# ESP Standard Eclipse questions.



## Vinchester (Sep 14, 2010)

Hi fellow members,

I have to post the thread here becos the ESP forum admin hasn't "allow" my account yet despite me activating it for a week now. I hope someone here could help me.

Basically I've made my mind that I'm gonna buy either this;






or this





Both have satin finishes.
Firstly, I have read a few reviews in which the owners complain that the satin finish is easily scratched and that'd leave a terrible mark so the guitar itself needs to be babied  (at this price point I expect durability). I wanna ask for your opinions.

Also, I'd love to hear whether the tonez of Full Thickness Eclipses are worth the increase in weight  I think I'm ready to sacrifice comfort for awesomeness though but I'm not the strongest of men. What's your impressions on these?

P.S. I might replace those EMGs with BK Warpigs


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## sPliNtEr_777 (Sep 14, 2010)

The full thickness ones arent that heavy to be honest, but the difference in sound isnt that noticable, Id still go for the thinner one just because its comfier. Whoever said the satin finish scratches easily must be insane. Ive had an SS eclipse for 4 years now, Ive played it so much the finish is stripping off the back of the neck and the body finish doesnt have a single scratch on it despite being gigged like 50 times.

I would leave the EMGs in by the way. They are part of the soul of the guitar; ESP eclipse=EMGs. Plus, IMO, they are just as good as BKPs (controversial, I know).

Hope this helps 


edit: also, if you are a new member on the ESP forum every post you make WILL get bullied by the majority of the board until you have 40,000 posts to your name, so I wouldnt bother joining, I used to post there but the atmosphere and attitude is extremely hostile and childish, ss.org is a much more, mature, helpful forum, plus we have more variation on our NGD threads!


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## Vinchester (Sep 14, 2010)

sPliNtEr_777 said:


> also, if you are a new member on the ESP forum every post you make WILL get bullied by the majority of the board until you have 40,000 posts to your name, so I wouldnt bother joining, I used to post there but the atmosphere and attitude is extremely hostile and childish, ss.org is a much more, mature, helpful forum, plus we have more variation on our NGD threads!



Haha thanks man. I think I'm in the right place then. And I get to see the occasional awesome NGD Daemoness customs 

Finish stripped off the neck? I hope that dont get sticky.

How do you like the upper fret access (or lack thereof)?


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## sPliNtEr_777 (Sep 14, 2010)

Vinchester said:


> Haha thanks man. I think I'm in the right place then. And I get to see the occasional awesome NGD Daemoness customs
> 
> Finish stripped off the neck? I hope that dont get sticky.
> 
> How do you like the upper fret access (or lack thereof)?


 
No, where the finish has stripped it hasnt gone sticky, what has happened is the satin clear coat has basically bubbled a bit and peeled exposing the paint underneath, it still plays great. Satin necks tend to go glossy when exposed to human greasiness for prolonged periods of time which makes them play like shit off a shovel, its really good. 

There is no lack of upper fret access at all, all frets are totally reachable. Because the horn has a more harsh cut than that of an LP there is plenty of room to get your whole hand up there.

To be honest it sounds like you havent played one yet, which is really the best way to answer these questions, but as soon as you play it you will want it. The SS eclipse is one of the best off the shelf guitars in the world IMO, I should think you will struggle to find any problems with one.


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## Vinchester (Sep 14, 2010)

Thanks for your fast reply. 

By SS you mean the Silver Satin I posted up there right? 

Yes I haven't played any version the thing yet. What I plan to do is to buy it off Thomann and get it shipped to the UK. It might be a bad idea not trying it first but I trust ESP quality.(own an M-II) I did try a few Gibson LPs tho and I was okay with the shape (ESP should have slightly thinner necks which would be perfect for me) I'm also looking for an LP with better QC and with modern looks. The Eclipse should fits the bill perfectly. Also, I'm fine with EMGs. 

Personally I really want to like the Vintage Black w/ yellow binding but the thing looks too much like old cheese for me 


Edited : Okay, last question, Any difference in quality between Eclipse I and II? I think Im gonna buy Eclipse I anyway


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## sPliNtEr_777 (Sep 14, 2010)

No, no. SS is one of many many acronyms that can be applied to eclipses. SS means 'standard series', SS is a line of eclipses packing basic solid colours and standard EMG factory hardware (with the exception of the DB Export model and ASB model). There is also a 'Custom' eclipse which has a gloss quilt top and Sperzel locking tuners. The silver bound one is the PL. Ill cover the colour acronyms for you:


SS-standard series
FT- full thickness
VBK- vintage black (satin)
VW- vintage white (satin)
SW- snow white (gloss)
ASB- antique sunburst (comes with SD JBs)
DB- double bound (often mistaken to mean 'distressed black' as it features VBK paintwork which has been distressed, it actually refers to having binding on both sides)
STC(Q)- see-thru cherry (quilt top)
STBK- see-thru black
PL- Paul Landers signature (VBK with silver binding)
SPL- satin purple (very rare FT model)
SSB- silverburst (new export model for 2010, I believe the first 'S' refers to silver chrome hardware)

there is also a gloss black model but I cant remember the acronym for that one...


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## Vinchester (Sep 14, 2010)

Ah I appreciate your effort but I do know them codes 

This official site saved me all the confusion lol Electric Sound Products

I'm aiming for the Gloss Black CTM FT  very hard to find tho!




The thickness scares me lol


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## AkiraSpectrum (Sep 14, 2010)

I think the one with the pearl binding is more 'modern' looking and generally looks better in my eyes.


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## Esp Griffyn (Sep 14, 2010)

I would go for the matt black one with gold binding. I usually think LP / Eclipse singlecut shapes look hideous but that one isn't too bad.


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## Ironbird666 (Sep 14, 2010)

Vinchester said:


> Ah I appreciate your effort but I do know them codes
> 
> This official site saved me all the confusion lol Electric Sound Products
> 
> ...


 
That thing is beautiful man, go for it!! Don't be scared of the thickness, it's only a guitar dude it won't kill ya!!


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## Rook (Sep 15, 2010)

A couple of thoughts...

1. The pickups, if you don't need a massive power boost in front of your amp, my SS Eclipse II sounded amazing with a pair of 59's, and before that a JB and a '59, they really respond well to the wood. Either way, there's no point having a great chunk of mahogany like that and having EMGs in it that just dominate, the guita might as well be any wood or thickness with EMGs.
2. Thickness, I personally thought the thicker (I had a standard one, not a FT) sounded richer, but it could just be that I was expecting it to. In the end I went with a standard (thinner) model because it was much comfier.
3. Satin finishes... The big problem I have with sating finishes isn't that they're liable to crack, though they are quite soft you if you do damage it it will show up more than a gloss. Satin finishes are just gloss finishes that haven't been buffed out to a full gloss, so this means as your sweaty arms or hands rub against it under normal playing conditions, the parts that you hit start to gloss up and look greasy. I had a satin finish Soloist that I took the finish off in the end, and I won't be buying any more sating guitars!

just my thoughts, good luck with the guitar.


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## Vinchester (Sep 17, 2010)

Thanks very much guys.

I agree with you Fun111. I think good passive pups could bring out more of the (awesome) nature of the Eclipse. But I'll just stick with the EMGs and judge later.


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## dewy (Sep 18, 2010)

Sorry to hijack, but what exactly is the difference between an Eclipse and Eclipse II? And what's CTM?


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## MaxOfMetal (Sep 18, 2010)

dewy said:


> Sorry to hijack, but what exactly is the difference between an Eclipse and Eclipse II? And what's CTM?



The Eclipse II is meant for markets effected by the Gibson lawsuit, namely the US. They have the V/V/T control layout and reduced cutaway.


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## dewy (Sep 18, 2010)

t


MaxOfMetal said:


> The Eclipse II is meant for markets effected by the Gibson lawsuit, namely the US. They have the V/V/T control layout and reduced cutaway.



I'm pretty sure that's not right...I'm looking at the Export page on the ESP site and there's both the American market Eclipse IIs and Eclipse IIs with the bigger cutaway and 4 knob layout.



Eclipse II





and American style Eclipse


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## Vinchester (Sep 18, 2010)

Also, CTM, short of "custom" means having ebony fretboard instead of the standard rosewood. I think the binding is not the same too.

I ordered mine! Waiting for Monday when I can transfer the money at my bank. Them lazy folks don't work on weekends


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## Vinchester (Sep 22, 2010)

Okay the transfer was approved today. I hope I'll get the thing in a couple of weeks...

That's my next concern really. The ESP will be shipped from Germany and I happened to stumble upon some appalling negative reviews of the company. The guitar pic on their page was wrong (but the spec is right) and they didn't answer all my emails too. I might give them a call soon.

But the money was sent. Anyone care to ease my worry? I'm dying for a guitar to play and this shipment MIGHT be delayed becos there's only one in stock.


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## fc3603 (Sep 22, 2010)

white binding is just sexy


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## Andromalia (Sep 23, 2010)

What site did you buy it from ?


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## Rook (Sep 23, 2010)

Vinchester said:


> Okay the transfer was approved today. I hope I'll get the thing in a couple of weeks...
> 
> That's my next concern really. The ESP will be shipped from Germany and I happened to stumble upon some appalling negative reviews of the company. The guitar pic on their page was wrong (but the spec is right) and they didn't answer all my emails too. I might give them a call soon.
> 
> But the money was sent. Anyone care to ease my worry? I'm dying for a guitar to play and this shipment MIGHT be delayed becos there's only one in stock.



Buy from the UK, shops like Guitar Village have LOADS in stock, and the market is SO regulated here that there's pretty much no chance of you getting screwed.
If you're in bangkok, why are you not buying from Japan?!


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## shanike (Sep 23, 2010)

I have the vintage black, 3-knob version. finish is just fine, I love it.


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## Vinchester (Sep 23, 2010)

Oops, sorry I forgot to tell you guys.

I'm now living in the UK and I'm buying from Thomann.de 

I chose to buy the Eclipse from Thomann because it's 200Pound cheaper than its UK counterpart. And the FT model with Gloss Black is a rare find.

Today they answer my email. Things should be fine.


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## Rook (Sep 23, 2010)

Ah Thomann, fine if you don't mind the cheap prices, just hope nothing goes wrong.

Sendings tuff back to Germany is gunna cost you, and I know of two things come from there that have gone wrong;
One was a Framus cab and the speaker fell out in transit
One was a guitar with a headstock break

I only ever buy small things from Thomann now. If you get it and it's all good then good find, if you do decided to change your mind, I'd guarantee Guitar Village or something would take the 200 quid off, they told me themselves, they're struggling to sell their ESPs, and I know they have plenty of margin in them - old stock at new prices.

Good luck, hope it all goes well.


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## Vinchester (Sep 23, 2010)

Thanks for the heads up Fun111. I'll stick with Thomann for now but yeah I'll seriously consider the local stores for my future purchases because they are much less of a hassle to deal with.


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## GuitaristOfHell (Sep 23, 2010)

I like the vintage black, but the gloss black is nice as well


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## Rook (Sep 26, 2010)

Just noticed that my last post may be the kinda thing that freaks people out. I'm not trying to scare you or put you off, lol, Thomann really is great if you don't have any problems, but as with all international deals there an element of risk.

I hope it all goes smoothly and the guitar's everything you wanted - I'm sure it will be


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## Despised_0515 (Sep 26, 2010)

Very sorry to ask in a thread that's not mine, but can you guys list some Eclipses with Floyd Rose trems that aren't total crap? I prefer something like the black gloss with white binding or the matte black if at all possible.

Thanks guys.

Good luck to OP on finding the right axe, we await an NGD man!


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## Vinchester (Sep 26, 2010)

Hah thx for the kind words mate 

I think if you're getting a ESP Standard you arent very likely to find a crap one. There are only a few Eclipse models with FR and it might be hard to find one on store display. 

From a quick search there seems to be only one production model currently; Electric Sound Products

Good luck with finding one.


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## MSalonen (Sep 26, 2010)

If you don't mind the finish, there's also the cheaper (but still good quality) EC1000 with a FR


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## BryanFTWL (Sep 27, 2010)

dewy said:


> t
> 
> I'm pretty sure that's not right...I'm looking at the Export page on the ESP site and there's both the American market Eclipse IIs and Eclipse IIs with the bigger cutaway and 4 knob layout.
> 
> ...




I owned that exact guitar.

I got rid of it due to the 24.75" scale length. Been happier with my ATX.


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## dewy (Sep 27, 2010)

BryanFTWL said:


> I owned that exact guitar.
> 
> I got rid of it due to the 24.75" scale length. Been happier with my ATX.



Yeah. I know.


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