Esp Eclipse II Vs Gibson Les Paul Trad.

[deckrg]

Hey guys I know the common answer is go to your local shop and try them out. Well I can't because where I live there are no quality shops close even ... I've been to all of them and the closer I got to try was a Les Paul standard. As far as pickups go I have a set of 85/81 emg's that I can load on the LP, however I don't got any good passive pickups I can load on the Eclipse.

I'm Searching for a guitar with good sustain mainly(to be played on drop C) and good playability to be my main guitar while keeping my Ibanez Rg as backup.

As far as playing goes my band is in between sludge/melodic kind of songs, myself being supported by either a marshall JCM 900 50w combo and a 120w halfstack bugera 6260(from the reharsal room, in the future I hope to grab a 6505). The esp should be near 100€ cheaper.

So

or

I'll trully be grateful if any of you who have tryed them both can point me in the right direction.
Thanks

 

[Lasse Lammert]

I'm loving my ESP, great guitar.
I have a love/hate relationship with Gibson...some of the best guitars I've played were Gibsons...so were some of the worst.
sometimes even from the same year, same model etc.
If you can try 20-30 Gibsons in a local shop you'll find a killer axe.
if you have to order one without trying it first I'd DEFINITELY get the ESP

 

[deckrg]

I'm loving my ESP, great guitar.
I have a love/hate relationship with Gibson...some of the best guitars I've played were Gibsons...so were some of the worst.
sometimes even from the same year, same model etc.
If you can try 20-30 Gibsons in a local shop you'll find a killer axe.
if you have to order one without trying it first I'd DEFINITELY get the ESP

Thanks for the info would the esp still be a killer guitar with passive pups ? Seeing as the body is a bit slimmer :\

 

[Lasse Lammert]

yep, no problem at all.
I actually like the slightly thinner body for downtuned stuff.
has a bit more attack/cut but still heaps of chunk.

 

[egan.]

Lasse pretty well summed it up. I would never buy a gibson w/o playing it first, but the ESP's are fairly consistent and always solid.

 

[guitarguru777]

Gibson quality control sucks on all of their guitars. had a buddy order a custom lefty ES335 from the USA custom shop, and it came with a twisted neck! About a month ago another friend ordered a custom LP from the USA shop and same deal. Fucked up neck.

Fuck Gibson!

 

[deckrg]

The les paul standard I saw was also really poorly finished with knobs having a wierd cut to them (seemed like almost half was missing) and the guitar had some really harsh finish. If the Eclipse can have a good tone and sustain with the passive pups and having a tinner body I think I'm sold on it Thanks

Oh and I still save 100€ that will be invested in passive pickups if I don't like the emg's there

 

[guitarguru777]

As far as Quality Control ESP and Schecter are the top of the game right now as far as the mass produced stuff goes. Ibanez (Prestige) and Fender (American Series) are up there too.

Gibson is just really falling off the mark. Dunno what it is but since the late 80s their shit has just been junk.

ESP across their entire line (ESP and LTD) are hardcore about quality control.

 

[deckrg]

Now my issue will be a better one but still will be hard to choose

 

[rfahey86]

I never played the Eclipse II but I do own an EC-1000. Every ESP that I own is a sold built guitar right down to my VP-100 (I know it is a cheap one, but I still can't bring myself to get rid of it). Plus you get the advantage of locking tuners which definitely help it stay in tune a little better.

 

[Jaymz]

Haha the ESP wins by a MILE!

 

[xFkx]

I have played this guitar, even the same finish, it's the best guitar i've ever played hands down. It sounds like a million dollars and is very well made.




And.. yeah, I have yet to play a gibson that I might like.

 

[MarcusGHedwig]

Funny how the last time this question was asked, everyone said Gibson - I think the ESPs look infinitely better (and better-made), but I haven't played enough LPs to compare

 

[Force666]

I love my Les Paul, but have to say, i'm sick to death of how heavy that thing is. It's cool for a show or whatever, but strapping that thing on for rehearsal for 2 or 3 hours kills my shoulder. Honestly, maybe ESP is better with the quality control, but I'm against buying any guitar without playing it first.

 

[deckrg]

Oh and how about the weight the esp, compared o the traditional (aka standard pre2008) ?

 

[Lazzari]

Im going to get trashed here... but i hate gibson.. Maybe i have tried the bad models.. but they just dont feel right to me..

 

[RockGuitarX]

Had a Gibson Explorer 1984 Reissue that had so many problems I took it back. Glue on the fretboard, cracked finish by the nut, some areas not fully painted, the electronics compartment wasn't sanded and the back of the neck sunk in a bit. If you go for a Gibson make sure you fully inspect it and take a screwdriver with you if you have to!

 

[SimonTaddio_Qc]

I got a japanese ESP EC-II with 81/85. It's got an amazing tone with personality, and the look is just killer. Everything on this guitar is rock-solid, there's everything you need and nothing you don't.
I've tried Gibsons that could have been up to par with my Eclipse, but certainly not their Studio line, and probably not the Traditional series either.
To get a Gibson LP as good as a good EC-II, you'd have to pay probably more than 5000 bucks. Even then, you could probably have a guitar builder build you a high-end LP copy that could fool anybody for much less.

Don't look further, I tell you, if you're interested in a ESP, it IS the guitar for you.
Call of nature. It's just like that.

 

[Auroras]

esp for sure there korean made models shit on 99% of gibsons the japanese ones take that and bring in even more quality control and consistancy to an already high standard gibsons your paying 2k for 2-3 piece bodys and shody workmanship

 

[Mago]

What Lasse said.