The ESP Guitar Company

The Floyd is likely a Sinclair, the ESP branded trem of the era. They're pretty good, but they're extremely difficult to find replacement parts for.

I don't have any practical experience with the ESP branded pickups from the era, but internet reports (being what they are) say they're fairly good for stock.

Yep, I confirmed the floyd is a sinclair one. Also heared these pickups were designed by dimarzio but i m not sure.

The pick ups are 99% the sh-100 on the neck and the LB-150 on the bridge. Does anyone know anything ?

I have a few ~91-92 ESP Maverick's with those pickups, the SH-100 neck/middle and what I'm pretty sure is an LB-150 in the bridge. The SH-100 is easier to find info on - it sounds raspy and sort of bright like a real single coil, and as such I don't really like them that much because I wanted them to sound like a neck humbucker. I still have them in one Maverick, but the other two I have both switched over to EMG's on anyway and I like the ESP single coils much better. Still, the SH-100 is a solid and versatile pickup, it's just not as warm as I wanted it to be. Not a lot of midrange - something like a Dimarzio Fastrack (same shape) or Duncan Hot Rails would be comparable but both of those are warmer/more mids. So with the SH-100, think of it more like a "hot" no-hum single coil than a mini-humbucker like it looks.

As for the LB-150, I've seen people cite these as measuring around 8k for the bridge. I had two of these, both measured around 16k. One of them has since gone into a guitar I sold (took the duncan JB out of it instead). I still have the other but at the moment it is not in any guitar - it was originally in my Maverick with the flamed maple cap, so it seemed a little too bright and thin to me in that guitar. From what I can gather, it's similar to the duncan Distortion, with a little less output. Think 1980s style metal pickup, not a lot of bass, strong treble, flat everywhere else. I think in a different guitar, it would be a good pickup - the Horizon is a lot meatier and it probably sounds great in that. I tried to swap it into a Charvel recently but I realized that whenever I last mounted it, I used a fatter screw than standard duncan/dimarzio/emg pickusp use and I don't have any of those to mount it anymore. Overall, a good pickup "for stock" as was mentioned above. This pickup is nearly impossible to find information on, there were some guitars in this era that came with an "LH-300" humbucker in the bridge as well, and at times I wonder if mine measuring around 16k is that pickup instead. I'll never know it seems, can't find any information besides a few catalog pages that just mention that designation - no specs. Worse, LTD released a pickup named the LH-300 in the early 2000's that's totally different than the late 80s pickup I'm talking about, so it's very confusing trying to search for information on it.

If the bridge is the ESP Sinclair, it's basically a nice, Japanese made Floyd Rose with a rounded off base plate. The trem arms are not compatible with Floyds, and it's hard to replace the Sinclair with a Floyd if you want to do so because the Sinclair's rounded/smaller plate is recessed and won't fit a full size Floyd. Parts are basically non-existent if something breaks on it. Also ask if they have the arm, it's a pain in the butt to find one - you'll likely have to have the trem arm custom made by a CNC shop (or Fretsonthenet maybe) if you don't have the original.

If it's an early 90s Horizon instead, they transitioned to a Schaller (german) made Floyd with an ESP stamp on it. This is the same as the "OFR" of the era, takes the same parts and trem arms, and is also basically identical to say, the Jackson/Charvel JT-590 trems (also made by Schaller in germany and stampted with the same logos). Great trems, despite having the "licensed" stamp, it is not like a modern "licensed" floyd rose, it is made by the original floyd rose manufacturer to the exact same specifications.

Sorry for the long post, but I hope it helps. Good luck!

Thanks so much Bret. That was really helpfull. The guitar is an Horizon deluxe bolton from 86 it think. As I m playing quite heavy stuff i was thinking of puting blackouts on it but i ll get it on sunday and I ll see how it goes. Regarding the floyd it is indeed a sinclair in good shape with the bar on . However i think i ll lock it on this one for stability and to preserve it better as well. I ll post pics when i get it. Thanks again!

I'm a big fan of the Horizon bolt-on guitars, I'd love to have one. I really like the idea of a thick, arch top body but generally prefer bolt-on construction and super-strat body shapes. I can't wait to see some pictures of it when it arrives!

Here.. The feel is just amazing. smoother than my standard series Horizons which are fantastic instruments. The pickups produce this characteristic 80s sound. I m gonna change em to blackouts so i ll probably sell em if anyone intrested!

Wooooo! That is a fantastic looking guitar. I love the silver hardware, I usually see Sinclair's in black. Just curious, does the neck plate show the JAF BOX New York NY, then a 6-digit serial number below that? There is one on Reverb right now that is supposedly from '86 with a plate like that, looks right to me but all of mine are later than that and just have a 6-digit number, no "JAF BOX NY" or "48th St. NY" plates.

Also, just curious, is that pickup the one with the dual rail magnets (kind of looks like a Dimarzio X2N) or is it one with individual pole pieces? If it's rails and you are for sure going to get rid of it, I may be interested just because I don't have one yet and I'm curious what it sounds like.

The bridge pickup looks like the x2n. It s the old LB150 or LH500 model. It does not have a plate in the back as it has a special bolt on design to help access. It is exactly like this one on the vid below, only mine is in gun metal blue finish. It has 6 digits on the back of the headstock.

By the way the one you refer to in Reverb is from 1992. Characteristic long floyd routing and the current 6 in line ESP headstock. It cannot be from 87.

You are absolutely right, the seller claims it is from 87 but as you pointed out, it's the ESP pointy headstock, not the "jackson" style that it would have if it were earlier.

That's a cool video, super nice guitar. I was pouring over some of the old catalogs for reference too