Today, we’re going to take a peek at a modern take on a super classic guitar shape. The ESP E-II Eclipse takes the good ol’ Les Paul shape and adds some modern “UMPH” to it.

(A few months back we did a review of the LTD EC-1000 as well, which is a more affordable equivalent of this guitar. So if you’re not looking to break the bank, be sure to check that out!)

Let’s check out what this guitar has to offer!

Features:

– Mahogany Body w/ White Binding

– See Thru Black Finish

– Flamed Maple Top

– 1-Piece Mahogany Set Neck

– 24.75” Rosewood Fretboard

– 12” Radius

– 24 X-Jumbo Frets

– EMG 57/66 Active Pickups

– Gotoh TOM Bridge

– 2xVol/1xTone/3-way Switch

At face value, this guitar is a modern player’s Les Paul by offering a very similar feel to a classic Gibson.

ESP definitely took notes from Gibson on this one. The body is quite heavy, and the 12″ radius neck is thick and round. For me, thicker necks make for really comfortable rhythm playing.

This is not a shredder’s guitar by any means.

The neck is a 24.75″ scale length, just like on a classic Les Paul. Now, while some of you may be thinking, “But I wanna tune super low and the short scale lengths don’t do that very well!”, this guitar isn’t necessarily intended to tune low, and shorter scales do have some benefits of their own!

When used for standard, and other higher tunings, the short scale length makes for a different feel that a lot of guitarists actually prefer. On another note, the short scale length also offers a different type of sound than what longer scale lengths can produce, which brings us to tone.

Tone:

This guitar is almost solid Mahogany. It resonates very well and produces a warm sound. Now, the scale length is really important on a Les Paul-style guitar. The short scale length helps bring a buttery-sweet sound that Les Pauls have become so known for.

(Some would argue that wood has little to no sonic affect on tone, in our experience it does, so we have this really useful guide to general characteristics of tonewoods!)

Now, this guitar does include something that differs it from a classic Les Paul. It has EMGs!!

I know what you’re thinking, if you’re going for a classic vibe guitar like this, why on earth would you include active EMGs..

While some would say EMGs are terrible, other level-headed guitarists would agree that they have their place. I wasn’t super stoked about seeing the EMGs in this guitar, but I was surprised by how great they sounded. In this particular guitar, the EMG 57/66 set helps to overcome some of the flubbiness of the heavy-bodied guitar by offering plenty of headroom and adding a bit extra high end.

Overall, the guitar sounds pretty balanced,  but leans towards the warm side. It’s fairly versatile, although with the short scale length I wouldn’t use it for modern metal. It fairs best with mid-gain and high-gain tones for rock-style genres.

Build Quality:

The ESP Japanese guitars are some of the most consistent guitars out there. You very rarely are going to find issues at all.

The neck was the best part of this guitar. Frets were outstanding and the neck was super comfy and straight. There were no issues to be found in the finish or electronics either.

Final Verdict:

The ESP E-II Eclipse is a really great modern take on a classic guitar that everyone is familiar with. Coming in at $1699, it’s not cheap, but for the money, offers a really flawless guitar that makes for an amazing studio workhorse.

Again, it’s not for metal, but if you’re looking for something fairly versatile, you can’t go wrong here!
9-10-8

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This article was written by Zac Buras, our editor located in Louisiana.

 

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