ESP Eclipse

This was an Eclipse I CTM Paul Landers sig. Satin black finish, Gotoh hardware in chrome, EMG 60/81, Tune-o-matic, ebony fretboard, jumbo frets...

2007 model made in Japan of course. This is the eclipse I which has 2 tone and 2 volume controls.

Not a bad sound, if this is your thing. I never tried EMGs before, and now I know that I don't like their stale sound one bit. Other like them a lot. I suppose it could be good for jazz as well, because of the tonal characteristics making it good for chords, but this is mainly and only for metal. I play everything, metal included, and need something more dynamic. The ebony board at least brightens the sound a bit. I'm giving it a 7 because of the EMGs...with passives, maybe an 8.

Here's the dealbreaker. This is a good guitar, it is a high mid-range guitar, but do not confuse this with a high-end guitar, it is not. The action, compared to low and mid-range guitars, is good. I thought it was great. Then I bought a PRS. No matter what I did I could never get an action similar to the ones I could effortlessly get with the PRS. So I sold it.

It is very durable, pay attention to the batteries though and it is also a bit of a pain in the ass to remember to have to unplug it everytime you finish playing. I'll never go active again. The finish was the best thing about it, the satin smoothness makes the neck nice and fast. Strap buttons (again after comparison with PRS) are not good enough, you need to get strap locks. But it is overall a good guitar.

I've been playing for over half my life (almost 30 now). Have owned or had in my posession at various times Fenders, a Jackson, G&L (will never own a Gibson, don't like that company, it is a personal thing)...and currently own only 3 PRS. If it had been stolen I wouldnt have bought another but Id have been pissed because I wouldnt have been able to sell it, which is what I ended up doing. I bought this a bit on a whim, I loved the aesthetics...it really is a cool-looking guitar...but I had had very limited experience with EMGs before, and as time went by I started disliking them more and more especially compared to my other stuff.

I liked the finish and styling most. Disliked the sound and playability (as I said, this is relative). And since I play my guitars, not use them for decoration, this one had to go. Maybe I would have given it more time, swapped the pups to BKP or somehting, if I had the passive version (but the passive version doesn't have the satin finish...) Who knows. All I know is that compared to low-midrange guitars, this is good. WHich is normal considering it is priced above them. But this is not a top-level guitar. If you want that, talk to mister P.R. Smith.

There are so many variations of the ESP Eclipse, it can be both fun and frustrating to discuss them. From my research, my Eclipse was made sometime between 1986 and 1999 (that's a pretty big window in my opinion). It is made in Japan, with the circular "ESP Custom Guitars" logo on the rear of the peghead. It's the "older" version of the Eclipse with a 24.75 short scale 22 fret bolt on maple neck with rosewood board, dot markers, neck and headstock binding. The headstock has the ESP "script" logo and the Eclipse model name, black tuners marked "Made in Japan" with "pearl" turners. The body is solid mahogany in a les paul style but with modern contours. The treble horn is severly scooped both front and rear, the heel is scouplted, and the body edges beveled. Two volumes one tone and a 3-way toggle control two EMG active humbuckers (single 9 volt battery housed loose in the rear cavity). A locking original Floyd Rose and a transparent purple finish round out the features. Form fitted ESP hardshell case included.

My music style is rock, from classic to modern. Beatles to Black Flag; Grateful Dead to Green Day. I run a variety of guitars to a Marshall JMC900 100w through a Boss TU2, a Crybaby, a Boss flanger, and sometimes an Ibanez Tubescreamer, Boss OD2 and/or HM2. The sound of my ESP Eclipse is signature EMG + mahogany, which has become a distict modern classic set up heard on many recoridings and stages. EMGs are noiseless, on the bright and sterile side, but that is balanced somewhat by the warmth of mahogany.

This is my 4th ESP guitar, and all of them are excellent quality. I have never found a flaw or had any problems with the construction or components of an ESP. The action on my Eclipse is the lower than any guitar I've ever played. The finish is called transparent purple, but to me it looks almost brown. In fact, when I bought the guitar (ebay) by the photos I thought it was natural mahogany. It doesn't look "purple" to me, it's more like a deep wine colored stain over mahogany.

I think ESP makes professional, high quality guitars. I expect the respectable brand name componets like Floyd Rose and EMG to perform well and last a long time. The finish is durable, this guitar has not been babied and has some scratches and dings but I'd say the finish is quite tough. Always use straplocks - I like DiMarzio locking strap systems on all my guitars. never gig without a backup if possible.

never dealt with ESP, never had to

I've been playing guitar more than 25 years and a performing musican more than 30 years. I've owned A LOT of guitars from many brands. In my opinion, ESP are among the best. I've had Fender, Gibson, Jackson, Peavey, Martin, Ovation, Ibanez, Hamer, Aria Pro, Kramer and others I'm sure I'm forgetting, and my ESPs are the ones I play the most and have held on to. I got my Eclipse because I wanted a les paul style guitar, but there were a lot of things about Les Paul guitars I didn't like such as painted necks, hardtails, awkward heels, and Gibson spotty quality. I held off on owning a paul for a long time because I never found one that I liked enough to buy, until I saw this Eclipse. The contoured bolt on heel, maple neck, Floyd Rose, and radical body curves made me fall for this one. If it were a 25.5 scale it would be eveything I'd custom order in this style of guitar.

Features are covered pretty well here already.. mines 2005 made in japan so it has the 2 volume 2 tone with emg 81 bridge and emg 60 neck pickups.. sperzel tuners ..i think its weird that the ltd (cheaper korean model ) gets tone pros bridge and stop bar and you pay more for esp and only get gotoh ?? still it its ok gear but a point is coming off for that.. No battery holder on a factory emg guitar..there goes another point.One big plus however is the cutaway in the back ..so much more comfortable and balanced than a Les Paul style body. The shape of the neck is perfect for me..nice ebony board to.

My music style varies a bit it and this guitar can be more versatile than some people give it credit for.. using a good (VHT) amp and your volume control you can traverse alot off "styles" pretty well for an emg loaded axe.. its made to excel at rock/metal so its excellent for that.. i will be changing the 60 to a 60a or 89 for better imo blues tones but thats just what im after.. this guitar does seem slightly duller/darker than any other emg guitar ive had but it does sound very good overall and still has very good sustain seeing as its thinner and lighter than any paul ive had.

Ok heres were im not overly impressed but keep in mind i bought this second hand.. this guitar has supposed to already had a high fret levelled by the guy who bought it new.. the fret work is "pretty average" and the top frets(say 17 to 22) all need to be shaved down and a complete fret dress done.. also the finish is pretty shabby for the price.. there are small flaws in the binding and flaws in the paint work (mines gloss black so 1 especially is pretty noticable) these are factory and this is not a second.. not good enough for a guitar in this price range! The actual woodwork / hardware install however is pretty good allround.make it 6.5

Im not expecting any problems.. hardware pickups etc all good quality.. finsh is durable ( more so than the vintage black ive heard) .. straplocks fitted. Spare battery kept in the case always... no probs.

dont know...

ok ive been playin for around 20 years and been through heaps of guitars 90% of which have been Les paul style and this shape is excellent ..its for me.. i love the shape full stop.. it feels great..its a number 1 guitar.. if it was stolen i would replace it.. iwill be using these guitars for awhile i think.. and they do have a good name so maybe there just a bit inconsistent.. play before you pay and youve got no probs! great rock/metal axe

Mine is a brand new vintage honey burst Eclipse I ( the one with 4 knobs, just like the Gibson LP )with passive Seymour Duncans (SH4 and JB). As usual for these ESPs it has a push/push poti so you can easily switch to single coil mode. The guitar is completely build from mahagony. Excellent sounding piece of wood, beautifully looking and a perfect finish. This guitar has curves...you won't believe... It looks pretty vintage, but has all those modern features like for example the Tune-O-Matic Bridge, Sperzel locking tuners, push/push function...The guitar came with a very robust ESP original case where the inlet was shaped in Paula Style. Very professionel and safe if you are touring a lot.

My intention was to find a good alternative to my 62 Custom Strat. I wanted to be able to play all this Gary Moore, Peter Green, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Thin Lizzy stuff with a a Les Paul. I needed more drive and a more "warm" tone. So I checked tons of Gibsons and Epiphones and other Paulas. ESP was not on my bill so far, but then I entered Beyer's Musikladen in Bochum, Germany, right before a Joe Bonamassa concert. I immediately fell in love with the looks of my guitar, but looks is not everything. When I plugged it in and played it I heard exactly the sound I had in mind. The sound is warm, bright and well defined -this guitar really lives! It reacts to each change, toggle switch, volume poti, finger style and so on. So you have a huge variety of possibilities.
It has a cool vintage vibe and feel but fits easily all modern and old styles. I play a lot of blues and rock. If I was a metalhead I could get all cool sounds, too from this guitar. Brillant harmonics, no dead spots and the push/push function gives you even strat-like sounds. This is very helpful, if you do not want to change the guitar during a set. I use this option when playing funky stuff.

The factory setting was perfect. My dealer had to adjust the guitar, because I play heavier strings and tune down one half step. After two weeks the neck bend a little, but after a second adjusting, which is very normal if you change the gauge and tuning, everything was 100% again. No tuning problems. You play and it constantly stays in tune.
The neck plays great. Fast licks - no problem. The overall feel was so familiar that I did not even needed time to get used to it. I play pretty high string action - the factory setting was pretty flat ( not my cup of tea ). The neck is medium sized, but it fits my hand very good, as I have smaller hands.

Well built and solid as a rock! You can depend on this guitar, because it will stand any situation.

I have dealt with ESP before as I also have a Custom Mirage made in 1993. The contact was always very kind.

But this is long ago, so I can not judge how it is today.

I have been playing for 15 years and for my requirements this is "THE" guitar besides my strat. I mean it is a perfect addition and gives me a new variety in sounds. I have no reason to go and look for another Les Paul. It contains everything I wanted from a Les Paul. It looks also great. Since 1999 I have been playing line 6 Flextones and with my new Flextone III it results in a nice mixture. I would say that at least I took one further step to my holy grail of sound with this guitar. The value you get for this money is fantastic. You can truly feel that this guitar is not a Paula copy. The features and quality demonstrate that there is a very logical concept behind this inmstrument. It is a lot of fun to play this guitar and if it were stolen I would definitely buy one again.

Quilt top, basicwlly a Les Paul copy.

The pichups sound like total mud. I heard that most people change these but I am so unsatisfied with the guitar that I'm not going to bother changing them.

Inlays are done very poorly. I can feel them on the higher frets.
I have messed with the action and adjustments for a while and still can't get it to play well.

I wouldn't trust it. I don't feel comfortable witht this guitar. I think that it's built for a beginner.

haven't dealt with them.

20 year of guitar playing, two PRS, Victoria amp multi Vintage Strats. I wish that I had played this guitar more before my send back period was up. I will be placing this on ebay today. I have tried ESP back in the 80's and they made great guitars. I feel that the company may be slipping these days. I went to my local shop and played a few more ESP or LTD whatever they call themselves now and all of them felt like beginner guitars.

It's a 1997 Eclipse "standard" MIJ
22 frets
Solid ONE PIECE (sweet) Mahogany body
Bolt-on Quartersawn Maple neck with rosewood FB, abalone fret markers
Two Humbucks, two volumes, one tone
Gotoh Hardware
Thin, fast neck

I changed the stock pickups for JB/59 combo, and I love the tone. The stock pu's are really nice though, but they're too vintage sounding for metal.

I played it straight thru a Mesa Single Rec, a Line6 Spider, or a Peavey Classic 50. And this guitar does it all really well.

I got it used and it's kind of beat up, so I can't really vouch for the factory finish. But the guitar is built like a brick ****house! It stays intune really well, and the binding really made the neck ultra smooth.

This is my main guitar, I used and abused it, it really could take a beating.

I would never gig without a backup.

Never dealt.

What can I tell you? It's my main guitar, love how it sounds, love how it plays. And I got it really cheap.

This is a follow up review, so please refer to my original(Thomas LeSaux) review for features, sound, etc

After a few months using this guitar onstage, my GF bought me a new ESP Eclipse II standard (sweet girl, I <3 U Melissa!,review coming soon), so I decided to retire the old eclipse, it is pretty beat up because I "wrestle" with my guitars. After a few weeks inside the case, I decided to restore my guitar to original specs. So I contacted the Tech support thru e-mail abd then by phone. Boy was they helpful!

They fill me in on the original specs, exact wiring specs, the type of paints they used, etc. They were very friendly. And I could tell that they are really passionate about their job.

The reason I gave them 9 instead of ten is that they don't sell ESP parts, that kinda sucked! But they made it up by telling you the aftermarket parts that could substitute them. They even went as far as suggesting what kind of pickups would sound like the original ESPs.

For those of you who need anykind of help with your ESP I would strongly suggest you contacting them, they really heled alot!

It's a 2000 made in Japan. Has 24 jumbo frets laminated top with two vol and a tone knob. Has double active EMG-81's neck and bridge which are amazingly clean and loud. Rosewood neck and mahogany body (or maple, I'm not sure). See through purple finish, very pretty. Wood grains are not very visible without direct lighting. Les Paul shape body, tune-o-matic. Neck is not very fat and not very thin... just fits perfectly.

It's been made for rock. It's very clean and very loud with rich sound, built for soloing but fits rhythm just fine. I'll be happier to have EMG-85 in neck and I'll have it in a few months.
I'm using a 40W Crate now (remember I live in a townhome). Loud enough for my place and a Digitech RPx400. I love the setup.
Guitar is very responsive and very unforgiving speacially if you play clean, any unwanted string touch is noticable. I absolulety love it even though I miss the right strings.

I've purchased it used, but when I put on the new sets of 0.09 strings I noticed that the action is very low, so low that you can't virtually see the gap between high E string and the fretboard. No buzz except on higher frets of low E string that I took care of it with tune-o-matic bridge.
Pickups are very close to strings (EMG recommended). It had no flaws whatsoever when I got it. Previous owner had taken great care of the guitar (his review is here too).
Came with modified pickup wiring, the way that you could not switch to neck pickup alone. Either bridge or both pickups. Had to rewire it but it wasn't a bid deal.

This guitar stays tune. Took it a few days to adopt to my house temp/humidity. Guitar is my hobby so I don't know if you ever want to risk going on stage without a backup. I won't if I ever decide to do it no matter what guitar I play. It'll be excellent enough for years to come. It's a well built rock machine. Strap buttons are real solid and tight. Very dependable guitar.

Dunno yet.

I've been playing Jazz for 5 years. Been on the road for 7 years, now I'm back at playing. Wanted to freshly start with a good guitar and I think that I was right picking this axe.
I reviewed my options before I bought this guitar for two months. Now I have no regrets. I'd buy ESP again no matter what. I love the sound and action, but I wish wood grains were a little more obvious on the body.

1999 Japanese (original) ESP
22 Frets
Mahogany Body, Maple Neck, Rosewood Fretboard
Two Volume, One Tone, One Neck/Bridge pu switch
Dark Maroon finish
EMG PUs not exactly sure whether Two 81s or 81/85, later changed to Alnicos (Gibson)
Tune-o-matic bridge, stop tailpiece
ESP hardware (stamped Made in Japan)

Basically all you need

Played with Ibanez solidstate 100 watts head & Hot rodded JCM 800, straight up with no FXs except reverb.

With EMG PUs:
Very tight, clean sound, metallica-esque tight bottom end, boosted mids and soaring, soaring high. Absolutely, unbelieveably noiseless. Definately the pu for lead guitarist, which I'm not.

With Alnicos:
I don't know what the name of the Gibson PUs, it was taken off an SG with a snapped neck, but my guitar tech said it sounded like Alnicos. The reason why I change th PUs is that My lead gutarist is a "shredder" kinda guy using EMG 81s, when I use the EMGs with him, the band sounded too brittle. So I decided to get PUs with warmer, fatter/bassier sound so he (lead) can really cut thru the mix.

There is a reason god created Mahogany trees, it's to be played with humbucker pickups. It sounded like a dream, power chords are more ...um.. powerful, harmonics shines, effortless pinch harmonics.


Anyway, you can't go wrong with both choice.
EMG: Lead playing, scooped mids, noiseless, clear highs
passive: Warm, full, rhythm sound

I have a guitar tech set up my guitar, so I can't really tell

ROCK SOLIDDD!!!
Dropped it numerous time, never went out of tune, intonation didn't change at all

I never gig w/o backup

Never called ESP, I think they're in Japan, so the phone bill should be up the roof.

Great solid guitar, I heard ESP has discontinued this model and replace it with a ridiculously priced ESP custom/standard. If you see it anywhere grab it!! Or give me an e-mail so I can get a backup guitar.

It's a 1999/2000 Japanese ESP (FYI, ESP is a japanese company, so it's not a "cheaper" model i.e. korean epiphone).
22 jumbo frets
Les Paul Special style Mahogany body, thin/fast maple neck, rosewood fingerboard
Deep "transparent" Wine Red, abalone inlay, chrome hardware
standart Japanese tuners
Stop tailpiece and tune-o-matic bridge
Bolt On neck
Comes standard with two EMG 81s, later switch the neck with 85
Two Vol pots, one tone, three way switch
Nothing special, but you can tell that it is put together very carefully (expected of ESPs)

ESP is well known to cater to the Metal/Hard Rock and this guitar complies to that.
Really, really good when heavily overdriven, and I'm not saying some muddy, bassy crap that other pick-up can produce when some nu-metal kid turn up the bass and kill the treble. I'm talking about clear harmonics, full bright lead even with full distortion.
AND NO NOISE, NO NOISE AT ALL.
Downside: A bit too sterile when played clean, the active pre-amp really killed all the hums/noise.
My Solution: Use a good stomp box in the loop (BOSS DS-1 or whatever you use) and turn the distortion level all the way down. That should give more "meat" for the clean tone.

Action was low and no buzz. The pickups are very close to the string (EMG's suggestion).

Finish is very dark/deep, you have to be really close to the guitar to see the wood grain. The guitar was quite scratched up when I recieved it. I had a professional luthier to sand down the finish and reapply a clear coat. Now it looks like a "faded" Gibson SG. The paint was very thick and strong.

Very, very tough. Dropped it once when I was playing at a dive bar once and some a**hole was spilling (more like spraying) his drink to the stage. Just need some cleaning and it's ready to go.

I would never gig without a backup (that's a stupid question), but this is definetely a gig ready guitar outta the box.

Never dealt

I have owned and played about 12-13 guitars at this point and the last 7 was an ESP and I think this will be my main guitar.

If it was stolen I would definetely get another ESP.