Gibson les paul studio $1,199 VS. ESP standard $1,399

[Standard 64]

I am comparing the gibson les paul studio to the esp eclipse 2 standard.The gibson comes with a case the esp does not.The esp has 81/60 active emg pickups and a ebony fingerboard,mahogany body,maple top,neck binding,locking sperzel tuners,gotoh bridge and tailpiece,and bone nut.2 volume knobs,1 tone knob,made in japan.As far as playability and tone which would you pick for an all around guitar.

 

[Lawn Jockey]

So, it's down to case vs. no case, and passive vs. active P/U's?

It would seem to me that if you like active P/U's the ESP should be your choice. If not, the Studio should be.

I for one would buy a Gibson Les Paul Standard Faded for $1,295.00 and call it good. The resale down the road should probably be better than the other two. It has a case too.

Good luck.

 

[CitizenCain]

I for one would buy a Gibson Les Paul Standard Faded for $1,295.00 and call it good. The resale down the road should probably be better than the other two. It has a case too.

Good luck.

Especially since Gibson discontinued these this year.

 

[Julia343]

I have a Studio. I love it. However one thing I wish it had was fretboard binding. The frets can feel a little rough around the edges, but that can be fixed during the right time of year by a competent tech. My criticism of Gibson is too many knobs. Two volume is fine, but I adjust tone with my EQ.

It just boils down to:

* which one do you like the feel of the best to you?
* which one sounds the best to you?

We're not the ones playing the guitar. You are.

A Gator hard bag costs about $60. A decent hard case about $100.

 

[Lawn Jockey]

Especially since Gibson discontinued these this year.

There are still a bunch of these available.

 

[SpaceOddity]

I have an eclipse from a couple years ago and a studio from about 5 years ago (before Gibson's quality got spotty on their lower end). I'm not a fan of the EMG's so I switched them out and in all honesty they both play great but the ESP seems to have a faster neck. As far as versatility goes, they both are the about same (unless you definitely need two tone knobs) with the only real tonal difference being the pickups. Guitars made in Japan are every bit as high quality as guitars made here so that isn't really an issue. If they're seriously charging $1399 for the ESP, they should throw in the hard case.

 

[Standard 64]

I have an eclipse from a couple years ago and a studio from about 5 years ago (before Gibson's quality got spotty on their lower end). I'm not a fan of the EMG's so I switched them out and in all honesty they both play great but the ESP seems to have a faster neck. As far as versatility goes, they both are the about same (unless you definitely need two tone knobs) with the only real tonal difference being the pickups. Guitars made in Japan are every bit as high quality as guitars made here so that isn't really an issue. If they're seriously charging $1399 for the ESP, they should throw in the hard case.

Thing is,Sam Ash is blowing these out for $999

 

[smorgdonkey]

I don't have any ESP Standards but I have a handfull of ESP/LTD guitars. A couple of them are Les Paul style. They are great guitars. I also have a Gibson Les Paul Studio and it is a great guitar too. I think that they are different animals though.

I think SpaceOddity is correct with the ESP=faster neck. I don't know what I'd choose if were a 'get one guitar' kind of person. I'd likely get the Gibson and then try to pick up a used ESP or LTD down the road a while.

 

[CitizenCain]

There are still a bunch of these available.

I know. Was just thinking in terms of future resale.

 

[SpaceOddity]

$999 is a steal for the ESP (make sure they aren't blowing it out cause it's a factory second, lifetime warranty goes down to 90 days). The faster neck isn't necessarily better, it depends on what you want to do with it. For future resale the Gibson will be easier to get rid of but it's really hard to say which will take the bigger hit.