Back to navigation


ESP Horizon-I: A Custom Shop Rocker with Inspired Tones and Endless Playability





This article was


Written By





Our Product Research Team





Get to know them!





From the handcrafted ESP Original Series comes a custom instrument with limitless technical-music potential. The ESP Horizon-I’s liquid-sculpture double-cut alder body with neck-through design delivers endless comfort, sustain, and playability. Perfectly mated is the stable 3-piece maple neck with 12"-radius ebony fingerboard, which together provide unfettered and cleanly fretted access all the way up to the 24th fret. Premium Seymour Duncan pickups ? a Cool Rails neck and an incomparable Duncan Distortion bridge ? take the ESP Horizon-I from clean to mean in the twinkling of an eye. Meanwhile, a rock-solid Floyd Rose Original bridge and Gotoh locking tuners let you wail, shred, dive, and howl without dropping tuning.





ESP Horizon-I features the iconic Horizon body style





When you’re ready to rock, you can count on ESP’s Horizon body style for exceptional sustain and tone-packed performance. The neck-through-body construction gives the ESP Horizon-I impressive sustain and enhances articulation and clarity. The 25.5" scale length is perfect for high-gain tones and down-tuned playing, giving you a powerful foundation for modern rock and metal styles.





Hot-blooded Seymour Duncan pickups





The ESP Horizon-I comes stock with a choice complement of Seymour Duncan pickups: a Cool Rails in the neck position and Duncan Distortion in the bridge. Think of the Cool Rails as the cleaner, brighter brother of the better-known Hot Rails. This single-size beauty is a true humbucker. It’s wound to have a more dynamic sound and is perfect for players who need a louder, punchier, single-coil sound with plenty of fatness. In the bridge position, you’ll find a Duncan Distortion full-size humbucker. This pickup has made a name for itself with massive output, round lows, and a top end that cuts through a mix no matter how much gain you pile on.





Floyd Rose trem, Gotoh tuners





For superior stability, this ESP Horizon-I comes equipped with a double-locking Floyd Rose tremolo system and Gotoh locking tuners. With this tremolo, you can twist, bend, and dive-bomb all you want, and never worry about pulling your tuning out of whack. And these tuners eliminate string slippage while making changing strings a snap. You can expect both rock-solid reliability and tight response when you play the ESP Horizon-I.





Brought to you by the ESP Custom Shop





Since the mid-’80s, ESP has been making custom guitars for some of the biggest names in the industry, including George Lynch and Kirk Hammett. An exacting eye toward playability and craftsmanship has made ESP Guitars one of the most visible and prevalent guitar brands in rock and metal. The ESP Horizon-I electric guitar belongs to the ESP Original Series, which means each guitar is handcrafted one at a time by ESP’s Custom Shop luthiers in Japan. Serious players who are looking for a truly one-of-its-kind instrument at off-the-shelf prices will find what they’re searching for in the ESP Horizon-I electric guitar ? available now from Sweetwater.





ESP Horizon-I Solidbody Electric Guitar Features:


Handmade in Japan, one guitar at a time


Pickups: Seymour Duncan Cool Rails (neck), Seymour Duncan Distortion (bridge)


Controls: volume, tone, 3-way toggle


Neck-through-body design maximizes sustain and note definition


Sleek double-cut alder body exhibits balanced lows, mids, and highs


Stable 3-piece maple neck with articulate ebony fingerboard


Duncan humbuckers dish up big-time heat and flavor


Floyd Rose Original bridge dives and vibes with rock-solid stability


Locking Gotoh tuners stand up to heavy playing and bending


Comfortable 25.5" scale is perfect for standard and down-tuned playing styles