ESP Lynch Series guitars

[Predator1]

Does anyone here own or played any of the Lynch signiture series guitars? How do they compare in quality to a USA Charvel or Jackson? Playability,fit&finish,Graphics quality
sound/tone.I am paticularly interested in the M1 tiger or Kamikazi

[Riscchip]

Re: ESP Lynch Series guitars

I've had two kamikazis, one black, one blue, & a tiger (non-M1). They aren't overly bright, despite the solid maple body, but they are fairly hard / open sounding without a lot of thickness and compression. By comparison, I think Jacksons tend to have a denser, less open overall sound. The ESPs have more of a punchy Van Halenish thing going on...closer to a hot rodded strat.

Fit and finish wise, I think Jacksons are the winner. My Lynchs had decent but not Jackson quality fretwork...some of the fret slots were cut too deep, too. I can't really think of a lot more specifics as I haven't had the ESPs in hand in years. The out of the box setup will be better on a Jackson, as well.

They are both good guitars, but I'd go with a Jackson, myself. Just my opinions, of course...sure others will have different things to say.

[invader72]

Re: ESP Lynch Series guitars

I've had several Kamis over the past 2-3 years. Guitars are very heavy, Les Paul heavy. If you like to play searing guitar solos you will not like the demon pu's. They are very low output. I put an Evolution in one Kami I had and the guitar ripped after that but you really have to do some eq work with these guitars. Workmanship was awesome on the ones I've owned. Matter of fact I was so impressed with the workmanship I sold all of my Ibanez JPMs in disgust. The Quality and feel Of the Kamikaze is amazing. The guitars are very big. Thickness of body is 1-7/8 inch thick! Body is also larger than your typical Fender strat body. Only real beef I have with these guitars is truss rod adjustment is in the neck pocket and you have to remove neck to adjust. Nut width is 1-3/4. This guitar is for men, not boys. After some tweaking(milling .010 off the bottom of the nut), the guitar is worthy of some serious shredding. When compared to my JPMs, the Ibanezes just felt cheap, but these do require a more maintenance than your typical Ibanez because they're so old school constructed. Cool vibe though.

[mudkicker]

Re: ESP Lynch Series guitars

Great guitars. Amazing. I have had several and still own a Skulls and Snakes. Like invader said these are big guitars. The fit and finish seems better on the late 80s early 90s ESPs. The ones that don't have the custom shop logo on the back of the headstock.
Comparing my ESP to my 83 SD Charvel. The ESP has a faster neck, has a little more bite when cranked up. The Charvel is like a fine wine smoother and warmr than the ESP. They are like my kids I love them both for different reasons and can't pick a favorite.

[Markus]

Re: ESP Lynch Series guitars

I have a blue Kamikaze from 1990. It is one of my favorite guitars. The neck is closer to a D shape, slightly flattened out, rather than a C shape. 1 3/4 at the nut. It is really a nice guitar - top notch quality. My guitar has the Duncan Distortion in the bridge -- they came stock before the Demon was invented. I wouldn't say bright sounding at all, which is what is commonly associated with maple bodied guitars. You can get the late 80s/early 90s for a fair price on ebay if you are patient.
-Mark