Anyone had experience with ESP Bass Guitars?

[spud19870]

Hi everyone,

I am looking at maybe purchasing a new bass. I have looked at the usual suspects (fender and gibson) and thought about ESP. Has anyone owned or currently own one?

These are the 4 I have looked at;

[url="http://www.gak.co.uk/en/esp-ltd-ec-414-fm-see-thru-black/23270"]http://www.gak.co.uk...hru-black/23270[/url]

[url="http://www.gak.co.uk/en/esp-ltd-surveyor-4-blk-black-rosewood/58945"]http://www.gak.co.uk...-rosewood/58945[/url]

[url="http://www.gak.co.uk/en/esp-ltd-f-414-fm-stblk-see-thru-black/23299"]http://www.gak.co.uk...hru-black/23299[/url]

[url="http://www.gak.co.uk/en/esp-ltd-viper-414-blk-black/23322"]http://www.gak.co.uk...blk-black/23322[/url]

Also while I remember, what do people make of the Fender Deluxe Active Jazz Basses? I am running an SVT3 Head and 410HLF Cab and play hard rock in my band

Any help/opinions will be appreciated

Edited September 15, 2013 by spud19870

[cocco]

ESP make good stuff in this price bracket, they're stereotypically a "metal" brand though, quite genre specific, so maybe best avoided if you're a country player.

The 4 you've posted are probably largely the same build wise, and look like they have the same (roughly) electronics, EMG hz soap bars and either a 2 or 3 band eq. They'll sound similar too I imagine. Play them and see which shape you prefer and if you like the tone. They'll be quite clinical sounding, very modern.

[chriswareham]

Played one that belonged to a session player from Sweden. It felt well made and had a moderately slim neck that was very nice to play, despite being strung with the heaviest four strings from a 5 string Power Slinky set (it was tuned to drop C).

[Dingus]

Hi Spud. The Les Paul -shaped one ( EC414) will almost certainly neck-dive like a bastard , as in all probability so will the S.G - shaped one ( Viper) . In all honesty , the Surveyor is probably your best bet out of the ESP's in terms of comfort and usefulness . The Fender Deluxe Jazz Bass is an excellent choice in this price range and so versatile that it will be suitable for any kind of music you are likely to play . A Fender bass , Precision or Jazz , and Ampeg rig is a match made in heaven , and you should be able to get a great sound for hard rock with that combination without any difficulty .

[BassBus]

Not all ESPs are metal machines by any means. I have a B-204 fretless and it is one of my favorite basses, even up against my Status S2. The necks are much slimmer than Fenders, about 19mm deep at the first fret. I get a lovely warm tone from mine. I think they are made in the same factory in Indonesia as some Ibanez basses. I'd say search some out and give them a try. I don't think you can beat them for price.

[BigRedX]

There's a lot of different ESPs and the LTD range are in the more "affordable" price bracket as well as being more conventional designs.

Have a look at the ESP Japan [url="http://www.espguitars.co.jp/artist/"]custom and signature models[/url] to see just what a diverse range of quality instruments they are capable of making (although you should stick to the Japanese artists as their US counterparts are far too vanilla in their tastes).

Edited September 15, 2013 by BigRedX

[Pinball]

I have a LTD-ESP surveyor 405 that I bought recently to try out the EMG MMTW pickup. Its a monster, very powerful and clear with great sustain. Its pretty heavy (sorry don't have scales) but is also well balanced. Im impressed by the build as it has good electronics and tuners. The neck is rock solid and the action is good. It reminds me of a Yamaha TRB1005 that I had a couple of years back. It has a a nice passive sound as well as the active sounds so although its primality a mean rock machine it is versatile if you need variety
I played it in a band for the first time today and it slotted straight into the rock sound and I got complements.

Two personal concerns, which are my problems rather than a reflection on the bass:
1. I didn't t touch the B string all practise so I'm already wondering if I should have got a 4 stringer and
2. I have to take care to damp the strings when I want silence as those pups are powerful.

I have a 2nd opinion as I wasn't around when it was posted to me so a I had it delivered to a bass player friend of mine and this is what he said about it
[i]"Its as big and as heavy as my black Overwater, Plays really nicely, lovely neck, hardly knew I was playing a five string, dunno what the controls are but its got a lovely sound from the bridge pickup, and a nice almost precision sound from the neck pickup - nice and poppy if you want it to be.
but that b string shook the floor! Roll on the bass and strike it and it'll sink a ship"[/i]

I haven't tried the other ESP's that you mention other than a Viper bass, which I picked up, didn't like the body shape or the way it sat on my knee so I put it down again. I have played a 10 year old Fender jazz deluxe and it was great and very powerful.

Edited September 15, 2013 by Pinball

[Gust0o]

Erm, Pinball, do you need a hand with that post?

There is a difference between ESP and the ESP-LTD, which is the cheaper sub-brand.

I have an ESP-LTD Surveyor and really enjoy it. It's a very light instrument, super-slim neck well put together and the EMGs make an almighty racket - though the pre-amp does afford some options to adjust that, for those of a more mellow persuasion. I'm a big Karma to Burn fan, and that inspired me to make the purchase - and I can see why that chap favours them; though I'll agree that they're bracketed as a "rock" or "metal" brand, though you could play anything on mine

[Pinball]

[quote name='Gust0o' timestamp='1379268875' post='2210648']
Erm, Pinball, do you need a hand with that post?

There is a difference between ESP and the ESP-LTD, which is the cheaper sub-brand.

I have an ESP-LTD Surveyor and really enjoy it. It's a very light instrument, super-slim neck well put together and the EMGs make an almighty racket - though the pre-amp does afford some options to adjust that, for those of a more mellow persuasion. I'm a big Karma to Burn fan, and that inspired me to make the purchase - and I can see why that chap favours them; though I'll agree that they're bracketed as a "rock" or "metal" brand, though you could play anything on mine
[/quote]
Hi, I think I'm sorted now thanks.

Thanks for the clarification-post corrected. Mine is an LTD/ESP. It says LTD surveyor 405 on the front of the headstock and ESP on the back of the head and neck plate. Its a Korean one. That must make it a LTD/ESP surveyor right? I can't see much difference in spec between mine and the ESP as it has an ebony board and the same pups? If you can help clarify it would be much appreciated.

Edited September 16, 2013 by Pinball

[LukeFRC]

ESP is to LTD
as
Fender is to Squier


except with better quality control in japan obv

[spud19870]

Cheers for the advice guys.

I am going to get down to GAK or somewhere not too far away and give these a try.

I might also dip into the second hand market and see what is about there!

[Pinball]

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1379270962' post='2210683']
ESP is to LTD
as
Fender is to Squier
except with better quality control in japan obv
[/quote]
Thanks for the info.
Note: I do like Squiers but I'm not sure that is the best comparison for the Surveyor in terms of materials and electronics. More like G&L and G&L Tribute. see here. [url="http://www.espguitars.com/esp2006/basses_surveyor.html"]http://www.espguitar...s_surveyor.html[/url]

[quote name='spud19870' timestamp='1379271516' post='2210695']
Cheers for the advice guys.

I am going to get down to GAK or somewhere not too far away and give these a try.

I might also dip into the second hand market and see what is about there!
[/quote]

A wise way forward.

Edited September 16, 2013 by Pinball

[LeftyJ]

I don't know about LTD, but I have a Japanese-made ESP Horizon g**t*r (sorry) and it is absolutely spotless. Beautiful fretwork, great neck, just a very good guitar.

[Lord Sausage]

I have an ESP LTD fretless 5 string. It sounds and plays bad ass. It's all ESP gear just assembled in Indonesia.

[Stacatto]

Just started the honeymoon, here. The model is [font=lucida sans unicode, lucida grande, sans-serif]Ltd[/font] B-204FM (made in Korea). This flamed maple over basswood (FM) model was later replaced by the spalted maple (SM) over ash version.

I've got basses from the same price range, and more expensive bass instruments. This one is impressive on every level-sound, feel, EQ options, looks, quality of parts, and workmanship from the factory.

Edited September 22, 2013 by Stacatto

[Karnage]

I have an LTD B 206-SM and took it in preference to some more expensive basses, and I'm no metal bass player as a rule. I loved it's neck shape and it's look (actually intended to get a 5 string initially and this is a 6) and when I plugged it in I got a real shock. Far better than expected (used to a Status 4 string and tested basses up to a much higher price recently). I know through neck options are supposed to be better, but this sounded better than the neck-through options I tried, so go figure! This means in my opinion you really MUST try them yourself and plug them in. Supposedly better might not always turn out to be that way to your taste.

LTD to ESP sort of is what Squier is to Fender, although LTD go to a much higher price level than Squier and ESP generally start much higher up than Fender so the 'crossover' point is rather different (and I own 2 Fender 6 string guitars, and one ESP Horizon guitar too, so it's not a bias thing).

Edited September 22, 2013 by Karnage

[Pinball]

Hmm yep I'm still in the honeymoon period with LTD/ESP. I really got the Surveyor to try out the pup combination and it has far surpassed expectations so my other basses have taken the back seat for the moment. It's a very carefully thought out and well built instrument.

[Billy Dowdall]

I've played the et-414 a lot and it's a very heavy bass! The same kind of neck profile as a proper fender jazz bass but the stock pickups in it are pretty good! lovely tone out of it and would definitely recommend it for metal. I'm personally not a fan of the looks at all, it looks too much like a guitar and If I'm buying a bass, its gota look like a bass lol I could only comment on that particular model but the ltd-esp basses are perfect if you don't mind a heavy bass and play most of your stuff with a plectrum

I bought a bass and recently surprised myself and bought an ibanez, Take a look at the sr series. I got the sr605 and it comes loaded with bartolinni pick ups! They're f'ckin brill pick ups

[fluffo]

I've had loads of esp's, the ltd's are all superb, I have found them to be well up there with the esp custom shops.
As someone said earlier the 404, 405 surveyors are excellent.
If you buy an ltd you will not be disappointed.

[merlin]

Hi just love these LTDs have had a couple,they do the job real well,all types of music,would recomend over other makes,at all price levels.

[Marvin]

I stood next to an ESP bass when I was playing a gig once. It belonged to the bass player in the headline band...other than that that's my only experience of them.

[AttitudeCastle]

Played a few of the Japanese ESP basses and guitars, they are phenomninal.

Not hugely keen on the western (UK/Europle/US) versions but the Japanese stuff is incredible build quality and tone. Went on a trip to their custom shop and it was one of the coolest things I've ever seen!

Played a few ESP LTD basses and really liked them, I've been very tempted by one of the F series basses and swapping out the pickups, lovely!

[KingBollock]

[quote name='spud19870' timestamp='1379261811' post='2210517']
Hi everyone,

I am looking at maybe purchasing a new bass. I have looked at the usual suspects (fender and gibson) and thought about ESP. Has anyone owned or currently own one?

These are the 4 I have looked at;

[url="http://www.gak.co.uk/en/esp-ltd-ec-414-fm-see-thru-black/23270"]http://www.gak.co.uk...hru-black/23270[/url]

[url="http://www.gak.co.uk/en/esp-ltd-surveyor-4-blk-black-rosewood/58945"]http://www.gak.co.uk...-rosewood/58945[/url]

[url="http://www.gak.co.uk/en/esp-ltd-f-414-fm-stblk-see-thru-black/23299"]http://www.gak.co.uk...hru-black/23299[/url]

[url="http://www.gak.co.uk/en/esp-ltd-viper-414-blk-black/23322"]http://www.gak.co.uk...blk-black/23322[/url]

Also while I remember, what do people make of the Fender Deluxe Active Jazz Basses? I am running an SVT3 Head and 410HLF Cab and play hard rock in my band

Any help/opinions will be appreciated
[/quote]
That first one is gorgeous and I've been gassing for one for years. Never played one, though.

[fluffo]

Superb quality, I've had ltd's aswell as custom shop versions, not a lot in it