ESP E-II Eclipse Full Thickness

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GUITARIST JANUARY 2022
ESP E-II ECLIPSE FULL THICKNESS
of premium features throughout. From
the headstock down we get black Gotoh
Magnum Lock-equipped tuners, a bone nut,
Dunlop strap locks, and a black Gotoh tune-
o-matic-style bridge and tailpiece.
But you might be wondering about that
‘Full Thickness’ in the model name. This
refers to the body depth, which is thicker
than that regular Eclipse and built from
mahogany, a maple cap and a flamed maple
veneer to give a combined ‘Full Thickness’
of 60mm, as found on vintage single-cut
guitars, as opposed to the standard
overall thickness of 50mm. “Wait, what?
Tradition?!” Yep, it’s a heavyweight both in
terms of its form and actual mass. Of course,
this isn’t a new concept for ESP as the Full
Thickness body has been around for a
number of years.
What is new is the finish and pickup
configuration in which ESP has made this
guitar available. Our Tobacco Sunburst
model comes fitted with active Fishman
Fluence Open Core Classics and was
released earlier this year alongside the
also-new Vintage Honey Burst version
(Seymour Duncan JB/59) and the existing
Black Natural Burst (EMG 66/57).
Feel & Sounds
Despite the name of the finish, opening the
included hardcase reveals an altogether
more red-ish, Coke-in-the-sun tint across
the body. It looks great and combined with
the black hardware hints towards a ’70s
Les Paul Custom sort-of vibe. The body,
fingerboard and front face of the headstock
are clad with a single-ply cream binding,
while the flamed top is beautifully even and
nicely matched, and with the gloss paint job
on top ‘rich’ sums things up nicely.
1. ESP Eclipse models
feature a reverse
positioning for the
bridge/neck volume
controls. On this
Fluence-equipped
version, the Fishmans’
additional voices are
selected via the neck/
tone control push-pull
pots, giving you two
humbucker voicings and
some very convincing
single-coil sounds
2. The mahogany neck
has such an immaculate
finish that we can’t help
but wish those ESP flag
inlays didn’t obscure so
much of it. Nevertheless,
its silky touch is a joy
to experience
3. The Fishman Fluence
Classics are powered
by a nine-volt battery
– nothing new here.
However, the battery is
housed within the quick-
access revolving battery
compartment. No screws
or plastic tabs! Just
spin the door round and
you’re there
4. The E-II Eclipse Full
Thickness in Tobacco
Sunburst gives you a
modern precision single-
cutaway, which is met by
some vintage character
from the extra-thick
body, classy finish and
hardware styling, and
Open Core Fishman
Fluence Classics voicings
The neat finishing continues across the
rest of the guitar, with the set-through
mahogany neck covered in an equally
immaculate and even dark cherry satin
finish. Obviously, neck finishes are a
personal preference, but this ranks among
one of the finest we’ve played of late – silky
smooth without the glossy feel. Then there’s
the ebony fingerboard. As we’d expect from
this type of guitar, it’s a 628mm (24.75-inch)
scale with 22 frets. In this case they’re highly
polished and extra jumbo sized. It’s almost
a shame that so much of the fretboard is
populated with ESP’s ‘flag’ inlays because
the dark, consistent nature of the wood is so
good. But it is, as they say, what it is.
Picking it up you’ll notice the weight.
It’s well balanced, but at just under 4kg it
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