The ESP Guitar Company

when you get an eclipse with emgs you have the emg 60 in it. this one is good for clean sounds, but it is still a "metal pickup" the other pu is the emg 81 in it, this one is good for distortion and sustain, but the clean tone is too thin. so the emg 60 is ok for clean sounds. but you can get the eclipse models with seymour duncans too. i am not a duncan expert but i think duncans have good clean tone, but they are still "metal pus" too. i played a few PRS and i think they are better for clean tones. but i think you should test them before buying, if you can. if not i would prefer a PRS (for me the eclipse is the better guitar, because the sustain is amazing).

i hope this was helpful...:hat

Hello to all, I am new to the forum. My name is really navarre, not to be confused with 'navarro'. At any rate, I have been playing acoustic guitar for a long while, but now I am interested in electrics too. I wanted to know more about the Eclipse for its 'clean' tones... I know the guitar is bred to deliver Rock sounds for Zepp, Metallica, AC-DC etc... but how versatile is the Eclipse when you play it undistorted and clean? Could you play Jazz with it too? I am comparing it to guitars like PRS that can be so much more, but I think ESP is really underated- Eclipse looks modern and sharp. I really like the shape better than most singlecuts.

I had been using PRS guitars extensively for the last few years and have just come over to the ESP side of things for a few reasons.

Here are my thoughts on comparing the two.

1). PRS are really versatile guitars. They can get you into pretty much any ballpark as far as tone goes, but at the risk of sounding like a watered down version of what you are trying to emulate, depending on the model. My ce24 did a "decent" tele tone, but came nowhere near a real les paul. The last PRS I parted with had a straight 3 way switch and it sounded like a PRS if that makes any sense at all. For all the good that a vast array of sounds would do for me, I decided to forgo them and go the simplified route.

2). I found that the ESP/LTD eclipse models are just really comfortable guitars. Everything from the neck, to the balance of the guitars feels right to me. Playability is awesome on them too. Not that the PRSi have poor playability.....far from it, but the eclipse just seems to fit me better. In regards to versatility, I don't know how great Led Zeppelin would sound with EMG's. It may sound amazing, ( I have no idea, I hate old classic rock for the most part), but I don't see how you could pull tele/strat/hollowbody sounds from a solidbody eclipse.

Again this is all personal opinion and YMMV.

When you get an Eclipse Standard, most likely they will be equipped with EMG's. I think there is one sunburst model equipped with Seymour Duncan's. I like the EMG cleans as other's think differently. Metallica tones, yes..but ACDC and Zepp..not so much.

The EMG60 produces great clean tones (especially with the 18V mod) and I for one have been preaching that ever since I first got my Eclipse. However, now that the euphoria of a new sound has faded...

They sound nice, but to my ears they'll never sound as nice as a passive P.A.F. style pickup - my personal favourite being the Seymour Duncan '59.

If you're more focused on clean tones, you'll probably be happier with a passive guitar, i.e. the Eclipses that come loaded with Seymour Duncan pickups.

And yes, Eclipses are nice. I've been a superstrat player for years, but now every time I strap my Eclipse on and start strumming, I just love it to bits. :p