nick wrote:
Tele, but not in that colour.. then the Gibson, then the other thing
I'm assuming you've never owned an ESP...
Three very different instruments... Your preferred playing style and the tone you're after should be deciding factors imo. I recently traded my ESP Truckster for a Gibson and US Fender Strat... Sold the Gibson, kept the strat (awesome guitar) and miss the ESP... Cool thing about ESP's is that you don't need to upgrade anything on them. They usually come standard with pro-quality components throughout and their fit & finish is light-years ahead of any of my past and present Gibson's and although I rate my Fender very highly, I rate the ESP's I've played even higher. It's a very different beast, however, and just because they're top quality instruments doesn't mean it would suite your needs better than the other two...The EMG actives in a mahogany body guitar sounds absolutely amazing -if that's the sound you're after. If the Tele is a modern US model and it had a mahogany body to go with the humbuckers, I would have been more exited about it and would potentially have chosen it over the Gibson. For me a Tele should Twang. ?
If you're seriously considering one of the three, you're welcome to pm me to give me more info on what you're looking for in the instrument. I own or have owned most of the high-end brands and don't prefer a specific brand over the other. It's much more important to find the right tool for the job and if you have other similar guitars you may want to look at a guitar that'll complement and extend the tonal range of your current guitar(s)... (Or maybe you'd prefer more of the same...)
Quality and finish wise in my experience, the ESP would be #1, with a modern US Fender a close second and the Gibson a not so close 3rd... My personal opinion based on owning and living with the mentioned brands... So many other factors to consider to help choose the right instrument for you, though...