An eclipse morning

The first thing I did today was to re-string my ESP Eclipse. This is perhaps the most comfortable singlecut design I've come across & I'm glad I own it. I'm not a fan of active pickups but they are incredible in this guitar. This guitar has a set of locking tuners which stabilized tuning, especially for string which do not travel straight to the machine heads. Gibson could have done this to their guitars but we know too well that they won't do it as a standard feature. The body features a ribcage bevel which helps to keep the instrument snug against the player's person, once more, Gibson could have done it to theirs but let's not shoot them excessively for what they could have refined. Let's not forget that there are many other guitar manufacturers out there, if you don't fancy a certain brand name for its implements, there are alternatives to embrace.

ESP family

My current 2 ESP guitars- Phoenix II (top) & Eclipse II (bottom)...

• Phoenix II: My current fix, a wonderful guitar despite it not being in a likable manifestation in my books.
• Eclipse II: Not a fan of active pickups but I like these EMGs. The guitar's satin finish is the most attractive I've come across not in terms of visual attraction but in feel

It seems that ESP has this niche in coming up with appeal regardless of forms- I'm not a singlecut design fan, I'm not too eager when it comes to designs which ape other brand names. But ESP made them appealing.

ESP: Eclipse II FM

I took too long to buy an ESP, really. After much procrastination, I went with the Eclipse II sporting a pair of EMG pickups when clearly, I am not a fan of the singlecut body design as well as active pickups. I also specifically chose a satin finish body/ neck.

As the Eclipse isn't a Les Paul clone per se, the guitar in whole, has more likeable attributes (to me) so the 'restrictive' body outline was disregarded. The tone in general is a typical EMG voicing; overpowering in drive mode, quasi-uninspiring when played clean but I didn't buy this guitar to emulate Fender's sparkling cleans.

If you look forward to acquire this guitar because you want a non-Gibson Les Paul alternative, then you're wasting money. It feels quite removed from the typical Les Paul chunk, notably due to its much thinner body & a different neck profile; more Fender-like dare I say. Same goes for the tone.


The Eclipse II is equipped with Sperzel locking tuners & I find this very important in checking tuning stability; throughout my years of playing, I noted that guitars with a non-straight nut-to-machine head travel are less reliable when it comes to tuning retention, even with a well-cut/ lubricated nut. Locking tuners definitely help in this department & having the Sperzels here is a wise move by ESP.

I also applaud the rib-cage chamfering which promotes a better (human) body to (guitar) body fit. The edges of the Les Paul & Telecaster bodies (typically) would dig into the player over prolonged play; some of us can adapt to this discomfort, but for the rest of us who can't, this inclusion is a godsend.

This guitar is proof enought that, if considerations are given to a well-made guitar, despite its outline, it would be a sheer attraction.