View other reviews for this product:
Hatsubai « Great alternative to the M-II »
Published on 08/15/11 at 17:22The ESP Horizon series is an arched top version of the M body, and they're usually neck-thru. However, there are so many different variations that have occurred throughout the years that it's kind of hard to compare one guitar to another without knowing the total specs. The one I'm referring to is actually a bolt-on model. It contains a swamp ash body, maple neck with an ebony fretboard, 24 extra jumbo frets, a slanted neck single-coil sized humbucker, a regular humbucker in the bridge, a floyd rose synclair bridge, one volume, one tone and a three way switch.
UTILIZATION
This guitar is older, so there are a few flaws that I found. The neck joint itself was nice, but some of the frets were a bit uneven. I found this out when I started really slamming the action. This could have been due to wear since the guitar is so old, so it's hard to say that's ESP's fault. The binding was nicely done, and the fret edges weren't sharp at all. The guitar came with one of those old ESP Synclair floyds. These are great floyds, but they have a tendency to not come with bars. The bars aren't interchangeable with the current floyds, so that can be a big downer if you are missing one. You also cannot drop in an OFR without some slight routing.
SOUNDS
The guitar sounded great, although it was a touch bright. A lot of that has to do with the swamp ash body coupled with the ebony fretboard. Swamp ash has pretty hyped bass and treble. You need to select a proper pickup to really match with this, and the JB that was in the bridge was a bit too bright for this guitar. I think a Custom would have been a better match. The neck was a slanted single coil humbucker Hot Rails pickup. This delivered some great lead tones that were super smooth and fat. The clean tones weren't the best, but it's workable. If you replace the standard 3 way switch with one that'll split the inner coils of both pickups, you'll get an awesome single coil-esque tone.
OVERALL OPINION
If you can find an older Horizon, I highly recommend picking one up. They're well built guitars, and they play fantastic. Keep in mind that a lot of them came with the old ESP Synclair bridge. If it has that bridge, be sure it has all the pieces and isn't missing anything. These bridges are getting more and more rare, as are parts for them. If you decide to drop in an OFR, understand that it may require some slight routing to get it to fit perfectly.
UTILIZATION
This guitar is older, so there are a few flaws that I found. The neck joint itself was nice, but some of the frets were a bit uneven. I found this out when I started really slamming the action. This could have been due to wear since the guitar is so old, so it's hard to say that's ESP's fault. The binding was nicely done, and the fret edges weren't sharp at all. The guitar came with one of those old ESP Synclair floyds. These are great floyds, but they have a tendency to not come with bars. The bars aren't interchangeable with the current floyds, so that can be a big downer if you are missing one. You also cannot drop in an OFR without some slight routing.
SOUNDS
The guitar sounded great, although it was a touch bright. A lot of that has to do with the swamp ash body coupled with the ebony fretboard. Swamp ash has pretty hyped bass and treble. You need to select a proper pickup to really match with this, and the JB that was in the bridge was a bit too bright for this guitar. I think a Custom would have been a better match. The neck was a slanted single coil humbucker Hot Rails pickup. This delivered some great lead tones that were super smooth and fat. The clean tones weren't the best, but it's workable. If you replace the standard 3 way switch with one that'll split the inner coils of both pickups, you'll get an awesome single coil-esque tone.
OVERALL OPINION
If you can find an older Horizon, I highly recommend picking one up. They're well built guitars, and they play fantastic. Keep in mind that a lot of them came with the old ESP Synclair bridge. If it has that bridge, be sure it has all the pieces and isn't missing anything. These bridges are getting more and more rare, as are parts for them. If you decide to drop in an OFR, understand that it may require some slight routing to get it to fit perfectly.