[skinhead]

Originally Posted by Metal Ken

Got that fixed for ya

+1

I would only pay that kind of money for a Conklin.

[ESPManiac]

Originally Posted by technomancer

You clearly drank the Koolaid as guess what, mahogany, maple, alder, and rosewood are not exotic woods... never have been, never will be regardless of what the EBMM marketing department tries to say.

Also, having played a number of high end guitars, including Ibanez J-Customs and a number of customs from various builders I can tell you from experience the EBMMs are nothing to get excited about. They're well built, but they're on par with things in the $2k price range from a number of different sources. And the fretwork on them is blown away by what you find on an Ibanez J-Custom.

firstly mahogany, maple, and rosewood are all exotic woods depending on where they are from. Mahogany is on the endangerd list, the rosewood is not crappy rosewood as is the maple.

Secondly, I have tried many many J-customs. Dont like them, simply put. Fret work was standard and in no way anything to get in a fuss about. Thats why i havent purchased a J-custom. Many other "custom" shops or series guitars have caught my intrest and ended up in my hands, but high-end Ibanez (apart from LACS which i have yet to have the fortune of trying) have never been anything big for me. EBMM on the other hand i think is brilliant. How you cant see, i dont know. Go and try a JP BFR, see if you ever want another Ibanez again.

[technomancer]

Actually I just sold the last Ibanez in my collection

As for woods, in guitar construction none of the woods used in the BFR are considered 'exotic'. Start talking cocobolo, purpleheart, pau ferro, lace wood, bloodwood etc THOSE are exotic woods. Mahogany, alder, maple, and rosewood are about as standard as you can get in guitar construction.

However the BFRs are in no way shape or form better than the J-Customs I've played, and quite frankly my KxK eats the BFRs I've played alive. Add to that the rather weak tops and $3k price tag and the BFR is a loser. Do they play nicely? Yes. Do they play better than anything else in the $2k to $3k price range? Not really.

Anyways, we could argue about this forever, so I'm done now

[darren]

The "magic" with the BFRs is apparently the mahogany "tone block" that goes from the neck pocket to just behind the bridge. There's apparently some magic mojo with the exact combination of the woods they're using that makes the tone pretty special. Which is all fine and dandy, but i still think the BFRs are grossly overpriced. Which is fine... there are tons of EBMM fanboys who are drooling over them and buying them up. But i'm not among them.

[ESPManiac]

They are a bit overpriced. But, thers one thing for sure, i didnt pay anywher near $4000USD for it...Closer to half. But, i had also never even looked twice at EBMMs before i tried this guitar. Now, I have realised that the neck-carve is perfect for me...so much so that i am going to get the same carve on my next ESP Custom