ESP Horizon NT-II

The Horizon is a series of guitars ESP has been making for a long time. They have the traditional superstrat shape like the M-II but have an arched top body and are made of different woods. This guitars are made to give a thicker sound than the M-II. These guitars are full bore ESP guitars so they are made in Japan and have custom shop level fit and finish. This Horizon features neck through construction. It has a maple neck with an ebony fretboard. It has 24 jumbo frets. On top it has Gotoh locking tuners. The inlays are offset so you can really see the fretboard wood. The body is mahogany with a maple cap. Instead of the usual EMG pickups you get you get a classic set of Seymour Duncans. The Duncans you get are the 59 in the neck and the JB in the bridge. The guitar has a tune-o-matic bridge with string through tail piece for more sustain. The controls are standard with a master volume and master tone with a 3 way toggle.

UTILIZATION

I prefer playing this guitar over the M-II because of a few things. I prefer the hardtail bridge on this guitar. You do not have to fuss with allen wrenches and stuff whenever you want to change tunings or strings and it will stay in tune no matter what. I also liked the arch top body. Being use to playing Les Pauls with the arch top I have some where to put my arm. On flat topped guitars I am always searching for where I should rest my hand when im playing. The ebony fretboard on this guitar is great. I wish all guitars had ebony fretboards. Locking tuners on a hardtail guitar is something I also wish every guitar had. Passive pickups means this guitar is dead simple and reliable.

SOUNDS

With the Seymour Duncan pickups you get a wide array of tones. The string through bridge with the neck through construction means the strings are anchored on the same piece of wood the neck is. This gives great resonance to the tone and every note that you play just sings. A set of EMG pickups would limit this guitar to a metal only role but with these you can do pretty much anything. With the Seymour Duncan pickups the guitar already comes with some of the best pickups you can get so the tone is there out of the box. This pickup combination is something that Edwards uses in a lot of its Gibson copies. The 59 has a great PAF style tone. It has a good amount of sag and the mids are nice and pronounced. The JB in the bridge is the jack of all traits and can be used for just about anything. You can get great overdriven tones all the way to searing high gain with it. Many Jackson guitars come with this pickup set so you know it can hang for metal too. But of course if you just want a metal only guitar there are similar ESP models that will do that very well.

OVERALL OPINION

This guitar is pretty expensive and that is a big downside. ESP's LTD line of guitars is like half the price and the quality is really good. If you want a guitar like this I suggest you try out the LTD version first and see if you can save a bunch of money. The only outside difference between the model is that the LTD comes with a rosewood fretboard. I prefer ebony but its not a 1000 dollar difference. If you are looking for a hard tail shred guitar with an arch top and neck through construction you do not have many options but this is probably the best of them.

Guitar made in Japan, while selected mahogany and curly maple table in the most beautiful effect. The neck through is maple three parts and that's cool. The fingerboard is ebony, a softer and therefore enjoyable.

Mechanical level, we are dealing with the Gotoh, as a key bridge. So far the bridge there nothing wrong, simple but effective and elegant as the key system is a real pain: Supposed to be locking the mechanism is a hair pulling so it is poorly thought out, it cost me 2 Strings and one early (easy) to change my strings after the purchase is a gift ... I think for 1800E we could have more convenient tuners, and players who are used to change strings every 2 weeks go fast "burst bolt" ... Anyway, let ^ ^

The nut is bone, it was a great white binding all the way around the guitar, but classes of discrete marks (squares on the side of the hoop. Beast is Dark Brown Sunburst, a color mat not too flashy but not too dark either, which is significant, especially that ESP is not evil in the extreme on this side, if you know what I mean. 24 frets, tuning fork 64 cm, always nice to solid, no complaints on this, the quality of the hoop and finishes is at the top.

Micro level, it's Seymour Duncan humbucking eh nag, SH6 in the neck and SH4 in the bridge, so heavy, more details in "sound"
The 3-position selector is really ... Divine, it slips sublimely well, I was really surprised by its sweetness, which contrasts dramatically with respect to my EC-1000 Ltd. in ... It has one volume knob push switch which acts (useless), 1 tone knob and that's it (no need for much more we agree)




UTILIZATION

The highlight of the guitar that is an ergonomics make God down. Comfortable to handle, not too heavy nor too light, style, we feel the power of the monster purr even empty. It is well balanced, very clearly, and the handle is a joy to play: Highway, but not too wide (I blamed my old shovel has to have a handle too late so that the accuracy was sometimes pretty miserable with my paws), the notes come out clearly, the switch agree, the sweep, the tapping is done without too much hassle, short fingers glide well without one has the impression of having a savonette in the hands (n 'Is not Ibanez): this is what struck me when I tested the game is easy, everything is perfectly calculated. Access to acute nickel, what a superstrate.

The guitar sounds, that too is a fact, whether clean or overdriven, the record is completely clean, if not push the gain too much. Notes, I repeat, are very, very clear, there is no harm in ringing the bizarre-sounding arrangements / multiple dissonances.

Summary: From the top level

SOUNDS

Or it may the sin. Indeed, if the sound is clear and distinct notes, the SD can be lacking sometimes fishing. Pushed to max, it spits it galley and we feel the limits of these microphones resent large distortions (sometimes I play Death Metal / Power Metal, and these pickups are clearly not suitable for this passive style ), the output level is not high enough and small Duncan was struggling to keep pace. Basically, if you push the gain beyond the 75% it leaves his pacifier and not at the rendezvous was that bad (which is a little grain Black, so if you play, the more a shovel amp head crunch and you will be the happiest guitarist). Otherwise set apart this defect, the capacity of SD will be more than enough to thrash that spot, rock, fusion, punk (well it is not too much style but you never know) and even jazz in the middle which the guitar in my very strong assets and does not deal with a blush in vintage antique gibson

However, its clear they démerdent pretty well, if you do not gain too grows again, the sound is very smooth, especially with the neck pickup. On the other hand we can have a country with slamming his pickup, more acoustic in fact. Not much else to say this is the clean channel. Ah, if the effects are éboustiflants via pedal (I say what I want) in clean, hearing cream, especially the chorus.

Clearly the beast really sounds, despite the weakness of the microphones when overloaded (mostly distortion), even if they support it remarkably well to your favorite effects pedals. In my opinion the perfect violin to have in there. Personally I plan to change them to DiMarzio Tone Zone and Evolution II, most appropriate styles that I like (Prog Metal, Death, Thrash and Power has the Slayer and Sodom).

OVERALL OPINION

Impeccable guitar and violin finish level, which changes rather a lot of my EC-1000 or my Jaguar HH. Surprisingly liabilities are not as ca picks it up (compared to my fender) and power output level level, mahogany does his taf

The gameplay is perfect, that's the word, you feel at ease when playing simply is not tangle and it's nice!

Value pretty decent but not amazing, after thinking I would do this choice (what a surprise ^ ^ even if the microphones do not sing as much as promised (but with the right amp should be able to get the sound you want, because it is quite large as the type of microphones).

-Guitar made in Japan.
-Tune-O-Matic.
Channel-crossing (beautiful, by the way).
-24 Frets, Seymour Duncan double microphone, splitable easy with the switch in the volume knob.
-A volume knob, one tone knob, a selector switch 3 positions and the volume knob.

UTILIZATION

The neck is fast, thin and very nice for schredders. The strings are very close to the handle, so that the guitar is very enjoyable to play. The guitar is light, so comfortable, without being too light as to have the feeling of playing on a toy. Access notes treble is very easy, very perfect!

SOUNDS

The pickups deliver a nice clear sound, clean, loaded with beautiful bass. Seymour Duncan and ESP require, the Disto is perfect, even playing with a Amplug. It is clean, clear and powerful. This guitar is built for the Hard Rock and Metal, but one of these other assets is that it is very versatile. I play mostly Metal, but you can also play blues and jazz on this guitar that sound too powerful, especially with the split. Indeed, when Seymour Duncan splités are single, the sound is much less powerful, but less round. Unfortunately, distortion, with the simple, the breath of the amp is louder, but that's normal.

OVERALL OPINION

I just bought this guitar in New York, and frankly it's the best of my guitars (I own an Ibanez RGA42 and a PRS SE Singlecut). The sound is versatile, but more oriented Hard Rock / Metal. The finish is perfect, beautiful color, the neck-through is beautiful, flamed darkbrown the table is really nice. The markings on the handle are really classes (on the side of the box). Initially, I vouais a guitar like this but white, but color me really blown away. I love everything about this guitar. The value for money is really excellent. I know people who have cete guitar for quite some years and they are very satisfied. The guitar is solid, so perfect for concerts, tours ... There has seen the number of artists who choose ESP!

Channel 24 through mahogany boxes with a touch bne and again in pearls.
Strings-through-.
Potentiomtres-volume and tone that is also push-pull for split mics a double single coil.
Micros-Seymourd JB/59 Duncan.
-Mahogany body with table Saddle flame.
Micro-selector 3 positions.
Binding-body-head-round.
Sperzel locking-Mcaniques.
Silet-bone.
(Mine is dark red distributed in France by the black box list price 1790)

UTILIZATION

-The neck is thin and fast asser modern Access in good treble.
-The guitar has a weight that I would call normal or too heavy or too lightweight.
sitting, as no problem keeping up.
We ca-branch and roll itself.

SOUNDS

-Here we have a versatile guitar that asser typemtal strongly, I think it is a version of EMG team directly.
-I play an ENGL Thunder 50 no problem and the sound is rich, and prcis law.
-Depending on whether and spil SETTING THE amp, I can close all but the guitar style color guard nanmoins mtal asser modern sound we are here in spite of the violin near the asser his gibson. The grain is more "modern" for groups like Led Zeppelin the guitar does not excel, however, metallica & co do not worry.
In-distortion as a clean guitar a good trs rpondant split relement microphones offer great potential as explained above, but the sound is too "prcis" too much "right" to an old blues drooling or something else that is more "dirty" in distortion.

OVERALL OPINION

-I possde guitar for a month, I love his violin trs complte, Access in the treble, it is rendered on pieces irrprochable more like hard metal.
-I possdais before a cort m-600 MODEL recess at well below prices as quality.
-I think for a high-end guitar like this the ratio quality price is a good honest plsu complete violin, good wood, good microphones, when we see the exorbitant prices that practice or gibson jackson US I think this guitar is well established
and has really nice sound possibilities.
-I do not think that choice again, since this guitar is not my type of guitar that does not detract from its quality. I board not a good feeling that's all I'm Gibsonian: p