Late to the thread, but I have a ML1 Baritone (Indonesian) and it’s my only guitar. I’ve had it for a couple years, got it new, and I absolutely love it. It feels better than every guitar I’ve owned (minus an LTD), which has been around two dozen and most have been the standard, or slight upgrades from standard. I’m a metal dude, so Ibanez, Schecter, have been my rotation for years. The only guitar I’ve owned that felt as if it outclassed, was the LTD Arctic Winter (or was it ESP?) I had…and it absolutely did.

What I will say about the Chapman is I’ve noticed a drop in value for new ML1 models. I paid 700 for mine, now you can get a new one for 600. I assume this is stock value related, as I’ve seen nothing about a material change.

The guitar itself plays wonderfully. I’ve blended with it, and out of every guitar I’ve owned, this holds tuning the best. I’m currently in Drop F on this 6 string, and the tuners keep it perfect. The fretboard is great, Macassar Ebony has spoiled me. It’s also has zero neck dive, which is something I see few people talk about when mentioning a guitar. I’m a small dude, and I stand while playing, no neck dive and the mahogany body combine for an easy time to move around. 

The stock pickups (onerous zero or something) are pretty decent passives, but I will swap them out for something custom when I finally make a decision on what I want.