Gibson’s Les Paul iconic guitar has had legendary status for quite a while. This genuinely iconic electric guitar has had a huge hand in shaping rock music ever since it was released way back in 1952.
With Gibson’s Les Paul being so iconic for so long, it would stand to reason that there’s a myriad of different options available.
With that let’s take a look at Gibson’s Les Paul 60’s Standard and ESP’s E-II Eclipse.
| Features: | ESP E-II ECLIPSE FULL THICKNESS | GIBSON USA LES PAUL STANDARD ’60S |
|---|---|---|
| Price: | £1,999 | £2,199 |
| Inlay Design: | ESP flag inlays | Acrylic Trapezoids |
| Pickup: | Seymour Duncan JB Chrome | Burstbucker 61T |
| Frets: | 22 | 22 |
ESP E-II Eclipse
Picture a modern take on the single-cut and there’s a good chance that what would come to mind is ESP’s Eclipse – a refined example of the classic format where the fat has been trimmed and slick, glossy precision replaces the dust and mojo.
The ESP Eclipse is the single-cut for people who didn’t know and, as with much of the brand’s identity, has attracted many famous players who spend their time on the ‘red channel’; James Hetfield, Alex Skolnik, Lamb Of God’s Willie Adler and Mastodon’s Bill Kelliher are all players who have chosen a blackout over a ’Burst. Except the iconic Eclipse is no longer the new kid on the block, as evidenced by the ESP E-II Eclipse.
As part of the ESP E-II line-up, which replaced the ESP Standard range back in 2014, it sits between the brands more affordable LTD guitars and more expensive USA models, although a quick look at the price tag should be confirmation enough that this is by no means a ‘second-tier’ model.
Build
From the guitars headstock down, you get black Gotoh Magnum Lock-equipped tuners, a bone nut, Dunlop strap locks, and a black Gotoh tune-o-matic-style bridge and a tailpiece.
But you may be wondering about the ‘Full Thickness’ that’s in the model’s name. This refers to the depth of the body, which is thicker than that regular Eclipse and built from mahogany, a maple cap and a flamed maple veneer to give a combined ‘Full Thickness’ of 60mm, as found on the vintage single-cut guitars, as opposed to the standard overall thickness of 50mm.
What’s new is the finish and pickup configuration in which ESP has made this guitar available. The guitar comes fitted with an active Fishman Fluence Open Core Classics.
The body, fingerboard and front face of the headstock are clad with a single-ply cream binding, while the flamed top is beautifully even and nicely matched, and with the rich gloss paint job on top, perfectly sums things up nicely.
The neat finishing continues across the rest of the guitar, as the set-through mahogany neck covered in an equally immaculate and even dark cherry satin finish. While, neck finishes tend to be a personal preference, this will probably rank among one of the finest you’ll. Then there’s the standard ebony fingerboard.
As you’d expect from this type of guitar, it has a 628mm (24.75-inch) scale with 22 frets. In this case they’re highly polished with extra jumbo sized.
Performance
When it comes to the guitars weight. It’s well balanced, however at just under 4kg it may not be ideal for two-hour marathons. The upshot of all that mass is that it seems to contribute to the guitars lively natural resonance. Your ears will thank you – even if your spine won’t be quite so happy.
Each pickup gives you three voices, which is selectable via the push-pull neck volume and master tone controls. Voice 1 is based on a vintage PAF, Voice 2 for the neck position gives an airy chime, while the bridge humbucker turns into a Classic Hot Rod, and Voice 3 on both provides coil-split, which provides clarity in the neck and a hotter, overwound single coil in the bridge.
ESP appears to have taken a similar approach with their voice selection as they’ve done with the control layout, opting to give you the full-bore bridge and extra punchy neck tones of both second voices as the starting point.
Regardless of what you’d call them, what you have are three brilliant voicings, all of which are geared towards the rock sound. In the default position, you get a more scooped neck tone, which removes some of the wool, and the bridge is roaring with more output, and increased attack, with an additional bite given to both pickups.
Gibson Les Paul Standard ’60s
You might say it’s fitting that 60 years after producing what many believe to be the definitive electric guitar – Gibson’s 1959 Les Paul Standard – Gibson, are now under new management, has given their USA production range a makeover that hopefully signals a return to form.
Build
The biggest construction difference lies in the neck shape with a Slim Taper for the ’60s model. The ’60s emulates the popular retrofit Grover Rotomatics and uses modern fitting with a large hexagonal bolt on the front of the guitar. When it comes to pickups, the ’60s shows off a Burstbucker 61R (neck) and 61T (bridge), which is the same as the Classic’s but with additional covers.
Performance
Frets fall into the medium size, approximately 2.28mm wide with a height that’s around 1.15mm. It certainly gives the Les Paul a classic feel. The ‘60s model is nicely set up with a slight fingerboard relief of 0.152mm.
The ’60s has a relatively flat-backed, thin-depth D shape. Compared to its similar model the ’60s is a little softer in sound than ‘50s model in a good way with subtly more depth of tone.
Conclusion
Is there much difference between the guitars? While both models have a similar shaped body, both the Les Paul and the Eclipse are totally different animals.
While the Eclipse is lighter, it loses some of the warmth that you get from a Les Paul, although the Eclipse drives harder and heavier. So, it really comes down to personal preference.