Fret King Esprit

ellangus

Anyone had or got one of these?

Any opinions?

Really like the look of them and quite fancy one but not sure which one to go for if at all.

Ta

usedtobe

I like the look of them, too. Buy one, and report back, asap!

rawk100

I've got the blue label esprit with two humbuckers, it's a great guitar. It's got a mahogany body and neck with rosewood board. It's quite a heavy guitar and is really resonant when compared to my les paul ( I guess the LP has a bit more treble due to its maple top). It's got Gotoh hardware which feel good quality and it never slips out of tune. The WVC humbuckers are quite vintage voiced with a reading of about 8 ohms and have good clarity. The rosewood is a good slab of wood and the neck is not too thick or thin, the 12" radius makes it similar to the LP. Upper fret access is really good too. The wiring is neat and it has Alpha pots. I tried a LTD Phoenix 1000 and a Gibbo Firebird and this was my favourite. It's a classic feeling guitar rather than a flat-fretboarded shred machine. I treated it to a fret dress and set up which improved it no end. I've got mine dropped down to C# and stuck a JB humbucker in it for some chuggy and squeally stuff which it does nicely. Overall I would say give it one a go if you get a chance. I haven't played the black label range so can't say if they differ at all. Here's mine..

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn100/rawk100/Mobile Uploads/image_zpsovrkcoik.jpg

jd0272

I had, years ago, an Esprit 1. One P90. Korina. Set neck. Rocked. One of the few I've regretted letting away

ellangus

@rawk100 - Am I right in thinking that the Blue label is the higher end stuff and the Black label the more budget gear, perhap similar to Fender USA and Fender Mexico or Gibson & Epiphone?

Thanks

monquixote

rawk100 said:

I've got the blue label esprit with two humbuckers, it's a great guitar. It's got a mahogany body and neck with rosewood board. It's quite a heavy guitar and is really resonant when compared to my les paul ( I guess the LP has a bit more treble due to its maple top). It's got Gotoh hardware which feel good quality and it never slips out of tune. The WVC humbuckers are quite vintage voiced with a reading of about 8 ohms and have good clarity. The rosewood is a good slab of wood and the neck is not too thick or thin, the 12" radius makes it similar to the LP. Upper fret access is really good too. The wiring is neat and it has Alpha pots. I tried a LTD Phoenix 1000 and a Gibbo Firebird and this was my favourite. It's a classic feeling guitar rather than a flat-fretboarded shred machine. I treated it to a fret dress and set up which improved it no end. I've got mine dropped down to C# and stuck a JB humbucker in it for some chuggy and squeally stuff which it does nicely. Overall I would say give it one a go if you get a chance. I haven't played the black label range so can't say if they differ at all. Here's mine..

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn100/rawk100/Mobile Uploads/image_zpsovrkcoik.jpg

I had one exactly like that. 

It's a very good rock guitar and the Blue Label stuff has Jap Gotoh hardware. 

rawk100

ellangus said:

@rawk100 - Am I right in thinking that the Blue label is the higher end stuff and the Black label the more budget gear, perhap similar to Fender USA and Fender Mexico or Gibson & Epiphone?

Thanks

I think the black label range is made in China and in the case of the Esprit is made of different woods and has cheaper hardware and pickups. The blue label range is made in Korea and uses the mahogany and rosewood woods as well as the higher spec Gotoh hardware and better pickups. The green label range is assembled in the UK ( I'm pretty sure that the main parts are brought in from Korea) but use quality woods (in the case or the Esprit they use Korina), quality hardware and are finished and set up to a high standard. I think you'll pay for an esprit new about £500 for a black label, £700 for a blue label and about £1200 for a green label although second hand you'll pay a lot less due to their sleeper status.

ellangus

What do you think should be fair price to pay for a blue label secondhand?

Dave_Mc

^ Fair to you or fair to the seller?

I wouldn't pay too much, though. The new prices are all over the place- depending on the shop you buy from you can pay close to RRP (~£700+), or far, far less (guitar shops often sell them, new, on Ebay for £400 if not less, depending on the model). I sympathise with the seller but at the same time it's not your fault if he/she paid RRP for it, and added to that the resale value (from what I hear) is normally pretty low.

rawk100 said:

The green label range is assembled in the UK ( I'm pretty sure that the main parts are brought in from Korea)

I've read that too somewhere (guitar and bass magazine maybe? I can't remember), but I haven't corroborated it myself.

rawk100

I would have thought around £350, or even less, for a blue label esprit 2nd hand.

Chalky

Like the Spanish Inquisition, NOBODY EXPECTS to pay the silly mega-inflated full price for a Fret King. The top prices you see on Ebay are there SOLELY for the benefit of retailers to claim 'fantastic savings' for the street price they are selling at. Plainly deceitful.

As an avid Ebay watcher I've seen them below 300 but 300ish seems about right. Unlike their Vintage brand they haven't sold enough Fret Kings to have a decent size secondhand turnover. They created Fret King brand to enable a price shift on what are (in several cases) simply Vintage brand designs with Fret King logos and some minor low cost changes. You add a tenner to the cost of making the guitar but then hope to sell it for 100 more.

Dave_Mc

^ Yeah at one point the new prices were very low, around £300 (maybe even less) IIRC.They seem to have gone up a bit since then, but still worth keeping an eye out.

ellangus

Thanks guys, this really helps. I was looking at a second hand one, the guy was asking for £450, seemed a bit on the steep side to me.

Dave_Mc

Yeah, I would think so. I've seen them new for less than that (though whether they're currently available new anywhere for that, I don't know).

monquixote

I think I sold my Blue Label Esprit for £350

rawk100

Yeah, £450 does seem too high, I wouldn't pay more than £350 2nd hand. There was a shop soiled new one on fleabay for about £450 a while back. I paid £299 2nd hand for mine from a shop in a new year sale 18 months ago. The trouble is that they don't come up for sale 2nd hand too regularly so Id suggest keeping your eye out until one appears at the right price.

marktheharp

I have a blue label fret king Esprit 3x p90 version in deep cherry .solid African mahogany body Jap gotoh hardware. ..love it to bits.
as someone stated., the re-sale value is very low . around £350 is the going rate. for the unusual shape it is very comfy , sitting or standing. ...like any guitar , try before you buy. ..
good luck with your search.
Cheers Mark.

honkytonk

I too have a blue label Esprit 3 in cherry.I only got it last week in a trade for my Fender 60's Classic Strat which I had up for sale at £350 which I figured was the going rate for the Fret King. So far enjoying it very much, the shape is much more comfortable than it looks and I have no complaints with the fit and finish. I am quite familiar with these guitars as I used to own a black Esprit 5 which I got off Dr.Bob from this parish. I gigged that guitar a fair bit and I still don't recall the rationale used for moving it on hence why I was only too glad to get another Esprit.

Keir

 

DrBob

Yeah that black Esprit V ^ was a nice guitar

rawk100

rawk100 said:

The green label range is assembled in the UK ( I'm pretty sure that the main parts are brought in from Korea)

I've read that too somewhere (guitar and bass magazine maybe? I can't remember), but I haven't corroborated it myself.

Guitarist recently reviewed a green label Fret King Corona and they said they were "assembled in the UK". It would be interesting to see the difference because the Korean made guitars are put together well anyway.

MrBump

They look nice, but there's something about the branding and the logo that turns me off. I've played some, and they do feel good.  But "FretKing"?  Come on...  It's like calling your début album "The Second Coming".