Edwards E-LP-130LTS\RE

Edwards Les Paul copy, most probably built in 2007 in Japan.
Solid body with no weight relief: 1 piece mahogany back (though some argue that it isn't real mahogany, but something similar/something which is counted under the mahogany family, solid maple top, flame maple veneer, 1 piece neck - the same wood as the body with rosewood fingerboard.
Seymour Duncan Antiquity pickups, 4 CTS 500k-A pots, 2 foil and oil capacitors, Switchcraft 3 way switch.
It has very thin all nitrocellulose finish which had been relic'd in the factory to give that cool vintage distressed look. The scale is standard Les Paul 24.75", 22 frets seem like medium size, Gotoh Tune-O-Matic bridge with Gotoh stop tailpiece (both lightweight aluminium), and also Gotoh Kluson Deluxe tuners.
Neck is something between a fat '58 and the slim '60, very very comfortable. It also has the deep neck joint and the long tenon.
It weights 7.4lbs approximately which makes it very comfortable for playing long hours. Came with a not so great ESP gig bag, but it's OK.

Standard Les Paul features, which is pretty much all you need, so 10 for Gibson's invention and Edwards' consistency with it.

I was looking for a guitar which will provide me with that old-proper Les Paul sound from the late 50's era, full, warm, not to strong signal, but when cranked up to give great oomph.

It just sounds awesome! I was at first worried when i got it, as it wasn't very heavy - as the matter of fact it's one of the lightest Les Pauls i've ever played, but boy it has the sound!!! Very acoustically balanced, very loud, not too bass or treble heavy - just right!
I was worried about the bass, i thought that it'd be weak, too bright, but (dead honest) when i used to have Epi Les Paul i had my Marshall DSL100 bass pot set to about 6 with the neck bass pickup side being 3/32" away from the string - when i plugged Edwards in i had to lower the bass to 3-4 on the amp, plus lower both the neck pickup's bass side and its polepieces! It was just soooo bassy, but of course, when you adjust it to your preferences, it sounds just amazing!
Neck position is very warm and full, and when switched to bridge ahhhh ... that great les paul old school tone! Give a bit of crunch on the amp, and you're off! AC/DC, Thin Lizzy and similar tones are immediately achieved! Turn the tone pot back and there u go Cream!
No noise what-so-ever, switching is pop/scratch free thanks to the great quality switch, and pots are as good as they get! Also the capacitors are very good, not these funny cheap ceramic discs, but proper sized foil and oil caps, (sorry dunno the brand) but very similar to Orange Drop or Mallory 150's.

Just to make it clear - while i was waiting for it to arrive i got some fear that i should have gone for Gibson Les Paul Studio, so i went to a lot of shops in London (Denmark Street) and played a lot of these Studios. (Now, i am not subjective, or saying this just to comfort myself or anything, dead honest, objective) This thing blew away ANY Gibson Studio that i've played there!

A solid 10 for sounding sooo good!

Action was very well set at the factory, it had 10-46 if i'm not wrong, but me being the string freak i immediately put some DR Dimebag Darrell 10-52 Signatures (though considering going back to 10-46). It has the neck set just right, all the frets are even and nicely polished. The pickup height wasn't according to my standards, but that might be because of the amp i play and many other variables, anyway it's something which is meant to be adjusted to personal taste.

The finish is quite good, i love the proper thin nitrocellulose finish and it is really thin letting the wood to breath. The relicing job is not amazing, it has been done quite well in fact, but i just do not fancy reliced guitars... Pitty they don't make this guitar unreliced as an option, but it's far from being bad, I like some touches...

The flame maple is as far as i know just a veneer, and it has been properly bookmatched, but somehow looks a bit too perfect, these flames (stripes) look too straight, i prefer a bit less figured, but a bit more natural, but it does look good... No flaws what so ever!
They haven't reliced the neck so it is one more plus for the playability!

Guitar is very very solidly built, just as any other Les Paul needs a bit of care with the headstock, try not to break it, other than that, i know concrete walls which are easier to break than this! The finish should give you the possibility to relic it a bit more, but the natural way as it's thin, so it'll definitely have scratches and nice looks :)
The strap buttons are somewhat smaller than on my Fender Strat, but if you get pretty much any strap from Levy's you don't need to stretch for straplocks.

never dealt with ESP Japan/Edwards, and i do not believe that it'd go too well, but i don't really need to contact them, it is well built, so any touches needed it'd go to my luthier's. I bought it from Yasuo Tagawa who runs a shop Groovin, also available on ebay named Yasoohmusic1109 and is great to deal with! Highly recommended!

I have been playing for about a year and a half, mostly rock and blues. I play currently through a Crybaby Wah, Digitech Bad Monkey, Marshall Guv'nor2 and into a 100watt Marshall JCM2000 DSL100 head which is connected to a crappy old PA box made of MDF with 2 old McKenzie bass speakers, but for my needs so far it sounds very very well.

OK, the guitar - verdict:

This guitar is definitely worth 1190$ (that's how much it cost with the shipping) and is for that money possibly the best buy out there. What i mean by the best buy: It will have you closer to the proper Les Paul sound than most of Japanese competition, and definitely much closer than the most of Gibson Les Paul Studios (with Gibson you have to try 100 guitars to find 5 outstanding, 10-20 will be good, the rest will pretty much be rubbish - talking about Studio version).
So this guitar is the best choice for someone who demands the best you can get for that money without gambling, Edwards makes consistent guitars, and very very well priced! Who doesn't bother what does it say on the headstock should have this guitar bought - or at least considered. As for resale, it won't be as solid as Gibson, but people who know what they want will go for one.
Would i buy it again? Hmmm... I can say that i maybe rushed it a bit with this purchase - but i got it DAMN RIGHT THERE! I'd maybe go out and spend months playing every Gibson i find out until something blows me away (and i am afraid that the first thing to blow me away would again be Edwards)...
It's better to have a Gibson that sounds like this, but you really need to search hard to get one for this, or a slightly higher price.
I can say with confidence that this can beat a lot of Les Paul Standards which are twice as pricy.
The hardware used is pretty much the best you can get, and the features are closer to the original '59 Les Paul that everyone is raving about than Gibson's Standard edition... Said enough!

Good Luck!