LTD Ec1000 vs. Les Paul Studio

[cobrahead1030]

another vote for the LTD

the eclipse models are a great cross between a shred guitar and LP

nothing sounds quite like a good LP, but not many studios i've played deliver the goods in that dept...i've found that gibson's QC is really hit & miss as far as finding a great sounding and playing instrument

the LTD's come with crap setups sometimes, but i've owned 8 of them and the overall quality has always been excellent

while the eclipse doesn't truly sound like an LP, it definitely has a strong LP like character and does the job well for my needs

 

[Exocaster]

I've played both, and I wound up choosing the EC1000 over the LP Studio.

Tonally, a good LP is hard to beat if you like thick and dark- which I do- but a good LP will cost you what, two or three times what the EC1000 does. A Studio's a middling LP at best, and all the EC1000s I've played have been pretty consistant in build quality, especially compared to the Studio.

I think all of the 1000 series LTDs are an excellent value, among the best things you can pick up for under $1k USD new.

I feel it necessary to state- my EC1000 has my favorite neck of anything I've played. I don't like the wide, flat, thin "shredder" necks, a la Jackson or similar. They start to bother my wrist and pinky finger if I play them consistantly. I have large hands, and the shape isn't comfortable for me at all. I do tend to prefer something chunkier, like a Strat neck, and the EC1000 is probably the best compromise I've found, at least on a 24.75 scale guitar. It's thicker front-to-back, like a more "vintage" style neck, while it's thinner across the fretboard. If you like the necks on a Schecter C1 or some PRS models, the EC1000 is pretty close. If I could get one with a 25.5 scale- again, the piano player hands bit; it's a 24 fret neck and those frets are tiny up there!- it would be perfect.

For those of us who prefer passive pickups- probably a minority here, but I'm one of 'em- you can get the EC1000 with an SD JB/'59 set if you prefer. I have a Custom 5 and a '59 in my EC1000 (I have the black cherry finish; I wound up removing the EMGs) and it's sounded phenominal through everything I've played through- new and old Marshalls, Recto, Stiletto, Mark IV, Shiva, Ecstasy, 5150, etc.

 

[006]

Exo - I know exactly what you mean. I actually have small hands (not like a circus midget or anything...) but I much prefer the feel of both of my PRS guitars, my Gibby LP, and my two Strats more than the Jacksons and Ibby's I own. The Jacksons and Ibanez guitars I have were really more for clients to have access to at the studio. I'm actually getting rid of all my guitars except one of my Strats, my Gibby LP, my two PRS, and my EC1K.

~e.a

 

[Exocaster]

Exo - I know exactly what you mean. I actually have small hands (not like a circus midget or anything...) but I much prefer the feel of both of my PRS guitars, my Gibby LP, and my two Strats more than the Jacksons and Ibby's I own. The Jacksons and Ibanez guitars I have were really more for clients to have access to at the studio. I'm actually getting rid of all my guitars except one of my Strats, my Gibby LP, my two PRS, and my EC1K.

~e.a

I just sold my last shredder- an EMG-loaded Jackson- a couple months ago. I had been using it for low-tuned tech death stuff for the longer scale length and the tightness and clarity of the EMGs. I wear my guitars up fairly high, and I could never find a comfortable way to play that thing. The angles it put my wrist at were all wrong, especially with wide stretches across the neck and complex chord shapes. The EC1000 was too thick, dark, and sludgy for that stuff, though, and I prefer the longer scale for the super low stuff. As for shredding on the wide flat necks, I actually have an easier time sweeping arps on my cheap Ibby acoustic. Go figure.

For what it's worth, I actually like the EMG 81 for clean tones. Everyone seems to hate the 81 clean, but I like it for precisely the reason I don't like it for high gain stuff, usually- it's way brighter than I like a humbucker to be. It's clear and spanky for clean stuff, though.

 

[Wolfeman]

another vote for the LTD... I love the Deluxe series LTD's.... I'm on my 2nd right now...

 

[cobrahead1030]

you can get an H1000 or MH1000 that has a 25.5" scale, and a neck profile very similar to the eclipse, not sure if they have those available with passives (i prefer passives as well for the most part, but i've got a handful of guitars, and it's always nice to have one or two with emg's)

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

I asked my friend one time "What Gibson has the best piece of wood for the body" He said: Hands down the 61 Reissue SG, usually only 2-3 pieces. I also heard that Gibson wants to take some of the girth off of there guitars for pussy ass players. To me the girth is what makes is sound good.

 

[Massili]

Blasphemy!

Silvio Santos!

 

[Slate]

You can't go wrong with either one. I bet with the EMGs they would sound very similar, so its a matter of which one you like the feel of. If you want to go cheap, go to Rondo Music Has Moved! and get yourself an AGILE. Nice chunk of wood, COMES WITH GROVERS tuners, and you can slap some EMGs and have a monster guitar for cheap.

 

[theblackmoon]

Silvio Santos!

 

[Gnash]

eBay: Edwards ESP E-LP-105CE (item 200063751288 end time Jan-03-07 16:07:14 PST)

Thank me later!