NGD - E-II Eclipse Full Thickness
NGD - E-II Eclipse Full Thickness
Ah NGD - always a good time. I recently received my E-II Eclipse Full Thickness.It went on sale for father's day and couldn't resist.
I have had a few hours now playing it, and my first impressions are positive. I've tested it thru various amps to get a feel for the response. So far it's been run thru a '76 marshall 50w, Mark V (Mark 2c+ and Mark 4 settings), Fender custom tweed champ, '64 Fender Vibroverb and the Fractal FxIII with a Matrix power amp. All heads run thru a mesa 2x12.
Finish: A high quality job done. There's a tiny amount of overspray by the bass side of the neck on the body, but it's barely noticeable. In person, it takes a style note from an old 80's silverburst almost, that slightly greened but not fully turned look. I love it...
Neck: Chunkier than the Snakebyte, a comfortable C profile. The shoulders are still thin making it a nice balance. It's not as thin as my '82 LP custom, but no baseball bat either.
Fingerboard: Gorgeous piece of ebony.
Inlays: Plastic - I guess for the price there's no way it's reasonable to expect MOP. I do wish it had MOP though.
Binding: Excellent job. Tight corners and just perfectly done.
Top: Not overly flamey. I'm still a bit torn on the fact that it's a veneer. It's still a solid maple cap, which is where the tone comes from, but some part of me finds it hard to get over a veneer. Old personal bias is hard to overcome I guess...
Pickups: My first chance playing a 57/66 set. Holy brightness... I'm finding myself running the tone cut 50% and a 10 band EQ before hitting a comp or front end of the amp to dial it in.
Electronics/hardware: I love the coil tap. I can pull out some late 80's Gilmour'ish sounds like when he played the early 80's candy apple strat with EMGs live. Gotoh locking tuners.. what's not to love. Just wish it had a locking bridge/tailpiece. Oh, did I mention coil tap awesomeness?
Overall it is a fun, great addition that's giving me something new to the stable. A fun guitar from ESP Japan that I'll enjoy for some time to come.
Is the body thicker than the other Eclipes? I guess I’m trying to determine exactly what “full thickness” actually is vs the other Eclipes. I really want this guitar.
Sorry, I really couldn't say. I never see e-ii's or ESP USA in my local stores, pretty much all LTD. I've only handled the EC-1000 line in stores, but I couldn't really compare first hand. My sense is they are roughly the same thickness as the ESP USA or ESP Custom Eclipse. I think these are thicker than the other e-ii Eclipse lines.
Paul J. wrote:Is the body thicker than the other Eclipes? I guess I’m trying to determine exactly what “full thickness” actually is vs the other Eclipes. I really want this guitar.
Sorry, I really couldn't say. I never see e-ii's or ESP USA in my local stores, pretty much all LTD. I've only handled the EC-1000 line in stores, but I couldn't really compare first hand. My sense is they are roughly the same thickness as the ESP USA or ESP Custom Eclipse. I think these are thicker than the other e-ii Eclipse lines.
I tried to get a picture next to my R8. It's roughly the same thickness as a custom shop non-weight relieved re-issue. I don't have any other SC ESPs so I can't compare to them. Hope that helps.
Thats my understanding as well, veneer top for the e-ii. If you really want the solid flame or quited top, then your looking at the ESP custom or USA model. I think at that level you may also get stainless steel frets, probably a few other upgrades. But you'll pay twice as much than an e-ii. For me, the e-ii is a good balance at a good price point.
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Awesome looking guitar...congrats