Maybe I'll talk about why this guitar is so special to me and how I came to know of its existence. I'm basically a huge fan of the colour combination black and yellow. This particular pair of colours have a very sexy look and feels dangerous to touch, which is so exciting. Enter the Gibson Black Beauty, with thick yellow bindings on a black body with gold hardware.
Of course, it will be near impossible for me to own a legit Gibson Custom guitar because those are so crazy expensive. I then began to look for alternatives and my research got me to the ESP LTD EC-1000 VB Duncan.
With the exact colour scheme I'm looking for and a matte black finish, this guitar is everything I can dream of in a Les Paul shaped guitar. Of course, it is also sold out everywhere on most online shops. The only ones that stock them, will never ship to Singapore. Basically, I know it's out there, but I have no way of obtaining it, until now.
I already gave up hope long ago. I thought it will stay on my wish list forever. Nope. Today, it just left that list and entered one of my most beloved guitars in my arsenal. Well, my method of obtaining it wasn't a simple one either.
Today, I brought this guitar out of a Rockshop guitar store in Napier, New Zealand. Yes, I am in the middle of my solo backpacking trip in New Zealand. I absolutely didn't plan on buying anything, much less a guitar, as I didn't wanna carry extra weight on my adventure. But this guitar was just there hanging on the wall, and my sharp eyes caught it.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing. An EC-1000 VB Duncan, right before my very eyes. Furthermore, it's the most updated 2019 model. I knew right there and then, that I will regret it for life if I step out of that store empty handed. Costing me NZD$1444 on a Boxing Day promotion, I finally am holding the sacred guitar in my arms.
This is the first time I purchased a guitar from overseas on a holiday trip. I believe I'm the only one in Singapore now to hold a 2019 EC-1000 VB Duncan. Now let me go through a brief history of the specifications of the guitar.
In the years leading up to 2017, it has always stayed the same. The truss rod cover is blank and the words EC-1000 makes up the inlays for the 12th fret. The fretboard was rosewood and there are no coil-splitting option. In 2018, things changed for the better. The "EC-1000" wording moved onto the truss rod cover and neck heel was improved for better fret access. Fretboard was also changed to ebony. In 2019, coil splitting was added! These are the only details that I observed. There might be more but these are all that matters to me.
I remember 2018 to be the year that I really researched greatly on this guitar but eventually gave up. I settled for a Gibson Les Paul Standard and thought no more. Today, I have both and I really wanna keep both of them. Both mean a lot to me but if I have to let one go, the Gibson is going. I went halfway around the world to get the EC-1000; I'm NEVER EVER letting it go.
Whenever I pick up the guitar, I'll be reminded of my New Zealand Trip and I'll always be full of joy. Now I'm gonna rock so hard on this guitar and probably make it my main humbucking guitar!
Edwin Ang
For future reference:
*As of 1st June 2022, this guitar has been sold for $1100. What a wild ride it has been!
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