NGD x2 - Love me some ESP Eclipse

savant421

savant421

Well-known member
Recently scored these two gitters, ESP EII Tiger Eye and ESP Eclipse Volcano Red and i'm constantly blown away by the look/quality/play-ability/all around awesomeness of the Eclipse line. For my money, I prefer the Eclipse to any Gibson LP i've ever played but I know that's flame-worthy! Was curious to see how people feel about the Eclipse! Strengths? Weaknesses? What separates the Gibson LP from the Eclipse and vice versa. Not hating on Les Pauls by a long shot as they are an iconic instrument, just what I prefer. Flame on! :)
 

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I own 9 les pauls and 4 eclipse, i personally dont think the eclipse feels or sounds like a les paul, its different, i like the eclipse alot but i wont say its better than a les paul because it dont sound or feel like a les paul even though its shaped like a les paul, so at that point i just let them be different, i dont really try to compare them. Two of my eclipse are full thickness and the other two is regular thickness.
 
Congrats! I like the Eclipse a lot. My perfect LP has become a Gibson-type refretted with huge frets. But the Eclipses come with those stock, which is great.
 
My 77 LP sounds better, but my Eclipse has a few features that make it feel nicer to play.
 
Les Zombie said:
I own 9 les pauls and 4 eclipse, i personally dont think the eclipse feels or sounds like a les paul, its different, i like the eclipse alot but i wont say its better than a les paul because it dont sound or feel like a les paul even though its shaped like a les paul, so at that point i just let them be different, i dont really try to compare them. Two of my eclipse are full thickness and the other two is regular thickness.
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The Ltd viper feels more like a LP than a eclipse. They have the full thickness bodies to them. They do have a bit of neck dive though.
 
Les Zombie said:
I own 9 les pauls and 4 eclipse, i personally dont think the eclipse feels or sounds like a les paul, its different, i like the eclipse alot but i wont say its better than a les paul because it dont sound or feel like a les paul even though its shaped like a les paul, so at that point i just let them be different, i dont really try to compare them. Two of my eclipse are full thickness and the other two is regular thickness.
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I almost got an ESP a few months ago and decided not to based on that. I heard they were different from Les Pauls.
 
savant421 said:
So when u say "sounds better" can u quantify what it is? Richer? Deeper? Just curious
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"Fuller".. more even across the frequencies? Beefier? Not sure the best way to say it - but it fills out more of the sound in a live setting (or recording, for that matter) - lower lows, thicker mids, though the ESP can cut a little better.
Not apples to apples though - the LP weighs a ton, and has a maple neck, ESP has the weight relieved chambering - its a 2016 USA with a maple cap if that ,makes a difference in making my description/comparison clearer.
Not sure I'm describing it correctly
 
Nice. Love the volcano red (always wanted one). I have owned 5 eclipses and god knows how many Les Pauls. I love both. The esp feels more modern and shreddy. I play mostly axcess les Paul’s and refret in stainless jumbo so a lot of the features are comparable. The thinner neck stands out on the esp but that’s a preference thing. The QC on esp (particularly older) is much more consistent than Gibson.
 
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anomaly said:
The Ltd viper feels more like a LP than a eclipse. They have the full thickness bodies to them. They do have a bit of neck dive though.
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I love my Viper and play it just about every day. I cured the neck dive by putting the strap button on the heel just past where it breaks from the back of the body. As long as I don't use a super slick seat belt type strap it stays put.
 
VonBonfire said:
I love my Viper and play it just about every day. I cured the neck dive by putting the strap button on the heel just past where it breaks from the back of the body. As long as I don't use a super slick seat belt type strap it stays put.
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Ya I love mine too, have owned it since around 2005. The tiny bit of neck dive doesn't bother me much at all actually but I may add some weight in the cavity one day to see if that solves it? Or change the strap button position like you did.
 
anomaly said:
Ya I love mine too, have owned it since around 2005. The tiny bit of neck dive doesn't bother me much at all actually but I may add some weight in the cavity one day to see if that solves it? Or change the strap button position like you did.
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I just trimmed the screw down so it wouldn't hit the truss rod and i predrrilled the hile.. Lemme see if I can find a pic. Someone recommended that to me and it seemed to deliver minus using a super slick strap.
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savant421 said:
Recently scored these two gitters, ESP EII Tiger Eye and ESP Eclipse Volcano Red and i'm constantly blown away by the look/quality/play-ability/all around awesomeness of the Eclipse line. For my money, I prefer the Eclipse to any Gibson LP i've ever played but I know that's flame-worthy! Was curious to see how people feel about the Eclipse! Strengths? Weaknesses? What separates the Gibson LP from the Eclipse and vice versa. Not hating on Les Pauls by a long shot as they are an iconic instrument, just what I prefer. Flame on! :)
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love those, I'm a big ESP fan. I have an EII Tiger Eye that I absolutely adore. Sounds and plays killer, but had a bad bridge pup off the rip. It's missing a ground connection somewhere. They wanted me to send the entire guitar back for a different one, but I couldn't let it go, even with a bad pup. Had to swap in some Fishman Adler pups, as that was the only pup I could find in the same color. Luckily they sound killer. When you find a good one, I wasn't taking the chance I was gonna get a dud on the next chance. Also have an EII FR in the grey quilt, and it's badass as well. For me the difference is playability, it combines some of that Japanese playability with the LP neck. Fits me like a glove, and I own several real LP's as well. Congrats man!!! :cheers:

edit: I love the top on yours. They still use mine as the stock photo.

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I think the Eclipse retains a lot of what a Les Paul is. I have Les Pauls, regular Eclipses and Full Thickness (LP width) Eclipses. I prefer the regular Eclipses, but the FT guitars do get closer to the Gibson. To my ears, there is a little more lower-mids, which makes it feel a tad beefier.
 
cardinal said:
Congrats! I like the Eclipse a lot. My perfect LP has become a Gibson-type refretted with huge frets. But the Eclipses come with those stock, which is great.
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Yep. After 10 years I had to refret my #1 LP in 2020. Had jumbo stainless installed. Ruined all other LP's for me. When I find my next keeper, refret time.
 
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