Kirk Hammett Purple Sparkle or Demonology

Which is greater than the sum of it's parts?

  • Purple Sparkle

    Votes: 9 75.0%
  • Demonology

    Votes: 3 25.0%

  • Total voters
    12

gigawatt

Experienced
I have to return a guitar:
medium.

^^ An impulse buy. Nice player, nice finish, trem stays in tune, sounds like poo, I mean the Duncan "Hunter" pickup= Horrible! My 2002 $250 BC Rich Warlock stock pups sounded better. Plus the neck feels really weird to me. I mean, well I've played a few ESP LTD necks, and while a little thicker than Jackson or Ibanez they were still comfortable. This one almost has a Strat like V shape, not that extreme but definitely not U shaped like they advertise. Then it turns into a C shape around the fretboard. Lastly, look how small it is ^ it's like the size of a Vee Wee. Anyway, Pitbull Audio (Near San Diego) are being nice enough to take it back (I guess they're like Guitar Center; 30 day guarantee) and I asked if they'd do an exchange for one of these:

KH-602 Purple Sparkle:

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https://www.espguitars.com/products/20417-kh-602
Says it has a "pau ferro" fingerboard w skull and bones inlays, whatever pau ferro is... @Rex, a little help please! What the heck is "pau ferro?" They shoulda used amaranth (purple heart) wood for the fretboard. I know right? Come on ESP geniuses, you all know the real ESP costs 5 grand? I used purple heart for a 29 fret 7 string Ironbird I made, it had a bright orange flame maple top! Anyway, comes with standard ESP case with ESP stenciled in huge letters so everyone thinks your LTD 602 is a real ESP. Oh, almost forgot it has EMG "Bone Breaker" active pickups, like Kirk Hammett could break anybody's bones, he's the bone, skin and bone :rolleyes:. I heard some Youtube demos of them, not too bad.

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Next up is the LTD KH Demonology, parents take your kids outta the room!

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https://www.espguitars.com/products/19164-kh-demonology
No nonsense EMG 81 bridge and 60 neck, Rosewood fretboard, skull and bones inlays (arrrgh! I see ye be flyin' the "Jolly Roger"). Both neck-thru design, but this one comes with:

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So people will think there's a dead guy in there and leave your guitar alone ;). Ok you can bring your kids back in the room now. Sooo, I need your help again, the Demon has pickups I know all too well (I was in a Metallica tribute band). The Purple Sparkle, idk, Bone Crushers? i mean Breakers, whatever, and who the hell is Paul Ferro? It looks really cool tho... Go good with that Green Sparkle King V in another thread...;) I heard a couple clips/vids of the Bone Breakers, they sound ok I guess. Hard to tell through the "show boat wanking though."

Whataya like better? As the late great Harry Carey would say, "Come on, Lemme hear ya, nice and loud! A one, a two, a three, take me out to Gui-tar Cen-ter, take me out; aww you know the rest. Place your votes please, I don't have much time, they only have one of each. :eek:

Edit: The Tombstone case is OUT OF STOCK :(.
 
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The Demonology looks cooler, the purple one looks less like a stereotypical metal guitar. The first guitar looks best though. Even less stereotypically metal. I'd just drop a better pup in it.

And if you wonder, what's wrong with a stereotypical metal guitar? Absolutely nothing. If you want to look like every other metal guitar player that is. If you want to stand out from the pack a little, get something off the beaten metal path. As long as it will do metal it doesn't have to be in black, with skulls and satanic symbols. Well, a little nudge to the Dark Lord out of plain sight never hurt. ;)
 
Pau Ferro is a rosewood substitute that doesn't currently have the same CITES restrictions that the various rosewoods do. It's not a true rosewood, and apparently is more sustainable to grow than rosewood. It's a bit softer than purpleheart and Brazilian rosewood, but with similar density. Ask 10 guitarists their opinion of it for fretboards, and you're likely to get 12 different answers. Personally, I like the looks of purple LTD better than the black one. (Although I know nothing about the pickups in either choice.)
 
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Purple. Pau ferro, very close to rosewood. Bet you can’t tell the difference.

Oh I don't know, it's a lot lighter in color (in most cases). I imagine a lot of folks won't like that.

Edit: Don't forget the Demonology comes with the Tombstone case :) The Purple Sparkle comes with this:
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See what I mean? It's a really nice case, kinda heavy though, but I bet there's a $5000 MIJ ESP guitar in there o_O, and away goes your $1.1K Purple nerple. I suppose they'd take the Tombstone case just as well, it is pretty freakin cool. :cool:

So once more;
The Purple People Eater w the above "ESP" case, or
The Black Demonology with the below Tombstone case?
-Kurt Russel and Val Kilmer not included
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^Pretty^effin^cool^eh?^^^^^^^^^^^^ First time I've seen the back, it's for sale at reverb.com for $185, that's almost $60 more than Musician's Friend...:rolleyes: and... as you can see, it's a lot smaller than the "ESP" case, easier to throw in the back of your Prius. ;) Lol... the pic of the "ESP" case reminds me of the old Jackson V cases, we used to call them aircraft carriers!

Edit: The Tombstone case is no longer available, it is OUT OF STOCK.
 
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Says it has a "pau ferro" fingerboard w skull and bones inlays, whatever pau ferro is... @Rex, a little help please! What the heck is "pau ferro?"
Pau ferro is a wood that's frequently used for fingerboards these days. It looks similar to rosewood, but it's usually lighter in color. It's harder than rosewood and has a tighter grain. Not quite as beautiful as rosewood, IMO, but I think its feel is better, approaching the feel of ebony.
 
Caveat: I know nothing about these guitars beyond the pictures.


The finish on the 602 has some style. The Demonology looks like the same guitar covered with fabric from a poser's T-shirt.

If you're at all swayed by the case, you're not really looking for a guitar. :)


There. I said it. :p
 
Pau ferro is a wood that's frequently used for fingerboards these days. It looks similar to rosewood, but it's usually lighter in color. It's harder than rosewood and has a tighter grain. Not quite as beautiful as rosewood, IMO, but I think its feel is better, approaching the feel of ebony.

Interesting, harder, tighter grain, approaching the feel of ebony, looks fine to me even though I still think they shoulda used purple heart wood. Ah maybe not, might make it look like a circus guitar, like a certain imperial artist's... Bound ebony would have been pretty wizard ;). I think I may like this wood, how you say, ah yes, pau ferro. Could be a big success if ESP gets Antonio Banderas to promote it!

Where does it place on the tone scale with 1. rosewood being the warmest, 2. maple, 3. purple heart? then 4. ebony?

Thanks much Rex! :)
 
I think I may like this wood, how you say, ah yes, pau ferro...

Where does it place on the tone scale with 1. rosewood being the warmest, 2. maple, 3. purple heart? then 4. ebony?
It's said to be brighter than rosewood. I've never had the chance to get my hands on two identical guitars whose only difference was those two woods in the fingerboard, so I have no basis for an opinion on their effect on tone.
 
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Caveat: I know nothing about these guitars beyond the pictures.
They're just your average ordinary everyday guitar... They're pretty nice actually, aside from not having a bound fingerboard like their Jackson counterparts ;), a nice alder/maple/rosewood/pau ferro Korean made alternative to much higher end pricey MIJ and USA made guitars.

The finish on the 602 has some style. The Demonology looks like the same guitar covered with fabric from a poser's T-shirt.
Now that's funny, I can picture several posers wearing that now that you mention it. Your really nudging me towards the Purp, style, I like that. I wish it came with the Tombstone case too.

If you're at all swayed by the case, you're not really looking for a guitar. :)


There. I said it. :p

Hey....what! Just look at that case^^^there's no denying its coolness. Besides I've owned many different styles of guitars, but all the cases look the same. You take that to a gig and people are gonna think "wow, I wonder what's in there."....... Hey wait a minute, no forget that, think of how cool it will look hanging on your wall, or out in the garden ;).

I don't know how my post above w the cases timed in before yours, I just posted it less than an hour ago. Must be because I left the reply window open since 9:11 pm while I was looking up the Peavey Nano Vypyr battery powered practice amp. I mean, the thing's been around since 2012 (sidebar) but I can hardly find any good info or good sound clips about it. Meanwhile you can find out what the Boss Katana and Yamaha THR10 had for breakfast. The Peavey runs 7 watts into an 8" speaker, bigger than anything in its class, would be great if it were stereo, I guess you could buy 2, still be cheaper than the Roland Cube Street. 11 amp models and 35 effect combinations, bass, mid, and treble EQ, stand upright or tilt back cab. You want one now don't ya? There were some quality issues early on, hopefully that was taken care of.

You may be right about the case, if one of these were on the list I wouldn't be thinking at all about a case, except that it better come with one:
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ESP-KH-2-OUIJA-W.jpg

and;
kirk-hammett-metallica-karloff-mummy-esp-guitar.jpg

I used to own the 1st and last one above, they were cheaper bolt on models but played nice and did their part in my old Metallica tribute band. The Mummy above is a $5000+ guitar. "Eye of Horus" inlays, neck thru body, original Floyd Rose, no fretboard binding- Ope! deal breaker.

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Wish this pic came out better, I should have taken more. All but one of these guitars are gone now;

All are gone, all but one
No contest, nowhere to run
No more left, only one
This is it, this is the countdown to extinction

http://www.metrolyrics.com/countdown-to-extinction-lyrics-megadeth.html

I just found this pic buried with other files a couple days ago. I wish eBay kept pics of all the guitars I sold for reference.
 
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It's said to be brighter than rosewood. I've never had the chance to get my hands on two identical guitars whose only difference was those two woods in the fingerboard, so I have no basis for an opinion on their effect on tone.
When you said it's harder and closer grained than rosewood I kind of figured it would be brighter. The two guitars in question are identical, except in finish. I wonder if that's why they put "new" different pickups in the 602.
 
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6 V's of a pointy kind ;). There's a better picture, can you tell which one gets played the most?
 
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Maybe you can talk them into a deal with the purp and the death case. ;)
Not a bad idea :smilingimp:, but Pitbull Audio says they only have one of each, so they'd have to swap cases between the two and the Demon costs $50 more to begin with. That tells me the case increased the price of the Demon. Purp= $1099, Demon= $1149, however, the axe I'm returning, the Kamikaze was $1199, $50 more than the Demon. Aah but you know what, I wasn't sure they'd accept the return so to sweeten the deal in their favor I told them I'd do an even exchange, Kami for Sparkly. I suppose it couldn't hurt to shoot them an email and see what they say, maybe offer another 50 bones if they say no.

Right, good idea Rex :smilecat:! Geez they got smiley cats but no smiley dogs? that's racist man! BTW, you're up late/early, can't sleep neither or in a totally different time zone? I'm in Central. Thanks a lot for your thoughtful and logical input. :) Now where's that Spock emoji???
 
Bizarre hours that change frequently. Damn Vulcan blood won’t let me sleep. Bones, isn’t there something you can do that doesn’t involve those infernal mushrooms?
 
Ope! @#$%^&! I just got an email from Pitbull asking if I want them to special order a Tombstone case and Mark is going to talk to the ESP rep to see if he has any! Looks like the party's back on! Pitbull Audio's customer service has been outstanding!

Oh and the Purple Sparky WINS! By a landslide 7 votes to 2. Thanks for taking the poll :).\\m//

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