A few years ago I came across Edwards guitars, made by ESP for the Japanese home market.
The pickups are made by Seymour Duncan and the hardware is by Gotoh. The wood choices are really good and the Japanese quality control is excellent. I finally managed to get my hands on an Edwards 335 in Tokyo and was not surprised to hear that this was one of the last instruments that is filled with the such top notch hardware and in the future, the prices will crank, the pickups will no longer be Seymour Duncans.
The black Edwards 335 seen below is made in Japan from carved maple, with the great hardware choices and a superb hardcase. The quality is better than most Gibson 335s and the playability is excellent. A Gibson 335 would start at an absolute minimum or 2300 and there’s nothing else that would remotely match the Edwards price point for such an instrument. On reverb second hand versions retail for 1400+. Price for the one below is sub 800 sterling, including the hard case. There are many “335| shaped objects, but nothing that comes close to this build quality, so this one is a great deal for any player
