple of hundred more than the Epiphones.