The ESP Guitar Company

Not sure if this is valid for US and EU, but here in Brazil one thing that you should take into account is that the price tag for used guitars is always higher for the "classic brands" like Gibson and Fender. So if you plan to sell it on the foreseeable future, this could justify the Gibson.

That been said, I just love set-necks so that would favor the LTD in my opinion. I love my EC-256, wish i had the nerves (that means: money) to upgrade to a EC-1000.

ESP's customer service is second to none.   The construction and fit and finish are too.

My next guitar is an MHT; ESP is listening.

It's like they have ESP or something.

Well, I had the exact same question in mind. And I went with the 1000T. I am waiting for the right guitar to arrive into inventory at the favorite store, could have gotten a Tribute by now, but I would rather patiently wait. Gladly I have my other guitars to enjoy in the meantime.

I am sorry for the ramble, I didn't really expect I would go into such detail but graphomania is a thing. Also, sorry about the grammar, I am tired after work : /

My reasoning for going with the "T," not in any order of importance.. and there's also a TLDR below:

- Set-through neck of the T is very comfortable. I have a Les Paul Silvertone copy, my first electric, actually, and while I love the shape, I so much appreciate the easy access of molded set-neck or a neck-through.

- Pickup configuration. Sure, Tribute has great, classic Les Paul sound to it. But no coil split (unlike Studio, but that's in a different price category). The "T" I want would have Fishman Fluence Classic with three different sound profiles that are meaningful and fun to experiment with. I am a pretty old-school guy, but I listened to a lot of samples in high-def through good speakers and headphones, and I don't mind the clarity of these active pups. There's a "T" with Seymour Duncans as well out there, and it does have a coil-split feature.

- Finish. I do appreciate the bare-bones look and satin finish on the Tribute. Binding is not that important to me. But just look at the "T," it looks like a guitar three times its price. This is certainly subjective but I will list it anyways.

- ESP's QC & CS are fairly legendary along with Schecter. It's hard to find a production line guitar brand, which guitars arrive in such a flawless form consistently, along with a decent factory set-up. I haven't heard a single story of someone getting "T" and having any trouble with frets, neck, etc. I heard one where the pickup selector switch was at a slightly wrong angle. Sure, Gibson are very popular and people are likely to go online and report their issues more than confirm "yep, it's good." Still the Gibson's QC is a bit behind. If you are buying from a physical store and can hold it, inspect it, etc., you are likely to find a great guitar from the batch. I feel much more comfortable ordering ESP or Schecter online vs. Gibson. Though I am not a specialist, I haven't done an actual research, I have only anecdotal evidence from Reddit and various other forums online.

- Stainless Steel frets... The only other major guitar brand in the same price-range I know that comes with SS is Schecter Solo II Blackjack. Even the Japanese made E-2 at this time come with alloy fret wire, and they are nearly 2 x the price of a T. I mean, it's not super important. But it's a nice feature. Especially if you want to have cobalt strings with higher output, they are harder that nickel-plated steel and wear out frets faster. Nothing lasts forever but it's a nice feature.

- Three-piece mahogany neck vs single-piece (from what I can tell, not counting the little "wings") maple. This is subjective, as some do prefer maple necks, they feel good and fast, maple is a strong, snappy and bright wood (this is also subjective, my personal opinion only). Though Gibson forums' folks advise that Tribute, Studio and the rest of them have very similar sound, so the neck material here is not super-important for the tone profile. What to me is important, is that I would rather take a safer approach and have a three-piece neck because it makes it stronger than a single piece and more resistant to humidity changes, it's less likely to warp over the years. Buying a guitar I want to stay with me 'til I die, I would like to have that extra insurance. So, take it for what it is. It's a difference nonetheless.

Now, there's something that Gibson do objectively better with the Tributes: GraphTech nuts. EC-1000 guitars come, currently, with molded plastic nuts. It is good & quality plastic. A lot of people advise that it doesn't feel like plastic or sound like one. Yet this is still a very valid feature that serious guitarists need to take a note of. I am planning to invest a bit more into changing the molded plastic nut on my "T" to a synthetic bone one. I think it's worth it and make the guitar easier to sell if I ever feel like doing so, though I do want to keep my guitars with me for life. To me it's like selling part of my soul away.

This is in part my speculation, again, this is based on what I read online and I can be wrong. I would love if someone would correct me for my own knowledge. So, another thing that I think Gibson do better with Tribute is hardware. Even lower-end Gibson guitars have very high quality hardware. That chrome is there to stay. EC-1000's come with nickel-based alloy pieces that are plated with chrome or gold, or that black enamel (not sure actually what's the proper term for that black finish) and they wear out quicker with time. Gold will wear out first. Now, before you throw vegetables at me -- EC1000's do have decent hardware that will last. With good maintenance it will shine for years to come. Personally, I don't mind nickel-based alloy because I like the look of vintage hardware with some green-ish oxidation patina-like look to it. To me that looks cool but some, probably, won't appreciate. I am fine with my gold hardware to wear down in spots from extensive playing and get oxidized from my sweat. Call me a loony.

The Bottom Line/TLDR: EC-1000T comes loaded with more features, ESP have potentially better QC, there's more variety to the sound it can produce, it got stainless steel frets, mahogany set-through three-piece neck, fancier finish (if you are into that kind of thing, though there's a satin "T" out there in the yellowish color profile only it seems), *though* the ESP EC-1000 line of guitars have molded plastic nut, while Gibson install GraphTech on Tribute. Tribute's hardware is potentially better.

P.S. Oh, I forgot about the finger-board. Ebony on "T and rosewood on Tribute. Ebony is a harder wood in general but rosewood is really just as good for the purposes. This is mostly a cosmetic difference, I think.