Nice panel there, just add a fender and you'll have almost all tones you would ever need !
How different is a gibson with its aesthetic copy from ESP ? I know the ESP is loaded with EMGs, but appart from that are they two completely different guitars ?
Fender USA DLX Tele, Gibson LP with P90s and RG550 missing from the pic so I have everything I need!
Recently sold on a Gibson ES137. Wasn't getting used much at all.
Got rid of a Rickenbacker last year too. Was a really nice guitar with a very distinctive sound but was hardly ever used.
The Eclipse is a custom full thickness and the Gibson murders it.
The Gibson feels organic and the sound "jumps" out of it.
Very dynamic and alive.
I generally hate EMGs and setting up all these guitars in one sitting and playing through my Mesa MK4 to check wiring etc confirmed this.
I have a duncan 59 set that I am going to put in the Eclipse and also have a Duncan sh-11 bridge that I will try too.
I think the 59 set will be perfect. Should be pretty close to the burstbuckers in the Gibson. The only reason it wasn't done straight away is I didn't have any 500k pots to do the job.
The MI NTB started life with an EMG 81 in it and it sounded really thin so I changed it to a duncan SH-11 which is recommended for bright guitars (Maple neck through, ebony board and alder wings) but doing this setup showed it to be lacking bottom end compression. I love when mutes squash into the valves and it wasn't doing it. Swapped it for a Duncan Invader yesterday and it sounds brilliant now. Perfect pickup for it.
The PRS has a duncan sh-11 too. A big step up from the stock HFS that was in it. The HSF was very undynamic and dull. The Duncan screams in it.
Looking at this picture makes me really miss my M-I NTB. It's been 3 years this month since it was stolen and I still scour eBay and Craigslist for it (routed for a 2nd humbucker, really hard to miss) on a weekly basis. Such a great guitar.
I remember you posting about that. What a bastard. I think it will probably show up eventually. Keep looking. Have you tried looking through photos of local bands on FB?
I love the simplicity of the M-I and wouldn't want the extra pickup. I don't gig (and hardly ever play) so the M-I is perfect as a recording guitar for customers.
What pickup did you have in the bridge?
To the other replies, I owned a musical instrument shop for 10 years and have set up hundreds of guitars over the years so the therapeutic aspect is well worn off for me. Stripping a guitar, installing and wiring EMGs then stringing and setting up a floyd rose several times a week has killed the thrill for me
.