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Thanks for your thoughts, guys ... and your input is worth a LOT to me ... much obliged !

BGD ... you raise a great point about the fret board length; I hadn't even considered that (whew!). Both the ESP and Ibanez have 2 full octaves, while the Epiphone is well short of that ... eliminated.

The ESP has more tonal variance than the Ibanez (better EQ) and also more sustain (neck thru VS bolt on), so that's where I've been leaning. But the Ibanez has those amazing Bartolini pickups, which sound great ... tough decision.

I've been testing them through a Traynor 200-watt tube head / cab combo, which will be a part of the deal when the time comes. My little Fender Rumble 150 is a solid state combo, and totally lacks sparkle and depth. It will be sold, along with my Cort bass ... good starter outfit. I'm a huge Traynor fan, and love the "industrial" look and build of their gear:

Amp Head:  http://traynoramps.com/bass/yba/product/yba200-2/

Amp Cabinet:   http://traynoramps.com/bass/cabinets/product/tc1510/

Gentle Giant    "Knots"    Brussels, 1974

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI8dBOIuG9I

With an intricate vocal arrangement, and a stellar acoustic guitar duet (2:20 - 5:40) from Gary Green & Ray Shulman, "Knots" encompasses all of the harmonic complexity and virtuoso musicianship which GG are known and loved for. "Knots" is from the group's 4th studio album "Octopus", featuring artwork by Roger Dean, and showing a very sinister looking Cephalopod climbing out of the sea with obvious intent to do harm.

Beautiful woodwork on that guitar, Neo ... congratulations!

Neck thru construction usually gives a lot more sustain. Some cheaper brands don't have a truss rod in the neck ... I would imagine your's does, but I can't tell from the photo. With all of that tension on the neck, it would certainly be handy if you changed string gauges and it needed a setup.

Love it, Badeye, love it! Mungo's jug band style of play keeps the face smilin' and the toes tappin' ... and those sideburns!

Lots of playing time = frequent string changing ... but that's a good thing, right? I certainly agree with Neo about Elixir coated strings, although I prefer their NanoWeb 80/20s on my acoustics (just a little brighter). You must have good calluses on your fretting fingers by now. Always improves the playing, tone, and sustain.

Nice acquisition, JJJ ...

Funny about the way two nearly identical instruments can sound so different, isn't it? That triangular sound hole is weird ... I wonder if it really changes anything, or if it's more for eye appeal? Ovation's multiple sound holes in the upper bout are another oddity.

I sure agree with you, Bill ...

This is one of the best discussion boards I've ever been part of. It's like having a personal consulting board of people who know about all kinds of things, and show plenty of care and passion to one another. Long live Chordie!

Quite an experience, Phill ... did you happen to be playing Sweet's "Ballroom Blitz"?

A friend who worked in the media / broadcasting industry explained the whole "Billboard" system to me many years ago. Here's a synopsis of his comments:

"Have you ever noticed a radio announcer introducing a brand new release by an artist, by describing it as a hit? This should tell you something. It's not a hit because of popularity, because no one's heard it yet! It's a hit simply because the artist's agent has paid for promotional time on the mainstream networks. In other words, the public is being told that a song is a hit that they should like, whether or not that's warranted."

I've never been one to permit someone else to tell me what I should or shouldn't like. Just because something's "popular" doesn't mean it's any good, or (more to the point) something I have to like because "the star maker's machinery" (Joni Mitchell) is telling me I should. The link to the Billboard list contains two Canadian embarrassments IMHO, being Justin Beiber and Drake.

(This concludes my daily rant )

Sounds like a rough experience, Graham ... I'm so glad you got yourself and your gear out of there intact.

I packed in performing decades ago, because very few people want to hear (or usually know about) what I like to play. (acoustic Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, etc.) It's not party music and I'm not a party person, so I really can't blame them. The last song I ever played publicly was Floyd's "Julia Dream" at an open mic coffee house in the late-70's ... got blank stares as a response, before someone asked if I'd play America's "Horse With No Name". I just left ... never again.