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New Hamer Day! (project completed)


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I’m back in the fold with a 1995 Eclipse. 
I got this in a local sale from our very own Jellyfish about a month or so ago. A true gentleman, super easy deal. He had it refinish by Pat Wilkins (beauty) and did some additional work, too, so I thought it would make a cool project. 

Ahh ... it has that nice mid nineties medium large neck shape and a great acoustic sound. I had an Eclipse years ago that I liked but never got into the stock pickups. This new guitar would get some mods:) 

Here we have an Ivory Eclipse, Fralin mini hums, Mojo compensated wraparound bridge, with other nickel/silver appointments. I also darkened the fingerboard a little bit. It’s a really nice rosewood board so I didn’t go ebony. Just a couple of shades darker trans mahogany. 
 

It’s not perfect but pretty damn close. The mini hums are a slightly different size than the firebirds so they needed their own surrounds. I can see a little evidence of the change in a couple of places at the edges of the surrounds. Minor for sure.

So far I can’t find a silver toggle tip that is perfect. This one is a little too shallow, so it doesn’t screw all the way down. There are a few threads exposed and perhaps it looks a bit long. Again, pretty minor. 
 

Overall it looks killer and it sounds amazing! Mini hums are unique in that, to my ear, they sound like a PAF crossed with a Strat pickup. They have beef and warmth but with a little hollow sound. The bridge is wound to balance well with the neck. No Achilles heel. 
 

All in this project cost me under $1100. Not only is it a great value for a guitar of this quality but it’s the perfect Eclipse - for me. 
 

Fugly? You’re koo koo:) 

 

 

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202836D9-BAC2-499F-AB26-EEB1AE082F58.jpeg

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4 minutes ago, pirateflynn said:

I’m back in the fold with a 1995 Eclipse. 
I got this in a local sale from our very own Jellyfish about a month or so ago. A true gentleman, super easy deal. He had it refinish by Pat Wilkins (beauty) and did some additional work, too, so I thought it would make a cool project. 

Ahh ... it has that nice mid nineties medium large neck shape and a great acoustic sound. I had an Eclipse years ago that I liked but never got into the stock pickups. This new guitar would get some mods:) 

Here we have an Ivory Eclipse, Fralin mini hums, Mojo compensated wraparound bridge, with other nickel/silver appointments. I also darkened the fingerboard a little bit. It’s a really nice rosewood board so I didn’t go ebony. Just a couple of shades darker trans mahogany. 
 

It’s not perfect but pretty damn close. The mini hums are a slightly different size than the firebirds so they needed their own surrounds. I can see a little evidence of the change in a couple of places at the edges of the surrounds. Minor for sure.

So far I can’t find a silver toggle tip that is perfect. This one is a little too shallow, so it doesn’t screw all the way down. There are a few threads exposed and perhaps it looks a bit long. Again, pretty minor. 
 

Overall it looks killer and it sounds amazing! Mini hums are unique in that, to my ear, they sound like a PAF crossed with a Strat pickup. They have beef and warmth but with a little hollow sound. The bridge is wound to balance well with the neck. No Achilles heel. 
 

All in this project cost me under $1100. Not only is it a great value for a guitar of this quality but it’s the perfect Eclipse - for me. 
 

Fugly? You’re koo koo:) 

 

 

C80BEF6E-D4B6-479C-B3E1-8B76FDDBF214.jpeg

202836D9-BAC2-499F-AB26-EEB1AE082F58.jpeg

I like it!

The Eclipses have been growing on me lately. Slab mahogany and a wrap tail bridge...  kinda hard to go wrong there. Would I love a fatter neck?  Sure. But I know the mid 90’s carve well and it’s still a comfy neck for me. 

Yours looks great. Congrats!

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Very cool, Ken!  

 

Also, what ArnieZ asked...

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3 hours ago, pirateflynn said:

Ahh ... it has that nice mid nineties medium large neck shape and a great acoustic voice.

FIFY.  You're describing its acoustic voice. 😀

Congrats and enjoy!  I'm an Eclipse fan who has swapped pickups, too.

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Yeah, this is a nice guitar! 

@ArnieZ @cmatthes  I used a MINWAX stain marker in dark walnut. It seemed like the right color and density from the available samples. Dark but not black. They have ebony if you’d like to take it further.

It worked like a charm. Draw it on just like a marker and wipe it down. I didn’t leave it on long, maybe a couple of minutes. It came right off the position markers, nut, and binding. It’s a little tacky afterwards but I buffed it with a soft cloth until it was slick. 
 

The end result is a beautiful deep brown with a reddish hue.

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163C2D5D-FB79-4DBE-AACA-4E52E2CB5534.jpeg

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Love it. A beauty for sure! Wish I had kept mine, it has such a sweet neck. But the Firebird pickups did not fit my sound. The Duncan Antiquity Firebird pups I had innit did sound sweet though.

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Really nice looking guitar! Ivory is such a nice, classy color.  How is the weight on yours? Mine is Heeaavyy! Only thing I don't like about it. Well I did swap pickups too, Jerry Sentell mini p-90s, nice pickups. Yours is really nice! (Did I say that already?)

 

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@ArnieZthat’s a beautiful Grantura. 
I’d start with one application. Leave it on for a few minutes and wipe it dry. Take time to clean the nut, binding, and inlays. It came right off when I did this treatment to two guitars. One has a lighter colored Laurel board and this did the trick. 
Apply a 2nd coat if you think it should be darker and then buff it out really well. Restring and live with it awhile. You can always go a shade darker next string change. 
 

@duncans Thanks! I don’t have a scale but I’d estimate it at about 7.5 lbs when comparing to other guitars I have. 
It’s a great weight. Just enough booty and comfortable, too. 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Thanks to @topekatj’s  advice I just received and installed a Mojoaxe lightning wraparound. Originally I thought the regular compensated was close enough for rock n roll but this one definitely keeps the guitar more in tune! It ‘might’ be a tad brighter sounding (not a bad thing) but it could also be the new strings. 
Digging the Eclipse! 
 

18F977FA-609F-4E39-8A6A-3C3A87E67471.jpeg

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1 hour ago, pirateflynn said:

Thanks to @topekatj’s  advice I just received and installed a Mojoaxe lightning wraparound. Originally I thought the regular compensated was close enough for rock n roll but this one definitely keeps the guitar more in tune! It ‘might’ be a tad brighter sounding (not a bad thing) but it could also be the new strings. 
Digging the Eclipse! 
 

18F977FA-609F-4E39-8A6A-3C3A87E67471.jpeg

Even better!

Hmm…. Has anyone called dibs yet…?

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2 hours ago, pirateflynn said:

Thanks to @topekatj’s  advice I just received and installed a Mojoaxe lightning wraparound. Originally I thought the regular compensated was close enough for rock n roll but this one definitely keeps the guitar more in tune! It ‘might’ be a tad brighter sounding (not a bad thing) but it could also be the new strings. 
Digging the Eclipse! 
 

18F977FA-609F-4E39-8A6A-3C3A87E67471.jpeg

I knew you’d be able to tell the difference! I’ll bet it rings out in a G chord now.

Good job using the low profile bridge anchor stud heads also — TonePros? They feel so much smoother under the heel of the right hand.

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So nice!

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I had a blue/green flip-flop one with mini-hums, courtesy of Badger Dave but I had 3 Eclipses at the time and some big financial trouble on the horizon (divorces will do that to ya) so I had to let it go.  Eventually they all went.

Oddly, I later picked up an Eclipse 12 from Stevie Mothafraggin' Clay via Greg Platzer.  It had the stock pickups and I remarked to Greg "Now to see about some pickups".  He told me that, on a 12, the stock pickups got all the classic electric 12 tones and to live with them for a while before I switched.  Steve had used the guitar on stage with Platzer, so I figured he knew something.  I used that guitar on virtually every Spiny Norman show for about 10 years and was perfectly happy with it.  The sixes, not so much.

 

 

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