re I disagree, a Gibson Les Paul standard is say, 1300 - 1800 depending on where you get it. I'd much rather have an ESP Eclipse II or even an LTD EC-1000, or the see thru black cherry Tokai Love Rock in R&B at the moment (the 899 one). The only Gibson Les Paul I'd take is a Custom or possibly something else from the Custom Shop, but otherwise I'd go ESP all the way. Saying that though, an Eclipse sounds nothing like a Les Paul, just look alike. But yeah, Japanese guitars rule, names are nothing to me now, I've played too many crap Gibsons to bias a choice on the headstock name. James