My Love Hate with ESP.

[siggy14]

So I own two ESP's that i love, and always wondered for sure what the body woods they were, so this guy posts a 1987 catalouge on Ebay and they have both my ESP's. Of course you look at the descriptions and no where does it say what woods were used.

I own the Eclispe custom on this page, that exact one.

http://img2.freeimagehosting.net/image.php?7f5bec0009.jpg

And I own the exactly horizon custom on this page.

http://img2.freeimagehosting.net/image.php?b0b0e5d1f2.jpg

[gort]

I've always thought those pink horizons were grosssss. ESP has come a long way with their styling.

[siggy14]

the body style is great, one of the most comfortible guitars i have ever played, however i have this rusty color which is ugly!

I've always thought those pink horizons were grosssss. ESP has come a long way with their styling.

[nateb]

Didn't ESP use to make the Kramer Stagemaster bodies? I always loved my gold horizon custom. I really need to ID that thing sometime.

-Nate

[Chad]

Is your Eclipse a bolt-on? If so, you can pull the neck and have a look at the pocket. That's how I determined that my Mirage Custom has an alder body.

Not sure what too tell you on the neck-through Horizon.....you might be able to see some wood possibly in the pickup cavities or control cavities?

[Bryan]

I had a neck through Horizon custom for a while. It was a great guitar but I couldn't get used to the arch top. I got rid of it and got an MII which I love.

Here's a pic of the Horizon.



Needless to say it did stand out a bit,

[RacerX]

Is your Eclipse a bolt-on? If so, you can pull the neck and have a look at the pocket. That's how I determined that my Mirage Custom has an alder body.

Not sure what too tell you on the neck-through Horizon.....you might be able to see some wood possibly in the pickup cavities or control cavities?

Yeah, then go here to try to match it:

http://www.warmoth.com/guitar/options/options_bodywoods.cfm

[siggy14]

both my guitars are neck thru, from what i understand the horizon is ash, and the eclispe is maple from what people say. The eclipse is heavy, but very warm tone.

Is your Eclipse a bolt-on? If so, you can pull the neck and have a look at the pocket. That's how I determined that my Mirage Custom has an alder body.

Not sure what too tell you on the neck-through Horizon.....you might be able to see some wood possibly in the pickup cavities or control cavities?

[quiksilver]

Wow, Bryan, that Horizon is killer. Love the blank ebony board, too!

[Chad]

I had a neck through Horizon custom for a while. It was a great guitar but I couldn't get used to the arch top. I got rid of it and got an MII which I love.

Here's a pic of the Horizon.



Needless to say it did stand out a bit,

Bryan: I remember a guitar that looked just like that coming up for sale on Ebay shortly after I joined back in 1998. They referenced Vernon Reid in the auction. Does this by chance ring a bell?

[Shwayman11]

Didn't ESP use to make the Kramer Stagemaster bodies? I always loved my gold horizon custom. I really need to ID that thing sometime.

-Nate

yup they used to make em- ESP actually copied the Stagey and made the mirage. Its an exact copy

[siggy14]

His is a MII, but nice guitar, i had one in red, guitar was heavy and all maple. My Horizon, like the one pictures on the second link has all ebony board with no markers, does look great!

Wow, Bryan, that Horizon is killer. Love the blank ebony board, too!

[Dreamland_Rebel]

check out their website both american and japanese. you might find your answer there.

[Chad]

BTW, when I called ESP about my Mirage Custom they advised that it was made around 1991-1992, but added that it is hard to tell because nearly everything was still custom at that point and records weren't the greatest. So even though ESP had standard models in catalogs, a large majority were still ordered with custom options.....sometimes with something as minor as just a pickup change. That's probably why the catalogs were so vague in giving specs.

[Firebird V]

They used maple ash and mahogany back in those days as woods so they could be made of mahagony too. I have been told the models that I own (Phoenix) are mahogany but I honestly think they might be maple do to the weight. I have seen a few Neck-Thru M1's that were stripped and they were maple if I remember correctly.