ESP Lynch Kamikaze - knock-off comparison
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- čas přidán 5. 09. 2024
- We all want a real Kamikaze, but which is the better option? To find an old LTD or a decent off-shore copy, and why?
This doesn't only apply to the George Lynch guitars, but all signature vs knock- ffs. It applies to all of the cheap off-shore guitars vs the Epiphones, the Gio lines, the SE stuff, etc. Do we go to the lower line from the actual producer, or an off-shore copy? As we find in this video, that depends on your level of expertise in setting up a guitar.
The ESP Kamikaze body back looks just like the Chinese copy you have, it does NOT have a neck plate, nor are there any groves in the tremolo cover, and the pot cover is round, too.
I like your approach of modding the budget models into something special. I've been doing this sort of thing for years. My favorite sort of mode is to take an ax like my entry level Squier strat and throwing a DiMarzio Tone Zone in the bridge, maybe some locking tuners, a new pickguard and making it a single bucker ax with a volume knob. I like simple axes.
I did this with two ltds. The gl 200 MT and the kamikaze 4. Gotoh locking tuners on both, floyd rose original with titanium blocks and stainless steel screws on both. Big brass blocks on both, fu tone springs on both JB in the tiger and a screamin demon and a SSL1 Vinyage staggered in the kami. Also all new wiring and cts pots, new imput Jack's and a FU tone direct to body pickup mount in the kami.... they're both in my profile picture... THEY BOTH KICK ASS!!! also don't say beginners can't do this... because these were my very first two guitars and I made all the mods myself... I needed a truss rod adjustment in the kami and took it to a guitar tech he was blown away that I was a beginner player and beginner working on guitars. But let's not get it twisted... I use to install car audio so I have knowledge of wiring. Plus I did TONS of research before doing this.
WOW!! Great axes!!
The real item to learn here is - If you pay attention to detail and restore a guitar or two, you can quickly go from a beginner to intermediate. Pay attention and learn as you go. Learning by doing is the best way. CZcams helps, but it can't replace doing it yourself. I look at my first guitars and they look rough, with my current eyes. My first full fret job was not very good. It takes some time, but it is sure worth it.
@@buzzzmiller yea I scratched mine a bit, wasn't really "easy" but it's not as hard as people (guitar techs) make it out to be. If you're determined, you can definitely do it!! I think it's good your teaching people how to do this!!
@@stratkiller2531 Frets and changing the fretboard radius can get a little tricky, but not too bad.
Great video! Just bought the blue, white and red version off eBay. Was very impressed. Did a quick setup and it plays excellent! Plan on replacing the pickup and the tremolo at some point. I cut the neck pickup wires and sounds much better.
Yeah. I opened the back and they are both hard-wired together on the volume knob. They are supposed to both work, but that isn't the way that pickup positioning works. Had I just sanded down the nut about 50 thousandths and then moved the nut around 20 thou closer to the first fret and performed a quick intonation, it would have been killer. Even keeping these pickups and installing a true pickup switch and this guitar could rock. I am excited to see how it will be after all the garbage I am doing.
@@buzzzmilleris there a seller you'd recommend on eBay for that model?
@@j.p.sixgunner7194 I just checked and none of the people I have purchased from have this guitar listed on eBay.
What I do is look for 200+ feedback scores, and go into the feedback and make sure they are feedback scores on the sales of guitars, and they are not all in the last few weeks. (Lots of the swindlers will get their feedback scores up by buying stupid little things. It has to be sales, and it has to be the sales of things that cost some money. I also have trust issues for someone that is selling, but only started last month. Too easy to pack up and go away.)
Once it passes those tests, I pay with PayPal, that way I can get my money back if they screw me.
Good luck.
My ears perked up when I heard DiMarzio!!
Cool video! I’ve taken some replicas and upgraded them on my channel as well. I’ve been considering getting a Kamikaze replica for a while now, so I can upgrade it and make a video out of it.
Do it! Love seeing how far these beauties can be pushed to and there are not many (if at all) documenting how good a Chinese Kami can get with all the mods and upgrades.
The amount of money sunk into one of these to improve it makes it cheaper than the real deal. Ultimately, it's a piece of wood. Heck, I mod my $1500 guitars...
The best cheapo kamikaze was the ZEP series or the rare L2 LTD from 1994 to 96 the design and the look matched every inch of the original except the Floyd and the push pull
I've been searching for some info on the Chinese Kamikaze before I bought one. I took the dive because I couldn't find a LTD at a decent price nowadays I purchased the black one. I have my work ahead of me to make mine playable. I actually purchased a non tilt banana neck as I had issues with some frets put in at a angle and the fret board thicker on the treble side. I am also hope you make some video of the mods as you are doing so. I am highly interested since I have some work to do on mine as well
I am going to do a full video on everything I am going to do to make this baby as good as the real thing. Give me three weeks to make the video.
Still regret not grabbing the used Ltd lynch kamikaze guitar at the local guitar store for 499.00. It seemed to be in great shape. I would love to be able to do what you do with guitars
This is one purchase that I am super-glad I made. The headstock was broken in three pieces and I purchased it for less than the shipping. This guitar feels great. It is an accident with a real maple body.
what store is it?
I had bought a Skulls and Snakes fake, same issues, pickups were wired together. I spent almost $400 on an Original Floyd Rose, Seymour Duncan Screaming Demon pickup and a push pull pot, then set up by a tech at Sam Ash.
What size block should I be looking for to fit with a Floyd Rose replacement. Ive read that these Chinese bodies are not as big as the original ESP or LTD models
The chinese bodies are nowhere near as deep. So get the shortest block you can get, from wherever you buy your blocks. 32s or 34s will fit. With the new saddles I put on here, it made the floyd even lower to the body, so the 32 barely fit. Had I not done those, the 32 or 34 would have been fine. The 40s are cutting it way too close and anything taller than that will seriously interfere with the back plate.
Good luck and tell me how it goes.
@@buzzzmiller Thank you so much for the information! I've got a Chinese Kami coming in soon, but I already ordered a vintage original Floyd. However the block on it is a 42, so I am definitely gonna have to order a smaller block. From what you are telling me, I should just play it safe and get a 32. How about the nut? I would assume an R2 would be the way to go. Let me know what you did with the nut.
I didn't mind the nut that came on it. I believe it is the same dimensions as an R2. I just put better bolts and kept the same nut. (But I was trying to keep it as "budget" as I could for the test.)
Best review ending ever!😂
Would you be interested in fixing up an old mij headway he-403 shredder for me to your standards?
I am moving studios right now. I will be set up in my new place around the beginning of the year. I will be making some custom guitars and hacking up existing guitars for a side gig once I get settled. Until then, I am moving, building a new studio, etc. so I just can't. I really don't even have time to do this test, but I guess I am addicted.
@@buzzzmiller no worries, it was worth a shot. Keep them videos coming! Good luck with the studio and this project!
Subbed!
OK, so recently got the GL200K, duncan Distortion or Screaming Demon?
I do not like the Screamin Demon. That pickup does nothing for me. It pushes a certain frequency really hard, and that is great for pushing through a live mix at a very poor sound system. Other than that, I would run from the Screamin Demon. They are very expensive and tend to make you try to fix the EQ on your amp or your board. Then when you grab another guitar, it is whacked out.
Go with the Duncan or, if it is a maple body (It would weigh over 9 pounds if it has that) then try the Dimarzio Super Distortion.
I ordered a TB-6 for my Kamikaze
You are going to like this pickup way more than the Demon. It will make a great combo.
ESP totally sold out with the LTD's ESp was always my favorite brand by a mile. When we were young if you wanted one especially a GL model, you had to work you ass off and save a lot of money. (Sunburst Tigre was my first) I suspect ESP as a company WAS in trouble financially so in comes the LDT (Crap) Similar to car manufactures example Mercedes. Back in the day only rich people had one. Now there are Toyota's that cost more and a Mercedes in every other driveway. End of day ESP and the likes are selling out for profit. Sad but a reality.
So? Buy the old ones.
Is the body on the real Kamikazi eastern hard rock maple or western big leaf maple ?
I am not sure. This one wasn't supposed to have a maple body. They stole a few maple bodies to finish this run. I don't know which maple it is. And I don't really want to go drilling it, if you know what I mean. But - WOW. it is sure heavy.
I thought I read George request a heavy wood top on the body but opted not to shim the body down to the body was thicker then it’s contemporaries.
@@lerenardsubtil4474 Not a heavy wood top. He requested a full maple body. And, yes. It was thicker than all the standard bodies of the day. When you grab an original, you know it. They are just about the heaviest super-strats around.