My Basic Setup of an ESP Eclipse
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- Опубликовано: 1 авг 2024
- Hi, I'm just some guy. As I've searched through RUclips, one thing became abundantly clear. There aren't enough videos by people with no credible training telling you how to set up your guitar. Well, I don't know anything about your guitar. But instead, it's a cold Sunday here in northeast Ohio, and I can't think of a better way to waste it than to film myself setting up one of mine.
Both of the comments I get on this video will probably tell me everything I've done wrong. But this setup works for me. I asked myself why I wanted to make a video like this and I didn't have a really good answer. But, I think that this is something that intimidates people and in a basic setup, there's nothing that that could in any way damage the guitar unless I drop a screwdriver on it. I can put this setup on any guitar and be really close to something that's going to work for the way I play.
It's information worth nearly what you've paid for it.
Links and stuff:
Instagram - pushead_cic...
Band Nonsense - / daysbeneath
More Band Nonsense - / @daysbeneath9195
Free Music - drive.google.com/drive/folder...
The Other Band - / thelongcolddark
Dave's World of Fun Stuff - / @davesworldoffunstuff
0:00 Intro
0:38 Step 1
0:43 Check the battery
1:40 Remove strings
2:09 Replacing tuners
3:21 Polishing the frets
6:25 Cleaning the fingerboard
8:36 Oiling the fingerboard
9:53 Restringing the guitar
10:47 Neck relief
13:48 Dealing with buzzing
14:17 Action at 1st fret
14:51 String height and action at the bridge
16:44 Setting intonation
18:46 Pickup height
20:27 Summary graphics
20:48 Why make a video like this?
22:29 Bonus cool-kid points
Not a sponsored video. I'm just a guy who likes guitars. 
Авто/Мото
I just got an eclipse. Love the neck. I want another one they play so nice.
Great job ! Very useful, no stress, very well articulated. Thanks !
Just came here to say thank you. I already know you from the ESP forum and liked your Eclipse video a lot. This will also come in handy. I bought an MIJ LTD Deluxe Eclipse I (24 frets and three knobs) last year and even though it was in good condition and the price was fair I had some difficulties setting it up. I had to change almost everything and spend hours setting it up to a playable state but I still have some slight fret buzz on the lower e string when pushing down on higher frets. I think I will give it another try next weekend now that I have your video.
Thanks man! Set neck guitars often run in to buzz at the highest frets. It's often because the fingerboard rises a bit in the area where the neck is glued in to the body. Often times it needs a slight fret leveling to get rid of the problem. If you find you can't get it to stop buzzing, it may be worth taking it to someone to look at. A partial fret level usually isn't super expensive.
One of the best presentations!
Perfect video.
You have an amazing collection of guitars
Dude your videos are great! You should definitely make more! I have a 2019 LTD EC-1000 see through purple that I replaced the pickups in with Fishman Fluence KSE set!
Thanks man. That see-through purple finish is awesome.
Good video. I learned a lot. Thanks!
I have mine set at .018 at the first fret. With .010 neck relief, and low E at the 12th about 1.2mm, high E roughly 1mm. Plays great. Your setup is very similar.
Parabéns pelo vídeo e pelos detalhes, ficou ótimo!!!
Brilliant video! Keep it up, buddy
Great stuff! Awesome guitar as well!
Good video, thank you.
killer vid man thanks!!
Thanks for the info (this and other vids), P! Hello from ZeroEyeZero/desTroy from the "old" (lawless) ESP board.
damn good setup video! didnt even have to look setup videos, but this was still perfect entertainment with morning coffee
Thanks! Though, Just Some Girlfriend™ says my "humor" is best saved for after a coffee or two.
Appreciate your sense of humor:-)
Thank you was able to make my fav guitar playable again
Awesome man, I had faith in you!
I first saw your video
and then bought an Eclipse II
Sir, thats a f****** insane video
Thanks!
Got the EC 2 USA in VB today. Now I understand what you meant with goddamn Magnum Gotohs
We used to chat on the oldest of old esp forums. Cheers buddy
Great I am a amateur luthier, a do 50-70 guitar fret dress and setup a year. I use more or less exctly the same procedures as you except I use the musicnomad truss rod gauge wich states to press the 12th fret and measure on the 6th fret with their tool that states 0.06mm I also love eclipse I have 2 so not as many as you😉
I love my LTD Eclipse(passive), but I've never understood why someone would want a guitar with batteries in it. 🤔
Give it a try! You will see why!🤘🏻🤘🏻
I really hate people that comment on RUclips videos and here i am being one of them. Great video, man… Info to the camera and editing. Thank you.
Thanks Joseph!
You know what you’re talking about and you are funny, in a good way.
Thanks man! You're the first person to ever say either of those things. lol
Pushhead is just a guy who has more knowledgeable about ESP eclipse than the rest of the world.
Phil, questions about pickup rings.
1. For eclipse, do I need to use slanted or flat ?
2. Do I need to look for certain size or any pickup ring will fit on eclipse ?
3. Do u think metal pickup ring affect the tone compared to plastic one ?
Thanks
Best video on RUclips. Love your ESP's. I have a 2011 MIJ Eclipse in Snow White. Love it. Oh, I almost forgot. The guitar you used in your video is red. Did I win?
You win! Heck, anyone that made it all the way to the end deserves a bigger prize than I can award.
Thanks for the videos. I really enjoy all things ESP, I'm a bit of a nerd as well and definitely a numbers guy.
I've done all of my own maintenance and setup sice getting into guitars and totally agree with the products and practices you're using.
Have you ever come across an ESP/LTD that was not as Spec'd in the catalog? My LTD WA 600 appears to be a full thickness style neck through construction and plays better than anything I've ever had but the 2007 product catalog indicates a different construction. It also says it has a quilted maple top, but it's DGC and I don't know why you would use a quilted maple top then cover it with a graphic unless it has to do with tone.
Thanks for any help you can provide. Carry on.
Thanks man. I've never played one of the WA guitars, but it wouldn't surprise me that the catalog got it wrong. They often copy/paste the descriptions from other guitars as they put the catalog together. I did a quick search online and found that the ESP versions (or at least the forest camo) was indeed full thickness.
@@Pusheadcic thank you for the info and your quick reply. I guess all that matters in the end is if it feels good and plays well. This is not a comfortable guitar. It's heavy and without the body cut a little unwieldy, but the sound is too good to let it go.
I have a LTD EC-256 that I'd like to put some decent locking tuners on (preferably Gotoh). Could you recommend the exact model of Gotoh tuners that would fit the EC-256? Great video, by the way. Following it step-by-step.
Thanks Greg. I've never had an EC-256 in hand, so I'm not exactly sure, but based on photos I found online, it looks like the tuners may already be made by Gotoh and rebranded LTD/ESP. But if you're still interested in trying, they look to be the SG381. You can buy them with a lot of different knob variations, just make sure you get a 3+3 set for the Eclipse. Good luck.
New sub.
Would you know what graphtech nut fits a ec-401 by chance?
I have this exact same model in my collection of 28 various ESP guitar models. Needless to say, I love ESP guitars!
Question! When you check the relief, you say you hold the string down at the 15th fret, or where the neck meets the body. Do you find you fret the string at the 19th fret then, or stick with the 15th fret on explorers and V’s? Asking for a friend.
I think 17 is probably as high as I go. I figure it's around there that the truss rod ends and so, doesn't affect the relief any more.
Nice setup video, just wondering if the nut was cut for 12s. It must be at least decently cut for that if you're still able to get 20 thou at the 1st fret. I recently started setting up my action by fretting the 1st fret first before measuring to take it out of the equation. Cheers
I haven't had problems using the .012 set with the stock nut slots, but it is part of the reason I check the action at the 1st fret. I probably could have filed the nut at the first three strings to bring them down as I was probably closer to .022" but it still plays pretty well to me as it is.
@@Pusheadcic yeah that makes sense since that measurement would be way off if the nut couldn't handle the gauge. Love your collection, it's truly stunning. Hope you keep making more videos
@@metal571 Thanks man. I'm not sure what else I could talk about. I've run out of ideas. lol
Great video! Since you seem to have quite an extended knowledge, i hope you could answer me a question. How do the mid-late 90s Bolt-Ons Eclipses compare to the later E-II?
I've got the chance of getting one and apart from the tuners, it doesn't seem to be really much of an issue to get that thing up and running smoothly? Would you recommend them?
Hi Mike. I've never played one of the bolt-on Eclipses. I keep meaning to find one to play, just to try out. I agree, the stock tuners look flimsy to me, but that may just be my experience with the similar style Gibson tuners. For whatever reason, the 90's bolt-on Eclipses aren't held in very high regard, but I'd give one a try. Especially if you can find them in the around $1k usd range. If you get it, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.
@@Pusheadcic Thx for the reply. Guess I have to try one. I'm just a bit baffled that there are Japanese made eclipses going for 1-1,3k that seem to be in great condition. Personally, i don't mind the bolt-on construction since it also means that the neck has no laquer on it.
I'll keep you posted, if i decide the pull the trigger on it.
Still trying to find the sweet spot with my eclipse. If I set the relief to .10 and string height at 2 and 1.5mm like the manual suggests it makes the action seem a lot higher at the 12th fret. Is it better to add more relief and drop the string height a bit to even that out across the board? I realized I've been playing with too low action so I'm not trying to get it super low or anything I just want it to be able to ring out but still be able to play it comfortably
Well, I'm about .5mm lower at the 12th than your are with .010" of relief. I find that to work well for me. Not everyone likes that much relief, but that combination gets me good play ability without a ton of buzz.
Hey mate, i have the exact same guitar (with gotoh magnum locking tuners 1st gen). I wanted to ask you whats the second gen of those? SG381? Also i want your opinion regarding the bridge which is a gotoh tune-omatic, is there an upgrade for those? and in general what are the upgrades that we can do on that guitar besides pickups/tuners.
Thanks in advanced and keep up the good work mate.
The set I put on were the SG301MG-T (for 3+3 with staggered shaft heights). The upgraded bridge I see people put on these are the TonePros, which I understand are essentially the same bridge but with the locking screw on it. I'm sure there are other, "higher end" brands that you can buy, but I'm not sure how much better they would be or if you'd hear any difference in the end.
Other changes people make are nuts made out of different materials and replacing the fretwire for stainless steel. But really, there isn't really much you can easily replace to upgrade on this guitar. In terms of a mass-produced guitar, once you get to the level of these Standard Series ESP/E-II or equivalent ranges of other brands, you're really getting about the best guitars you can buy without spending boutique or custom shop prices. It becomes a whole lot less "bang for the buck," because what you're really spending the extra money on is time. It's a combination of the time they're spending on your particular instrument and the time they've spent learning and mastering their skills.
Really enjoyed your videos! Just bought an Eclipse EII full thickness, and I’ve followed your setup exactly. One question… does the tailpiece height need to be adjusted so that the strings don’t contact the low part of the bridge (string angle breaks to clear the metal)? I’ve heard this may affect the tone?
I hear lots of people advise to raise the stop bar. Personally, I like it down to the top, which reduces string compliance (the perceived tension of the string,) but I like the strings to fight me a bit. I've never tried back and forth to see if I could tell a difference in tone.
@@Pusheadcic I have an esp eclipse you don't have in your collection it's a special one off.. if you're interested let me know
@@cloudstrifelv hit me up on instagram @pushead_cic
@D I would advise you to adjust the tailpiece height. You should be able to slide a piece of paper between the back of the bridge and the strings without resistance. I had to raise my tailpiece significantly, which really looks like shit, but man, the guitar opened up big time, better sustain, spot on intonation, better palm mutes.
@@donvito4275 thanks brother i'll try it out!
Do you do work on ESPs? I'm also in NE Ohio and have and eclipse that I just can not get to sound right. Not sure if pickups are bad or wiring is messed up. It just does not have the punch and clarity like I see all over the internet. Bought new around 2005 and is all stock.
@Brandon Green Well, I work on my own gear. I don't make a living doing it or anything. I'd be happy to take a look at it for you and see if we can figure out if something might be up with it. Hit me up on Instagram and we can see if we can work something out.
👍🏼👍🏼
Could you possibly recommend a replacement nut for an ESP Eclipse??
I don't have a great answer for that. Up until recently, I've just had nuts replaced by a local tech. I have two nuts sitting here waiting to go on guitars (both Eclipses) but haven't taken the time to do it. The nuts I bought were via Reverb from a seller/store named Axe Masters. They list a nut specifically for the ESP/LTD guitars that's 1.65" (which should be correct) and is made from bone. Otherwise, the other nut I'd try is Graphtech M169 made from Tusq. I assume both will need some amount of filing and polishing to fit properly.
I need to know how to replace stings and remove tuners
That's way above my pay grade.
@@Pusheadcic I'll paypal you
What do you think of the old Gotoh tuners on the standard series Eclipse. Should I upgrade them to Sperzel?
There are two variations of the Gotoh tuners. Yours probably is the first version, where you use a screwdriver to unlock. I'm not fond of the locking mechanism, but I find those tuners far more accurate than Sperzels. I prefer the second version of the Gotoh, which have a thumb screw to lock the string (like the Sperzel.) They're 16:1, so they are far more accurate than the 12:1 Sperzels. If you saw in the video, that's what I replaced the tuners with, the second generation Gotoh Magnum-Lock.
@@Pusheadcic That's very helpful thanks. Do you know what model the new Gotoh ones are?
@@karlmartin849 for an Eclipse it's Gotoh SG301 MG-T-04
Not sure this will reach you since this video is on the old side but your string height measurements off the first string, are those according to ESP’s setup numbers or are they your preferred heights? Thanks!!
Hi Armando, they're my preferred heights. And again, these are just starting points for me. Some guitars end up a bit lower, some end up a bit higher, but most are pretty close to these measurements.
@@Pusheadcic Hey thanks for replying!
So two questions why don't you like the ashtray battery thing? Second question is do you set up guitars for other people? I think I'm not too far from you I have very similar guitars please let me know.
I just think it's strange to have the ashtray. A 9v battery fits just fine into the cavity and the ashtray makes it a bit more difficult to run the 24v setup that I run with most of my EMG equipped guitars. I'll do work on other people's guitars, but I'm usually pretty hesitant to do it. I don't work on guitars as a business or anything. I'd be happy to take a look at your guitar and see if we can figure out if it needs something. Hit me up on Instagram and we can see if we can work something out.
Just a question, do you not care about the strings touching the back of your bridge? I’m new to these e2 models, more knowledge on Gibson guitars, does the strings pulling on the bridge down or touching the back of the bridge, doesnt affect it in any way?
It does not bother me. I like less compliance in my strings and having the bridge on the body makes the strings feel stiffer. I've seen collapsed bridges and have replaced them, but the only guitars I've seen it on are over 30 years old.
If it's a concern, you can raise the stop bar to where the strings don't touch the back of the bridge, or to where the strings feel "looser" to you.
You set your intonation like that laying down with the head rest? It might be different when you Strap it on. 😉
It isn't.
@@Pusheadcic cool. Mine must be garbage then. 🤣
what gauge strings were you using and brand
Hey man, I use Ernie Ball strings. For the band guitars, which are downtuned, I use the "not even slinky" set which is .012-.056.
@@Pusheadcic awesome thanks I just picked up a Snow White EII Eclipse lefty
you funny mate
I live in northeast ohio as well, wanna set up my guitars?
I could. Or I could help you do it yourself.
Just review your all guitar tone bro
You and trogly should get in touch. Have him do some vids on your eclipses. Doubt he's ever touched anything like them.
It's an Eclipse I CTM. Shoulda gotten an Ltd though!
Close. 2 out of 3 cool kid points.
@@Pusheadcic What did I get wrong?
@@metallijosh I'm thinking Pus meant Eclipse I CTM FT (Full Thickness)...but I'm just some less informed guy...so...
What side are you using on the string action ruler none of your settings match
I'm using the 64th of an inch scale on the side. I'm measuring from the top of the frets to the bottom of the string. My measurements differ between relief, string height and pickup height because I'm using different tools to measure them.
@@Pusheadcic awesome thanks! I finished it and it plays great.
@@torturedsilencegaming Great to hear! Good job.
@@Pusheadcic my low e string was buzzing but it just needed a little raise at the bridge because the relief was right. I have a 58 in there.
@@torturedsilencegaming Yeah, I find I have to raise the low E more as I go up in string gauge. Leveling the frets may allow you to bring it back down some, but that starts getting into more work (or more money if you have someone else do it.)
ESP Eclipse 1 CTM FT DCAR ?
ESP Eclipse 1, Custom Traditional Model, Full Thickness, Deep Candy Apple Red ?
My guess anyway. This is frustrating.. it has a standard series badge and 4pots with extended horn,.. have searched all the catalogues but cannot find any reference to a red colour. It's all VBK, BKS, SW, VW.
Woah, bonus cool-kid points for even getting the color right.
@@Pusheadcic woo hoo! Haha awesome bro. So what's the story with this magnificent instrument? 2010 Japanese only colour run? Can you post a link to the catalogue it's featured in! This is really interesting. Thanks 😊
@@timstrickland2080 customer service at ESP Japan said it was a one-off finish, special ordered by a shop in France. They've used the DCAR on other guitars in the past, but only small runs. I have a blue Eclipse in a color called bronze blue (or blue bronze) that was also a special order from a shop in Europe.
@@Pusheadcic Interesting. So it's a semi-custom standard series, a service only available to retailers. Does this mean I could get a current original series guitar and instead of blue liquid metal, get liquid metal lava? If so it's almost like there's a tier between production series and full custom shop accessible only by retailers acting on behalf of client.
@@timstrickland2080 Maybe. I think it comes down to the relationship between the dealer and ESP.
That's not the 15th fret, or am i missing something?
15th fret or where the neck meets the body. What's a few extra frets between friends?
@@Pusheadcic Ah okay. ;)
I've never actually seen an Eclipse with dual volume and tone like a Les Paul.
I have a video that talks about it. They're a less common variation that were available in North America in 2004-6 and in other parts of the world until around 2014.
Are you the guy on esp forums answering people if they are buying fake esp guitars or not :D
Yes, but don't hold that against me.
@@Pusheadcic its good that u are doing it. really helpfull! I bought my esp e2 sv standard used and asked there if it was legit. I was just wondering cos ur profile pic and usename
Interesting ...
A meter with 2 off positions.
Shouldn't instonation be done last, after setting the pickup height. If they're moved afterwards the magnetic pull change can throw off intonation.
Wont matter on a guitar with EMG actives. due to their smaller coils and weaker magnets there’s virtually no magnetic pull on the strings when set at the correct height.
@@imeqsmd Active or not, with multiple pickups there IS enough magnetic pull on the strings to effect intonation when the pickups are close to the strings. Do it however you want buddy.
@@andrewbecker3700 Alright, well thanks I’ll check this out more thoroughly at next string changeout.
Just realized I've been abusing my guitar.