ESP Eclipse Custom

ESP he is one of those companies that build great sounding instruments that is built for the hard rock and metal type players. Many of their guitars nowadays featuring signature version of the interest. They have a branch company called LTD that as a standard that doesn't have a professional guitarists or artists name attached to it. This is one of those guitars that still carried the ESP name without any signature a part of the guitar. This is a very beautiful guitar if you like the custom shop Gibson Les Paul guitars. You basically have all the same features as you would any other Gibson Les Paul guitar but you have a new way of doing it with the black quilted top with EMG pickups installed.

UTILIZATION

Features
Construction / Scale: Neck-Thru-Body / 24.75 in.

Body: Mahogany w/ Quilted Maple Top

Neck / Fingerboard: 3-Pc. Maple / Ebony

Nut Type / Width: Graphite / 42mm

Neck Shape: Thin U

Inlays: Pearl Flags

Frets: 22 XJ

Binding: White (N/H), Natural (B)

Hardware: Black Nickel

Tuners: Sperzel Locking

Bridge / Tailpiece: Tonepros T3B-T & T1Z Locking

Pickups: EMG 81 (B) / 60 (N) Active

Electronics: Vol / Vol / Tone / Toggle

SOUNDS

I really like the look of the see through black quilted maple top guitar because it almost looks like you have a reflection of water drinking. It's very beautiful top and the tone of the guitar is very beefy in saturated as well primarily due to the mahogany wood in the body and the neck and the EMG pickups installed in both the bridge and neck position. You can get this guitar to clean up a little better with the pickups installed and you Will it a Gibson Les Paul guitar figure out a beefier sticker town with the EMG pickups as well. Overall its integrated and has a lot of versatility for pretty much any style of music.

OVERALL OPINION

If you're looking for good alternative to a Les Paul guitar and you want something that has a nice brilliant quilted maple top and this is a good instrument to go to. It's very beautiful and exotic looking guitar so if you want something that can be abused and used on stage and not worry about it getting damaged this might not be going to auction for you.

ESP is a guitar company based out of Japan that has a lot of hard rock and metal guitar players attached to its name. Many of their guitars have a certain prowess and look to them that defines them in the hard rock and metal seeds. This is a guitar that is a great alternative to a Gibson Les Paul instrument. It basically has the exact same shape style and body and features that you would find in a Les Paul, but in a much less price point. This guitar features EMG pickups in the bridge and neck position which is a little bit different than you would see from a standard Gibson Les Paul guitar. Another different feature which is not that big of a deal is that it has only one tone control knob for the entire guitar. Where you would see a Gibson Les Paul guitar have two tone control knobs. Other than that you're basically got to get the exact same tone of this instrument as you wouldn't get some Les Paul guitar.

UTILIZATION

Features
Construction / Scale: Neck-Thru-Body / 24.75 in.

Body: Mahogany

Neck / Fingerboard: 3-Pc. Maple / Ebony

Nut Type / Width: Graphite / 42mm

Neck Shape: Thin U

Inlays: Pearl Flags

Frets: 22 XJ

Binding: White (N/H), Natural (B)

Hardware: Black Nickel

Tuners: Sperzel Locking

Bridge / Tailpiece: Tonepros T3B-T & T1Z Locking

Pickups: EMG 81 (B) / 60 (N) Active

Electronics: Vol / Vol / Tone / Toggle

SOUNDS

There are nice EMG pups in the brigge and in the neck position. If you playing a hard rock metal band this guitar is going to fit your tones very nicely. It's going to be very heavy saturated tone especially with the EMG pickups installed. So you need to use a lot of high gain or saturation that will complement the nuances and the voice of this instrument. But if you playing these settings or pop rock setting you will find a good solid tone that will fit all music as well.

OVERALL OPINION

These guitars are great alternatives to Gibson Les Paul guitar but you're not couldn't pay the outrageous prices for a Gibson Les Paul custom shop instrument. These have a great feel and a sound great as you play very comfortably across the neck profile. I would recommend this guitar anyone is looking for a more modern style list all with the modern pickups installed.

This is an ESP branded guitar so this is a top of the line model. The Eclipse is the single cut model offered by ESP and it is one of their most popular models of guitar. All ESP labeled guitars are made in Japan to the highest quality. The body of the guitar is slightly thinner than that of a Gibson Les Paul and a bit lighter. The guitar has a mahogany body and maple neck with neck through construction. The guitar has a nice quilted maple top also. The guitar comes with dual EMG pickups. The pickups are an 81 in the bridge and a 60 in the neck, this is the pickup setup that James Hetfield from Metallica uses in his guitars. There is a volume control for each pickup and a master tone. It has a 22 fret ebony fretboard with flag inlays. The fret size is ESP's xtra jumbo fret size. It has sperzel locking tuners up top and a tonepros locking bridge at the bottom. It has the Earvana compensated nut so the intonation is slightly better than on most guitars.

UTILIZATION

The quality on the ESP branded guitars is pretty much perfect. The frets are fnished nicely and you can really get a nice action on the guitar. The neck through construction means there is no neck joint heel to get in your way when playing high on the neck. The compensated nut helps the intonation of the guitar so your notes ring out better because they are closer to perfect intonation than they would be with a normal nut. The body is nice and light due to the thinner body. The pickups are active so you will need a 9v battery to run the pickups.

SOUNDS

This guitar produces solid metal tones. The 81 is a classic bridge pickup for metal. It provides great crunch and clarity. The 81 in the bridge is pretty bright and searing. This means it will retain clarity through even the thickest gain and lowest tunings. The 60 in the neck is all right but I prefer the 85 in the neck position. The 60 is good for clean tones in the neck position. If you want to play high gain leads in the neck position I recommend using the 85 in that position. The 85 will give you a fatter sound. With EMG pickups you can do the 18v mod. With this mod your pickups are powered by two 9v batteries and it will give you more headroom and a more natural sound overall. Standard EMG pickups can sound kind of sterile but the 60 on its own produces a good clean sound naturally.

OVERALL OPINION

If you are looking for a classy looking high end ESP guitar this is it. It has the looks and the tone. It comes already upgraded with all the things you would do to the guitar to make it gig worthy. The EMG pickups sound great out of the box and can do pretty much any style. If you are looking for a good looking ESP guitar this guitar is one of them working.

(Originally written by Baehor/translated from Audiofanzine FR)

Made in Korea
24 frets
2 Gibson-style humbuckers
StopBar tailpiece and ToneProse bridge
I replaced the neck because the original one was broken :-(
Controls: 2 x volume, 2 x tone, 1 x 3-way toggle switch
Les Paul body, called Eclipse by ESP, black glossy finish with ivory white binding on the body and neck

UTILIZATION

The new neck feels very pleasant. It's a bit too thick but the hand slides swiftly without any problem.
The hand goes effortlessly from low to high notes.
Les Paul style body from ESP (called Eclipse).
The guitar is quite ergonomic but a bit too heavy.

SOUNDS

I play lots of rock, hard rock and heavy metal. I play mainly rhythm parts and the guitar does a good job at that. I play with a small 40-watt amp at home but when I play with a bigger amp the sound is also good.
I like heavy and resonating chords with lots of low-end and the guitar is perfect for this.

OVERALL OPINION

I've been using it for one year and I bought it secondhand.
It sounds good but I think I will change the pickups for EMGs (my favorites) which produce a bigger sound.