Jerry_B Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 I picked up a second-hand one of these recently and am a bit confused with what ESP/LTD are trying to do with such a bass. At it's heart it's a P/J-style Pbass, with a Gotoh-like bridge. Mine's black with a maple neck. The thing is, these basses have been reliced, but I dunno why. It seems to not really work as an overall effect unless you're more than 10 feet away. Up close, you can see the joins, as it were. The 'dirt' on the back of the neck isn't really anything of the sort, and the yellowed effect on the neck and head isn't caused by an sort of old-school glossy finish. It's a yellow-tinted modern satin finish. So it's a bit like those kippers that aren't really kippers. Also, the frets seem to have a reliced tarnish, but the other hardware is new. That said, it is a very nice bass and put together pretty well. The pickups are the best bit of the lot - hot and growly. Even the bridge pup isn't too thin sounding. I just wonder why they just didn't sell the bass in an as new state, rather than relicing it. I guess I'll just never get the relicing thing Mind you, I got for half the price a new one would cost me so I can't grumble! I wonder if Fender, etc. have done the same odd things with their reliced stuff... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gub Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 Mmm never seen them ,got any pics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Low End Bee Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 I'm more interested in the kippers that aren't kippers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted February 18, 2011 Author Share Posted February 18, 2011 There's a pic of one [url="http://www.guitar-village.co.uk/product-detail.asp?id=10061"]here...[/url] - I can take some photos of mine if you want to see. As for those kippers - apparently there's real kippers and then there's fish fillets that've been dyed to look like kippers... ;0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 I'll never get the hang of relicing either - would you go out and buy a brand new car with painted on scrapes and dents in the doors? I think not... The satin finish will wear off and become glossy (mine usually go in the space of two months). ESP have been turning out some very nice kit over the past couple of years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted February 18, 2011 Author Share Posted February 18, 2011 Yep, the whole relic thing does seem a little odd. I mean, I've always had somewhat knackered basses and the real 'been round the houses a bit' look doesn't resemble the reliced version at all really. The former beats the latter easily. As I'm a bit kack-handed sometimes I guess the fake battering will help hide any real knocks But, like I said, underneath all the silliness is a very nice bass. I've tried it with D'Addario Chromes and D'Addario half-rounds and it really belts out tone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwh87 Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 The 200 series is near the bottom of the pile when it comes to the ESP/ltd range. Good bang for your buck but nothing special. The real deal ESP stuff is truly awesome. Gibson have a few lawsuits out to stop them taking business away. I have never seen one of these in person but i am a regular poster on the ESP forum so i have a good idea of what they are like. The relic work is varnished over (which defeats the object) Guitar-village had the real deal ESP model on sale for £599 last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted February 18, 2011 Author Share Posted February 18, 2011 The reliced effect on the ESP version is also much of the same thing. I don't understand why they bothered relicing them - they're good for what they are without faffing about with the finish. The 204 is growing on me tho', as it's a solid no-frills bit of kit. There aren't many Fender-like P/J basses out there, and I prefer it to the Squier Pbass Special I have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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