Some scars are meant to be worn with pride. Those dings are nothing and now you don't have to worry about babying the guitar everytime you play it and always worrying about dinging it yourself. Congrats Kyle, great video as always. You now have your own signature guitar.
This is a concept I've had to adopt due to my nitpicky obsessive temperament. I used to be stressed out over a ding, dent, imperfection, things not being perfect. I started reading about "wabi-sabi" which is a Japanese philosophy that embraces imperfection, and playing/managing my guitars have become a lot more enjoyable now.
Man I love the wall of sounds in the back… your still doing your channel full time man?? I hope it grows bigger and bigger . I just love your contents🤘🏻⚜️
Hey Kyle! I am really happy that you found yourself this ESP dream eclipse. I myself am in the market for a 4-knob eclipse for the past week. Luckily, being in Europe we have such 4-knob ones more easily available. They are getting quite expensive tho! The guitar you got is cool, do not give up on it. If the guitar sat unplayed for long time, make sure you clean up the output jack and the switch with some contact cleaner. Swap the pots for new ones and you should be good. As for the Sperzels, these were factory spec for the guitar.
I know this feeling all too well. Especially when it's a certain model you want. For years after seeing it and not thinking anything of it, mine wound up in my lap as a new local guitar store opened. And wasted no time getting it either , my first year of the 2000 PRS single cut whale blue is mine!
FYI - those tuners dont need to be locked down manually. just keep turning them and they lock automatically. the video on the official website is wrong. i put them back in when i figured them out
My first good guitar was an ESP LTD, and tbh, they are still my #1 as far as big brands go. Even the lowest end chinese stuff is so much more serviceable than their competitors.
Looks amazing!!! Happy for you!! I’m a member over there as well.. been on that forum for about 13 years.. found many of my MIJ LP’s on that site. Congrats!!
Congrats. It is a nice-looking guitar. My old charvel model 5 used to do that noise stuff. I had to use deoxit in all the pots and clean the input and 3 way switch. noise went away
Hey Kyle I know this video is 7 months old now. Haven't been on the channel in a while. To save some time and a long story swap the tuning pegs. Very highly recommend ratio tuners. The vintage gotoh tuners o rings on my 07' were either damaged or just not holding tuning. It was frustrating but that was it. I have the original bridge and tail piece that look like a beaver gnawed on it and it's rock solid tuning man. Any tuners would be fine but just my 2 cents. Congratulations by the way. Mines matte black as well just the paul landers model so has silver. Have a great day!
I just picked up my first EC a couple weeks ago. 2021 EC1000T CTM. My first 24.75” scale guitar in many years. Full thickness and double binding. Incredible guitar. Got a killer deal on it. Now I want an E-II Eclipse.
Grab an EMG solderless harness. It’s not expensive and it will fix the excess sound issues. Had to do that with a tele that had wiring and noise issues. Completely fixed my issue and the install process was dead ass simple and fast. You might need to get a new nut. I have the big bends nut sauce and it works wonders but not all the time unfortunately.
Hell yeah brother. I have the same 2006 4-knob model but full thickness with binding on the back and it still has original emg pickups. I think it was made for the Japan market because the case has a esp.co.jp plate on it. I got it secondhand about a year ago for probably double what you paid and it had bad buzz that couldn’t be brought to a satisfactory level after taking to 2 technicians. I was so bummed I was tempted to resell it. It took several months for it to settle down and now I love it! I’m surprised neither the headstock nor the truss rod cover say “Eclipse” on yours 🤔
I have the same model which I got new in 2004, it’s awesome. I also have an Eclipse-I CTM FT limited edition model with factory Kluson tuners! Amazing guitars Edit: Also, the Gotoh locking tuners don’t require a screwdriver to lock, they lock automatically under tension.
Nice. I'm about to buy an esp e-ii eclipse myself. I also don't wrap the strings at all with locking tuners. I just pull the strings through the tuner pegs and lock them down and then tune it. I've been doing it for about 2 years with my ltd ec1000 deluxe with no problems. Just normal slightly out of tune when it's been sitting for a few days while I'm working and it's usually just the G string and maybe one or two other strings just a couple cents out of tune.
Try to find the point in the trussrod where it's unloaded. Let the guitar sit with no strings for a couple weeks and hopefully the neck will straighten out. I've had guitars with slight S curves that worked themselves out.
The guitar I dream of is the Fender Meteora , it was a limited edition , just beautiful, i found one on reverb , buying it next month but almost 4000 for the price , it stings
I just took the exact same guitar with the exact same problem to my luthier last weekend. Basically he gave me a couple of options, they can either level the frets and cheat it in meaning the Frets will be level and the guitar will play just fine but there will be a hump in the fingerboard. You won't be able to tell unless you take a straight edge to it though. This is the option that I chose and it was around $140 including a set up and now the guitar plays amazing. The other option is much more expensive, he would pull all of the frets and sand the fingerboard flat to eliminate the hump and then do a re-fret but this would have cost $500. I already paid a decent amount of money for the guitar itself so I did not want to drop an additional $500 on it. He said this is a common issue and that he does a couple dozen of them a year. So it is repairable it just really depends on how much money you want to spend versus how much you have invested already etc. Great video man and nice guitar.
I do the same thing with locking tuners... i go ahead and put a couple of windings on the peg. It's so you get a bit more downward string angle across the nut. Doing it as designed can lead to tinny sounding notes since the string is only lightly laying on the nut. Depends a lot on the design of the guitar. Angled headstocks not much of an issue... but on Fender-style ones... you just gota do it.
@@belligerentamateur There's definitely overkill... haha. I've seen some jokers with what appears to be a foot of string wrapped 85 times around the post. LMAO. Then there's the ones who never give the headstock a haircut after a string change. Could put someone's eye out!!!! HAHA. Love the vids, man!
I once had an ESP Mirage Deluxe and foolishly traded it away for a 70's strat back at the turn of the century. I remember the neck as being so smooth and fast and couldn't understand why all ebony necks didn't feel the same. You answered that mystery for me... subscribed
So I posted a message 2 weeks ago about the Eclipse in vintage Black being probably my next purchase and I meant an Eclipse II. Fast forward 2 days ago I actually purchased the exact same model as yours in lefty which I didn't even think existed, probably very very rare. I have to wait til mid april for my gf to bring it back to me from another country and it's gonna be a long 1 and a half month but I've been waiting for more than ten years so I can probably wait a bit more!
I love the 81x and 85x. I once compared them in my studio to the regular 81/85. The sound was almost identical like 98%, output the same but the waveform of the regular ones was compressed and looked like a sausage. The x series was way more dynamic with lots of spikes and they just felt better under my hands
I tried the 81 and 81x back to back in the filming of this video but it was getting too long during editing so I cut it out. Very noticable difference between the two in the room for me, especially in the compression as you mentioned.
Exactly. Very different preamp in the X series that doesn't hard clip like crazy when you play hard, even at 9 volts. 85X and 60X are my bridge and neck of choice currently. Also I experienced some of those weird noises you heard here when my battery was really low. I thought the pickups were dying but you probably already checked the battery
MyLesPaul has cost me lots of money! I too like bigger necks, which helps if you love Les Pauls. Today an American Jackson with a thick neck was supposed to arrive but it got stuck due to the weather.
So I have an EMG 57/66 set I bought new. I am on my second set of internal electronics in the last 5 years for that same issue 9( mainly the pots) .I also have a very old set of 81/85 with absolutely no issues.
Electronics should be good with some contact cleaner. Some deoxit works wonders, assuming the solder on the pick ups isn’t faulty. The only real pain in the ass would be the bowing by the 2/3 frets. Even the nut will be fine with some baking soda and super glue
Just get some contact spray all up in there and tighten upbstuff. The wood and neck will reestablish itself. Let it hang with tension off for about two-week. Then restring and adjust as needed. If still not right then put on reverb for fire sale.
I'm a huge fan of the OG Eclipse's too. I'd love to get my hands on one myself one day. Hopefully you have a good tech than can troubleshoot for you - may be a few dodgy solder joints due to the pickup swap, some dirt in the pots etc. A bit of acclimation, a few tweaks and a good setup will sort out the issues and you'll be super happy with it.
The noise can go out easily with proper earthing I guess. Maybe the contact between the right threaded post and the earthing wire is not correct. You should take the right threaded post out of the body and place the wire peoperly between the wood and the post. It is no problem. And for the frets, who knows! Maybe they needed extra sanding at this place, or they are worn-out. If they are making no extra buzz, do not try to fix anything!
Any guitar regardless of cost can come with defects. You would think things like that would be caught by quality control checks. But we all know it doesn't always work out that way.
I bought an Ibanez a while back that had a similar wave in the neck. I took the strings off and loosened up the truss rod. Let it sit for 3 days, the wood relaxed and straightened itself right out. Haven't had any issues with it. If that didn't fix it I'd have clamped the neck down flat on my workbench for a week or more letting the pressure force it straight.
People just play guitar different, I never feel the fretboard because I’m playing on the actual metal strings. Lol so I don’t get why people say they love the feel of the fretboard. It’s hard for me to pretend like there’s a differents in wood feel when there’s a piece of metal that I’m actually holding down with my finger that 100% takes away the “feel” from the wood under the string you are touching. I just don’t get it
The E-II series has the normal style gotoh magnum locks, at least 2019 and on I thought? The fact that one doesn't is weird as heck. That sounds im so jealous, I love that 4 knob!!
I’ve got a Ltd ec1000 vintage black from 2008 and is one of the best guitars I own. The ones they produce now don’t even compare to the older ones from the mid 2000’s
All those noise problems are easy fixes. I def get that it's frustrating but some new pots and input jack, double check all the grounding and she'll be right as rain.
Glad you brought up the Ratio tuners, they're awesome! Have a set on my 1996 Hamer Californian. If you really like that polished Ebony fingerboard, you have to track down an original Kramer Nightswan, have mine since 1990, nothing compares to that neck!
Oh man, my guitarist in my first band had that exact guitar(2005-2008) and I loved it. I recognized the case immediately. Way cool. Pretty sure he still owns it!!
great guitar bro! its my dreamguitar, i wont die untill i get that one and a black beauty gibson, oh and every diezel and mesa boogie amp, oh and all the rest out there :) hahaha
Damn, talk about handsome. The guitar looks great too ;P I love the 4 knob layout because i like using my neck pickup for cleans on single channel amps and i find it's easier for my brain to work out separate volume/tone per pickup than 2 vol 1 tone or 1 vol 2 tone.
I have it but changed to Lundgren M6 in the bridge and a The One in the neck. Its a workhorse. Perfect in the studio but I wouldn’t tour with it if its warm/cold. Quite sensitive to that.
I know your dream guitar, but I would send it back. That drop in tuning would have me concerned. Bigger Truss issues? Years ago I bought a guitar off Ebay. It had sperzels as well I wondered why the previous owner had the high e string tied around the tuner. Well, it's because he broke the tuner. Also was missing springs on the trem and wouldn't stay in tune even after I added a spring and fixed the tuner. Returned! Obvious the guitar was dropped hard.
I would totally keep the guitar and work out the issues it’s too cool I think you hit the nail on the head about it sitting and needing some deoxit in the jack and a new nut, the neck should straighten out over time and playing
Kyle, I ordered an clipse II vtb in early 2005 thinking I would get a 4 knob. Well. In the time I ordered it. Gibson did a crackdown on ESP. They were forced to make them 3 knobs. I ordered it in early march and it didn’t get it till almost September. It is still one of my favorite guitars. It currently has a Duncan JB and Jazz antiquity set. I paid 900 dollars for it. Here is another difference besides the dish. It is all mahogany. No maple top. Part of the reason it is lighter. They stopped making them like that in 2006. They were stock with sperzels My case was a little different as well. Hard to believe I have had it almost 18 years. Enjoy your guitar. They are very cool that year. 😁
Congrats Kyle!! I think because it looks so beautiful and it has that collectable element to it, it's worth keeping even if it doesn't get used as much as some of your other gutiars. But I'm sure if you take it to a great luthier they will get it back to it's best 🤘🤘
Yup, couldn't agree with you more. The old 4 knob eclipses are the shit. It goes without saying that everything about them much more closely resembles a Gibson. The body carve, the more rounded out single cut "horn". It just has that more traditional look. I've always wanted one but hard to find for a reasonable price. There's a nice vintage black full thickness 4-knob on reverb right now for $3500. Too rich for my blood.
I had one of these a few years ago and yeah, they're pretty amazing. My hands not getting along with that neck was the only reason i let it go. Ended up gettting an esp horizon 2 nt which is my main guitar to this day... can't go wrong with esp.
The tuners vary from year to year. Sperzels were stock on some years. The foam topside of the case isn't original. I have a 2007 3 knob Eclipse in that colour and love it. Mine has the Gotoh tuners and is now home to a Will Adler Fishman set :)
@@belligerentamateur I have the exact same E-II eclipse and it has the grips. Wonder if they changed. It looks something like this. i.ebayimg.com/images/g/B4kAAOSwDjtjT0sa/s-l500.jpg
I got the Snow White version of that guitar. I put Hetfield pickups in it. Got if for 1/4 of the price brand new because the company that just bought the the music store didn't sell ESP so they wanted to get rid of it. Right place, right time.
He probably didn’t know the tuners work that way. I have an Ibanez Les Paul with those tuners and I owned it for over ten years before I knew how to properly use them.
Just a quick question about the neck relief - before you adjusted the truss rod, did the neck have a back bow (neck curved down/ in a sort of inverted curve)? I'm asking, because you mentioned that the guitar seemed to be set up for heavier strings, and if that's the case, it would have a back bow with lighter strings. With that in mind, did you tighten the truss rod, or loosen it? To get the normal slight upward bowing, you'd need to loosen the truss rod (just a little bit at a time - it doesn't take much), and the string tension will help create the upward relief/bow. This is a setup tip my uncle (Guitar Generation #2 in the family) passed on to me, that he learned from my late grandpa (Guitar Generation #1 in the family - along with being a guitar player, grandpa was also a luthier [he made me my first guitar, when I was 6 years old]). You mentioned the roller coaster type profile on the neck after the truss rod was adjusted - this sounds like the mistake I made at age 19, with cheap knockoff a Gibson Melody Maker, when I cranked down tight on the truss rod (my uncle, and reading guitar mags, hadn't passed on to me yet, the right way to do a truss rod adjustment), that gave me the same kind of roller coaster neck relief.
I've got a Japanese Les Paul copy that is 43 years old now and also has EMGs. It's got kind of the same noise problems as your guitar. Everytime I move the guitar something happens, either a lot of noise or no sound at all. Somehow I managed to play a gig with it. I've got to have it checked by a tech just to see what's going on because I really love this guitar.
re: tuners.. the gotoh tuners with the flat head work, but string changes are a hassle. Swap out immediately (hipshot open gear locking) on any EII that I get/have.
I've played some really nice EC1000s and can only imagine that ESP is even nicer. I've never liked that yellow binding or the gaudy abalone they used on the other models, so I never pulled the trigger on one.
The Eclipse in Vintage Black is one of my dream guitars and probably my next big purchase. Could you do a comparison between these 3? Not much is available on youtube and it would be interesting, cheers
Ha! My favorite color scheme for guitars. I almost bought the ltd version of this many years ago but it wasn't for me. Now I own a couple ltd's that aren't for me. Lol I have a schecter blackjack atx that came with the same paint and binding color of this guitar. For the last 2 years now I've slowly been switching out all the old black chrome hardware and switching it for fresh gold hardware. All thats left now to change is the pickups. Saved the most expensive and least important for last. Lol but all the old black chrome had lost its blackness and started pitting from years of sweating on it touring. Great purchase Kyle! This thing looks killer!!!
Oh it needs some TLC. thats okay, you get to fix it up exactly how you want it to be! Sure it might suck it needs to be done at all but this is your chance to make it YOURS! Can't wait to see this thing after it gets a full service.
Some scars are meant to be worn with pride. Those dings are nothing and now you don't have to worry about babying the guitar everytime you play it and always worrying about dinging it yourself. Congrats Kyle, great video as always. You now have your own signature guitar.
This is a concept I've had to adopt due to my nitpicky obsessive temperament. I used to be stressed out over a ding, dent, imperfection, things not being perfect. I started reading about "wabi-sabi" which is a Japanese philosophy that embraces imperfection, and playing/managing my guitars have become a lot more enjoyable now.
SO JEALOUS!! I’m stoked for you brotha! Can’t wait for all the gnarly riffs you’re gonna write on that axe! 🔥🤘🏼
Those look SO much better than the new ones, the cut away in particular.
That cutout is the main reason I have never pursued one, Kyle's new one, yes I'd like that one.
Man I love the wall of sounds in the back… your still doing your channel full time man?? I hope it grows bigger and bigger . I just love your contents🤘🏻⚜️
Gorgeous guitar 😍 hope you get the issues sorted out with it 👍 I know that feeling when the guitar needs work so stressful 😕
I'm sure I will be able to! Thanks man!
Congratulations!. It's beautiful! I have a 2008 white ESP Eclipse (3 knob) with the emg 81/60 setup and it's my favorite guitar of all time.
Beautiful guitar. Please do a follow up on this. I want to see where this goes.
Will do!
That guitar is beautiful. I can't wait to get my first LTD.
Hey Kyle! I am really happy that you found yourself this ESP dream eclipse. I myself am in the market for a 4-knob eclipse for the past week. Luckily, being in Europe we have such 4-knob ones more easily available. They are getting quite expensive tho!
The guitar you got is cool, do not give up on it. If the guitar sat unplayed for long time, make sure you clean up the output jack and the switch with some contact cleaner. Swap the pots for new ones and you should be good.
As for the Sperzels, these were factory spec for the guitar.
I know this feeling all too well. Especially when it's a certain model you want. For years after seeing it and not thinking anything of it, mine wound up in my lap as a new local guitar store opened. And wasted no time getting it either , my first year of the 2000 PRS single cut whale blue is mine!
Sounds like some contact cleaning in the pots and output jack, and new battery maybe
FYI - those tuners dont need to be locked down manually. just keep turning them and they lock automatically. the video on the official website is wrong. i put them back in when i figured them out
The moment I saw the white trimming on the case, I knew exactly what you had!.... well, not the colour 😜
Congrats dude!, that's a real find!.
Thanks for turning me on the this model, will keep an eye out for one. You'll get it right, ask for money back for sure!
My first good guitar was an ESP LTD, and tbh, they are still my #1 as far as big brands go. Even the lowest end chinese stuff is so much more serviceable than their competitors.
Those are awesome! The LtD versions aren't bad either.
Looks amazing!!! Happy for you!! I’m a member over there as well.. been on that forum for about 13 years.. found many of my MIJ LP’s on that site. Congrats!!
Saaammeeeee haha. 2016 Traditional in Honeyburst and 2002 Historic 1958 Reissue are among some of my purchases there that I still have
ESP ECPLISE is the coolest single cut around. slim satin fast neck , great balance.
Congrats. It is a nice-looking guitar. My old charvel model 5 used to do that noise stuff. I had to use deoxit in all the pots and clean the input and 3 way switch. noise went away
Hey Kyle I know this video is 7 months old now. Haven't been on the channel in a while. To save some time and a long story swap the tuning pegs. Very highly recommend ratio tuners. The vintage gotoh tuners o rings on my 07' were either damaged or just not holding tuning. It was frustrating but that was it. I have the original bridge and tail piece that look like a beaver gnawed on it and it's rock solid tuning man. Any tuners would be fine but just my 2 cents. Congratulations by the way. Mines matte black as well just the paul landers model so has silver. Have a great day!
I just picked up my first EC a couple weeks ago. 2021 EC1000T CTM. My first 24.75” scale guitar in many years. Full thickness and double binding. Incredible guitar. Got a killer deal on it. Now I want an E-II Eclipse.
Grab an EMG solderless harness. It’s not expensive and it will fix the excess sound issues. Had to do that with a tele that had wiring and noise issues. Completely fixed my issue and the install process was dead ass simple and fast. You might need to get a new nut. I have the big bends nut sauce and it works wonders but not all the time unfortunately.
Hell yeah brother. I have the same 2006 4-knob model but full thickness with binding on the back and it still has original emg pickups. I think it was made for the Japan market because the case has a esp.co.jp plate on it. I got it secondhand about a year ago for probably double what you paid and it had bad buzz that couldn’t be brought to a satisfactory level after taking to 2 technicians. I was so bummed I was tempted to resell it. It took several months for it to settle down and now I love it! I’m surprised neither the headstock nor the truss rod cover say “Eclipse” on yours 🤔
I have the same model which I got new in 2004, it’s awesome.
I also have an Eclipse-I CTM FT limited edition model with factory Kluson tuners! Amazing guitars
Edit: Also, the Gotoh locking tuners don’t require a screwdriver to lock, they lock automatically under tension.
Nice. I'm about to buy an esp e-ii eclipse myself. I also don't wrap the strings at all with locking tuners. I just pull the strings through the tuner pegs and lock them down and then tune it. I've been doing it for about 2 years with my ltd ec1000 deluxe with no problems. Just normal slightly out of tune when it's been sitting for a few days while I'm working and it's usually just the G string and maybe one or two other strings just a couple cents out of tune.
Try to find the point in the trussrod where it's unloaded. Let the guitar sit with no strings for a couple weeks and hopefully the neck will straighten out. I've had guitars with slight S curves that worked themselves out.
The guitar I dream of is the Fender Meteora , it was a limited edition , just beautiful, i found one on reverb , buying it next month but almost 4000 for the price , it stings
Cool Guitar. I have the ESP Eclipse standard "block letter" version. Supposedly a little rare.
I'd love one of these with a gold floyd. I do see the ltd versions now and then. Congrats!
I actually purchased that exact guitar from GC last year and returned it per those same neck issues.
I have a 3 knob with the bigsby. Great guitar. Congratulations on the acquisition.
That carve on the top is pretty insane
I just took the exact same guitar with the exact same problem to my luthier last weekend. Basically he gave me a couple of options, they can either level the frets and cheat it in meaning the Frets will be level and the guitar will play just fine but there will be a hump in the fingerboard. You won't be able to tell unless you take a straight edge to it though. This is the option that I chose and it was around $140 including a set up and now the guitar plays amazing. The other option is much more expensive, he would pull all of the frets and sand the fingerboard flat to eliminate the hump and then do a re-fret but this would have cost $500. I already paid a decent amount of money for the guitar itself so I did not want to drop an additional $500 on it. He said this is a common issue and that he does a couple dozen of them a year. So it is repairable it just really depends on how much money you want to spend versus how much you have invested already etc. Great video man and nice guitar.
It's a great rhythm guitar, I've always want one, such a classy look and still manly/heavy looking.
I do the same thing with locking tuners... i go ahead and put a couple of windings on the peg. It's so you get a bit more downward string angle across the nut. Doing it as designed can lead to tinny sounding notes since the string is only lightly laying on the nut. Depends a lot on the design of the guitar. Angled headstocks not much of an issue... but on Fender-style ones... you just gota do it.
never had an issue doing it with few winds as possible. Only had issues doing it with more winds.
@@belligerentamateur There's definitely overkill... haha. I've seen some jokers with what appears to be a foot of string wrapped 85 times around the post. LMAO. Then there's the ones who never give the headstock a haircut after a string change. Could put someone's eye out!!!! HAHA. Love the vids, man!
I once had an ESP Mirage Deluxe and foolishly traded it away for a 70's strat back at the turn of the century. I remember the neck as being so smooth and fast and couldn't understand why all ebony necks didn't feel the same. You answered that mystery for me... subscribed
So I posted a message 2 weeks ago about the Eclipse in vintage Black being probably my next purchase and I meant an Eclipse II. Fast forward 2 days ago I actually purchased the exact same model as yours in lefty which I didn't even think existed, probably very very rare. I have to wait til mid april for my gf to bring it back to me from another country and it's gonna be a long 1 and a half month but I've been waiting for more than ten years so I can probably wait a bit more!
Sweet new fiddle man! Congrats on the find.
Glad you've got your dream guitar! Enjoy your new baby!
I love the 81x and 85x. I once compared them in my studio to the regular 81/85. The sound was almost identical like 98%, output the same but the waveform of the regular ones was compressed and looked like a sausage. The x series was way more dynamic with lots of spikes and they just felt better under my hands
Have you ever tried the 85x in the bridge? I love an 85 in the bridge and have always been curious about the x
@@Ledmetacdc no..sorry
Oh i forgot..clean/crunch works way better with them because of the open dynamic range. (Yes i care a lot about cleans 😂😂)
I tried the 81 and 81x back to back in the filming of this video but it was getting too long during editing so I cut it out. Very noticable difference between the two in the room for me, especially in the compression as you mentioned.
Exactly. Very different preamp in the X series that doesn't hard clip like crazy when you play hard, even at 9 volts. 85X and 60X are my bridge and neck of choice currently.
Also I experienced some of those weird noises you heard here when my battery was really low. I thought the pickups were dying but you probably already checked the battery
When you open the case, it would be cool to have a golden glowing light projecting from it like the infamous briefcase in Pulf Fiction.
That body shape, specifically the cutaway section, looks way better than the current Eclipses and ECs.
Kyle. You rule
6:00 didn't know that
MyLesPaul has cost me lots of money! I too like bigger necks, which helps if you love Les Pauls. Today an American Jackson with a thick neck was supposed to arrive but it got stuck due to the weather.
nice one! I have one of these in gloss black and yes it came with the same locking tuners. bought it new in 2003 and still use it to this day
So I have an EMG 57/66 set I bought new. I am on my second set of internal electronics in the last 5 years for that same issue 9( mainly the pots) .I also have a very old set of 81/85 with absolutely no issues.
I got my first Eclipse at 15. It's such a gnarly guitar. Haven't owned one in a long time and I need one again.
Electronics should be good with some contact cleaner. Some deoxit works wonders, assuming the solder on the pick ups isn’t faulty. The only real pain in the ass would be the bowing by the 2/3 frets. Even the nut will be fine with some baking soda and super glue
Looks gorgeous. A little bit of love and care and she will be okay.
Just get some contact spray all up in there and tighten upbstuff. The wood and neck will reestablish itself. Let it hang with tension off for about two-week. Then restring and adjust as needed. If still not right then put on reverb for fire sale.
I'm a huge fan of the OG Eclipse's too.
I'd love to get my hands on one myself one day.
Hopefully you have a good tech than can troubleshoot for you - may be a few dodgy solder joints due to the pickup swap, some dirt in the pots etc.
A bit of acclimation, a few tweaks and a good setup will sort out the issues and you'll be super happy with it.
That's awesome. I've been an ESP guy since the 90s. The eclipse just feels right in my hands.
The noise can go out easily with proper earthing I guess. Maybe the contact between the right threaded post and the earthing wire is not correct. You should take the right threaded post out of the body and place the wire peoperly between the wood and the post. It is no problem. And for the frets, who knows! Maybe they needed extra sanding at this place, or they are worn-out. If they are making no extra buzz, do not try to fix anything!
Clean pots,some shielding , shimming the nut couple of milimeters, BOOM!
This is the only Eclipse shape that matters, and the ultimate singlecut shape IMO. Great find dude!
Any guitar regardless of cost can come with defects. You would think things like that would be caught by quality control checks. But we all know it doesn't always work out that way.
I bought an Ibanez a while back that had a similar wave in the neck. I took the strings off and loosened up the truss rod. Let it sit for 3 days, the wood relaxed and straightened itself right out. Haven't had any issues with it.
If that didn't fix it I'd have clamped the neck down flat on my workbench for a week or more letting the pressure force it straight.
People just play guitar different, I never feel the fretboard because I’m playing on the actual metal strings. Lol so I don’t get why people say they love the feel of the fretboard. It’s hard for me to pretend like there’s a differents in wood feel when there’s a piece of metal that I’m actually holding down with my finger that 100% takes away the “feel” from the wood under the string you are touching. I just don’t get it
LOL, the high-speed intro! 😂
The E-II series has the normal style gotoh magnum locks, at least 2019 and on I thought? The fact that one doesn't is weird as heck.
That sounds im so jealous, I love that 4 knob!!
I’ve got a Ltd ec1000 vintage black from 2008 and is one of the best guitars I own. The ones they produce now don’t even compare to the older ones from the mid 2000’s
cool. i think either your jack or the bridge post are the connection issues for the ground.
jack for sure
All those noise problems are easy fixes. I def get that it's frustrating but some new pots and input jack, double check all the grounding and she'll be right as rain.
Glad you brought up the Ratio tuners, they're awesome! Have a set on my 1996 Hamer Californian. If you really like that polished Ebony fingerboard, you have to track down an original Kramer Nightswan, have mine since 1990, nothing compares to that neck!
Oh man, my guitarist in my first band had that exact guitar(2005-2008) and I loved it. I recognized the case immediately. Way cool. Pretty sure he still owns it!!
great guitar bro! its my dreamguitar, i wont die untill i get that one and a black beauty gibson, oh and every diezel and mesa boogie amp, oh and all the rest out there :) hahaha
Damn, talk about handsome. The guitar looks great too ;P
I love the 4 knob layout because i like using my neck pickup for cleans on single channel amps and i find it's easier for my brain to work out separate volume/tone per pickup than 2 vol 1 tone or 1 vol 2 tone.
Currently considering selling my E-II 7 for a friend’s OG ESP Eclipse and this video may finally make me do it. Such a modern classic
Yassss
I had that same noise issue a few days ago with my tele. Gate on and everything as well, I replace the jack and was good to go 👍
Probably just needs a new stereo input jack and a couple of reconnection of solder points easy peasy fix man
I have it but changed to Lundgren M6 in the bridge and a The One in the neck. Its a workhorse. Perfect in the studio but I wouldn’t tour with it if its warm/cold. Quite sensitive to that.
I know your dream guitar, but I would send it back. That drop in tuning would have me concerned. Bigger Truss issues? Years ago I bought a guitar off Ebay. It had sperzels as well I wondered why the previous owner had the high e string tied around the tuner. Well, it's because he broke the tuner. Also was missing springs on the trem and wouldn't stay in tune even after I added a spring and fixed the tuner. Returned! Obvious the guitar was dropped hard.
ESP and LTD used to have compensated nut , i hope they go back to that. chords sound much more intune near the nut.
I have that ax and it is amazing, Japan makes great guitars
I would totally keep the guitar and work out the issues it’s too cool I think you hit the nail on the head about it sitting and needing some deoxit in the jack and a new nut, the neck should straighten out over time and playing
Kyle, I ordered an clipse II vtb in early 2005 thinking I would get a 4 knob. Well. In the time I ordered it. Gibson did a crackdown on ESP. They were forced to make them 3 knobs. I ordered it in early march and it didn’t get it till almost September. It is still one of my favorite guitars. It currently has a Duncan JB and Jazz antiquity set. I paid 900 dollars for it. Here is another difference besides the dish. It is all mahogany. No maple top. Part of the reason it is lighter. They stopped making them like that in 2006. They were stock with sperzels My case was a little different as well. Hard to believe I have had it almost 18 years. Enjoy your guitar. They are very cool that year. 😁
Nice man! Cool history, glad you love yours
Congrats Kyle!! I think because it looks so beautiful and it has that collectable element to it, it's worth keeping even if it doesn't get used as much as some of your other gutiars. But I'm sure if you take it to a great luthier they will get it back to it's best 🤘🤘
We're going to make her right
As far as locking tuners go, I'm a huge fan of the Hipshot Griplocks.
Yup, couldn't agree with you more. The old 4 knob eclipses are the shit. It goes without saying that everything about them much more closely resembles a Gibson. The body carve, the more rounded out single cut "horn". It just has that more traditional look. I've always wanted one but hard to find for a reasonable price. There's a nice vintage black full thickness 4-knob on reverb right now for $3500. Too rich for my blood.
Very nice! Looks like the horn is different than the EII as well.
I had one of these a few years ago and yeah, they're pretty amazing. My hands not getting along with that neck was the only reason i let it go. Ended up gettting an esp horizon 2 nt which is my main guitar to this day... can't go wrong with esp.
The tuners vary from year to year. Sperzels were stock on some years. The foam topside of the case isn't original.
I have a 2007 3 knob Eclipse in that colour and love it. Mine has the Gotoh tuners and is now home to a Will Adler Fishman set :)
The ESP Eclipse is a must have. I got a ESP USA version a few years ago in the Cats Eye Marble finish and it is my "go to" 24.75 scale guitar.
Hey just FYI you can just turn the back grips of the gotoh locking tuners. You don't need a screw driver.
there Are no back grips on them
@@belligerentamateur I have the exact same E-II eclipse and it has the grips. Wonder if they changed. It looks something like this.
i.ebayimg.com/images/g/B4kAAOSwDjtjT0sa/s-l500.jpg
Not to argue the point, but I had a new poly finished guitar that cracked because I didn't wait.
I got the Snow White version of that guitar. I put Hetfield pickups in it. Got if for 1/4 of the price brand new because the company that just bought the the music store didn't sell ESP so they wanted to get rid of it. Right place, right time.
He probably didn’t know the tuners work that way. I have an Ibanez Les Paul with those tuners and I owned it for over ten years before I knew how to properly use them.
Just a quick question about the neck relief - before you adjusted the truss rod, did the neck have a back bow (neck curved down/ in a sort of inverted curve)? I'm asking, because you mentioned that the guitar seemed to be set up for heavier strings, and if that's the case, it would have a back bow with lighter strings. With that in mind, did you tighten the truss rod, or loosen it? To get the normal slight upward bowing, you'd need to loosen the truss rod (just a little bit at a time - it doesn't take much), and the string tension will help create the upward relief/bow. This is a setup tip my uncle (Guitar Generation #2 in the family) passed on to me, that he learned from my late grandpa (Guitar Generation #1 in the family - along with being a guitar player, grandpa was also a luthier [he made me my first guitar, when I was 6 years old]). You mentioned the roller coaster type profile on the neck after the truss rod was adjusted - this sounds like the mistake I made at age 19, with cheap knockoff a Gibson Melody Maker, when I cranked down tight on the truss rod (my uncle, and reading guitar mags, hadn't passed on to me yet, the right way to do a truss rod adjustment), that gave me the same kind of roller coaster neck relief.
I've got a Japanese Les Paul copy that is 43 years old now and also has EMGs. It's got kind of the same noise problems as your guitar. Everytime I move the guitar something happens, either a lot of noise or no sound at all. Somehow I managed to play a gig with it. I've got to have it checked by a tech just to see what's going on because I really love this guitar.
Try copper foil inside
Electronics are a minor annoyance to fix. Any decent luthier can get that taken care of and you'll have a nice quiet instrument for years to come.
re: tuners.. the gotoh tuners with the flat head work, but string changes are a hassle. Swap out immediately (hipshot open gear locking) on any EII that I get/have.
I've played some really nice EC1000s and can only imagine that ESP is even nicer. I've never liked that yellow binding or the gaudy abalone they used on the other models, so I never pulled the trigger on one.
Have this one and the black cherry. excellent pickup, great guitars
The Eclipse in Vintage Black is one of my dream guitars and probably my next big purchase. Could you do a comparison between these 3? Not much is available on youtube and it would be interesting, cheers
Looks awesome, man!
Ha! My favorite color scheme for guitars. I almost bought the ltd version of this many years ago but it wasn't for me. Now I own a couple ltd's that aren't for me. Lol
I have a schecter blackjack atx that came with the same paint and binding color of this guitar. For the last 2 years now I've slowly been switching out all the old black chrome hardware and switching it for fresh gold hardware. All thats left now to change is the pickups. Saved the most expensive and least important for last. Lol but all the old black chrome had lost its blackness and started pitting from years of sweating on it touring.
Great purchase Kyle! This thing looks killer!!!
Oh it needs some TLC. thats okay, you get to fix it up exactly how you want it to be! Sure it might suck it needs to be done at all but this is your chance to make it YOURS! Can't wait to see this thing after it gets a full service.
Also cool to hear the Webber Grey Wolf, been considering getting a grey wolf/silver wolf pair.
Posted 2 min ago, 9 views and 9 likes. Lots of love in your corner my man, happy to be #10!
Sick bro congratulations!