ESP Eclipse II or LTD EC-1000

[UnderJollyRoger]

Hi folks,

as the title says, I feel a little G.A.S. coming on for one of the guitars. So, can anybody describe the differences between the ESP and the cheaper LTD ? I know that the ESP has only 22 Frets (which I actually like better) while the LTD has 24, but what about the rest ? Is it worth to pay more for the ESP sound- and qualitywise or is there little difference and I better save the bucks and go with an LTD ?

Any comment is appreciated.

 

[ryjan]

The LTD is half the price for 85% of the guitar. Yes the ESP will be higher quality and be made out of better materials but in my opinion is not worth two LTD's. By the way, I own an ESP MX-250 and and LTD EC-1000 and have played a ton of Eclipses and EC-400's

 

[iceman]

I have 2 ESPs and 1 LTD (EC-1000). I would rate them as follows ESP MII, LTD EC-1000, ESP STD FX. The EC-1000 is flawless craftmanship, sounds and plays great. My LTD was almost half the price of either of the ESPs. My only complaint is, that it is a bit uncomfortable when sitting with it for long periods (like compared to my std epi), but I think the ESP Eclipse is the same shape. You may also want to consider the PRS SE Torero.

 

[reilly]

i have owned 3 EC-1000's the first two were from 2002 or 2003 and were awesome, they sounded good, played well and the craftsmenship was great.

The last one i bought was a 2009 model and was complete and utter garbage, i returned it within 24 hours. I am finding that within the last 3 years the quality control has been slipping drastically, where i once would have had no problem ordering a LTD guitar without playing it, but now it wouldn't even be an option. A lot of it is purely the wood quality where the guitars are super light and have no tone or balls.

Every ESP eclipse i have played in the last 6 years has had a comfortable weight, played and sounded great with amazing quality.

Personally if you have the cash get the ESP.

I have also owned 4 H400 between 2002 and 2005 and they we good as well. So I am a fan of ESP and LTD. I just sold my last H400 and am buying a ESP Eclipse to replace it.

 

[espboogie123]

I've had four LTD EC-1000's back in day, blue,red,green and white. All were ok. Sold them all and moved on to 3 Esp Eclipses. One Paul landers CTM I and a Vintage white eclipse and a black cherry. The ESP eclipses just feel better, sustain and craftsmanship. I say if budget was an issue, the ec-1000s are ok. But every time i pickup my buddies ec-1000, the 24 frets on a LP body just don't feel right.

 

[arvee72]

Hi folks,

as the title says, I feel a little G.A.S. coming on for one of the guitars. So, can anybody describe the differences between the ESP and the cheaper LTD ? I know that the ESP has only 22 Frets (which I actually like better) while the LTD has 24, but what about the rest ? Is it worth to pay more for the ESP sound- and qualitywise or is there little difference and I better save the bucks and go with an LTD ?

Any comment is appreciated.

Have you decided between the two yet?

 

[glassjaw7]

The LTD's are great playing guitars for the price, but I HATE how close together the pickups are!!! It looks terrible in my opinion. Makes it look like 3/4 scale guitar.

 

[DWAKO]

This is a question that always has interested me. I don't know if I would go out and buy either considering I am more than happy with my Michael Kelly Patriot Black with Bare Knuckle Nail Bombs and Michael Kelly Vex with Dimarzio D-activators. I owned an EC-1000 that I believe was an '05 model, and an H-1000 from '04. Both great guitars, but neither held a candle to the Michael Kellys I played, so I sold them and bought a couple Kellys. I like the look of the ESP Eclipse II, but it's honestly hard for me to justify ever paying that much for one. I recently played one and obviously it was nice, but still I couldn't justify the price after A/Bing it with my Patriot Black and not liking it any more than what I already had. I know of the cosmetic differences but when it came down to it the tone and feel to me was only slightly better than the EC-1000 counter part. If the difference was only a few hundred bucks, it would be more worth it to me. If I were you I would try to snag a used ESP on eBay.

 

[YellowJacket]

How are the nailbombs working out for you!!??

 

[DWAKO]

How are the Nailbombs working out for you!!??

They are absolutely unbelievable, other than my amp, cabs and guitar they are by far the best investment in my tone. I told my bands other guitarist that he needs to get Bareknuckles asap. I love that there are so many options to fit your style. The Alnico Nailbombs fit my sound perfectly. They sound incredible in my Michael Kelly Patriot Black.

But back on the ESP's, I have found ESP's/LTD's to be fairly inconsistent in regards to feel. At one point I owned a H-1000 and an EC-1000 and the other guitarist in my band owned an EC-500 and a EC-400VF. I compared them all and they all felt COMPLETELY different. I liked the EC-500 best the H-1000 next, then the EC-400, and EC-1000 last. It makes me weary of ever purchasing one online. I also played an ESP Eclipse II and a LTD EC-400VF in GC the other day and I actually preferred the LTD over the ESP in terms of feel. That's one reason I like MK guitars, I find them to be extremely consistent.

On a side note I played an Ernie Ball Albert Lee HH the other day, and it was amazing.