0175westwood29 Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 (edited) hi all, im considering taking the jump into the world of the six string, been looking at basses in my price range and this seems to be a fairly well put together bass with decent hardware and what seems like a good starting point, and seems a from videos that ive seen a bit better to my ears than the similarly priced ibanez, also looks muck nicer! so does anyone have one of these or has played one as ill be getting this online so wnt be playing before i buy it. ill be tuning it down a whole step so interested to hear what gauge strings it comes with, as on my 5er i have a 135 low c. andy Edited December 4, 2014 by 0175westwood29 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 (edited) Just curious, but is there a reason you prefer the B206sm to the D6? Edit: I presume they sound better in real life. But I listened to some youtube videos of demos of the B206sm and the D6, and I must admit that I haven't been overwhelmed by what I heard. But youtube videos often give an unrealistic idea of what instruments sound like for all sorts of reasons. Are you comparing it to the Ibanez SR506? If you buy online please make sure you know your rights under the Distance Selling Regulations. If you buy it and don't like it, you can send it back. Edited August 31, 2014 by Annoying Twit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 I've had one for a couple of years now and I've not been hugely disappointed with it. Nice wide (but shallow) neck and twin truss rods to keep it stable. Electronics aren't world beating, but they do the job more than adequately. Good hardware and a nice piece of wood. It was nicely setup and near enough playable out of the box and it stays in tune from one session to the next. The only minus things are that mine had a sharp corner on the lower side of the nut that made me wince whenever I managed to clip my hand on it (easily fixed with a file) and it weighs a bl**dy ton. Not sure how it responds to being detuned as I never work like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0175westwood29 Posted September 1, 2014 Author Share Posted September 1, 2014 [quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1409522907' post='2540572'] Just curious, but is there a reason you prefer the B206sm to the D6? Edit: I presume they sound better in real life. But I listened to some youtube videos of demos of the B206sm and the D6, and I must admit that I haven't been overwhelmed by what I heard. But youtube videos often give an unrealistic idea of what instruments sound like for all sorts of reasons. Are you comparing it to the Ibanez SR506? If you buy online please make sure you know your rights under the Distance Selling Regulations. If you buy it and don't like it, you can send it back. [/quote] Yeh it's going up against the sr506, tbh looks are putting it ahead of the Ibby ATM Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 [quote name='0175westwood29' timestamp='1409553558' post='2540703'] Yeh it's going up against the sr506, tbh looks are putting it ahead of the Ibby ATM [/quote] To be really frank, if I were choosing again I'd seriously consider the 506 (based on owning a 505). It looks a little plainer than the B206SM, but the weight is far friendlier. At the time I bought my B206SM I was swayed by a 'cost +10%' deal I was offered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0175westwood29 Posted September 3, 2014 Author Share Posted September 3, 2014 How heavy is it? Used to a relatively heavy bass In my VM squier five string? Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Painy Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 Nearly bought one of these when I was shopping for a sixer but ended up going for my Cort A6 as I prefer neck through to bolt on. The Cort is a really good looking bass too IMO and plays really well and is we'll built. New price is a little more than the LTD but I picked mine up for £500 with only light bedroom use so was basically as new. Just another suggestion to maybe consider and I think there may still be one in the for sale section here at a really good price too IIRC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donkelley Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 (edited) I've owned a LOT of basses and 3 6 string basses over the last 3 or 4 years (well last 30 years of bass playing actually, but mostly 5 and 6 strings over past few years). I owned, loved (until the honeymoon ended) and sold an ibanez btb 6 string - 556. it was sexy, amazing, but the bart 1 pickups and/or body woods left me flat always. it was too tame. I own a carvin icon 6 (just got it!) neck through walnut top alder wings maple/walnut neck ebony board 3 band with vari-mid and piezo pickups with blend and .... well the list goes on. It's an absolutely shockingly amazing bass. I also own an ESP LTD B-206 FM (flamed maple) 34" scale 6 string bass as being discussed here. It's a truly excellent bass. I managed to lower the action nearly to the point my carvin and warwick are at, which is uber low. It sounds more aggressive (once you tune in the very bizarrely interactive preamp tone controls) than my carvin, and my carvin is not tame by any means. The ESP/LTD is in fact nearly as aggressive sounding as my warwick. It's beautiful, VERY well made, solid as a rock, plays great. Only downsides are that the preamp goes through batteries many times faster than my other active basses (seems to last maybe a couple dozen hours of being continuously plugged in before needing a new battery - my other basses would last for several days being plugged in before dying if I left them)... so in real life use my ESP LTD needs batteries replaced every week of regular rehearsals, recordings, and a weekly gig. That's not a huge deal, just need to remember to change the battery and replace it before gigs. The bass tone control (on the 3 band) works also like a volume control, it's the design of the circuit (like some older tube amp tone stacks) which takes getting used to. It still works fine but you have to mess with things a while to get it sounding just right, then basically leave it alone and use treble and mid for tone controlling. I am quite happy to keep my ESP LTD with my warwick (Germany), carvin (USA), and 2 ernie ball (USA) basses. nobody would know that I paid $350 canadian for it, used. when I got it the action was terrible - but I lowered the bridge like crazy, adjusted the neck very very slightly (truss rods), and left the nut alone since it was actually cut low enough for a change (compared to most production basses). I put on d'addario XL medium light strings (nickel wound, their standard line). That was a year ago. It's been rock solid stable in our changing climate every since - the neck IS more solid than on an ibanez SR 505 I used to play.... never owned a 506 but I definitely prefer this bass to the 505 I used to have. I love solid necks that don't need constant adjustment as weather changes, and I like necks that are very rigid as it improves the tone of the instrument very very obviously compared to more flexible necks (my opinion, but based on lots and lots and lots of experimenting and research and general consensus among some builders I've talked with). For what it's worth it's built in the same factory as the midrange (500 series) ibanez basses - but the design specs are superior (5 piece neck, dual truss rods, superior (imho) top wood, vastly superior sounding esp branded pickups in my bass compared the korean fake-bartolinis in many ibanez basses). I know they change pickups in different years and even some are 35" scale length, but mine at least is completely satisfying... fully stock aside from a basic setup.... to this VERY pickup tone-freak and low-action-loving professional bassist. Edited September 10, 2014 by donkelley 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 I've just PXd my 205SM and, fir the price it was a cracking bass. Decent playability and the active EQ belied the price tag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0175westwood29 Posted September 13, 2014 Author Share Posted September 13, 2014 well i took the leap! and ordered one! should be coming sometime next month. andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0175westwood29 Posted October 10, 2014 Author Share Posted October 10, 2014 anyone aware of what the nut is on these basses? im considering a stupid tuning which will involve a 175 gauge string! so may need a replacement nut andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 I had a 5 string ESP LTD 205FL. It was generally good. The neck was a beaut. I did have a problem with the bridge. I was using Chromes and the B string wouldn't through wire and didn't fit well in the bridge at all really. It might be worth asking the question about recommended string gauges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0175westwood29 Posted October 11, 2014 Author Share Posted October 11, 2014 thanks grangur ive sent them an email advise them of what i plan to do, ive had things not fit quite right before ie a 135 wouldnt fit the bridge on my modulus so had to file that slightly to fit it in. dnt mind having to get a spare for the future if i go back to a more standard tuning, im basically now 99% going down the route of having to lower string rather than one high one low, so ill have a low A and a low E, as we tune down a step. andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0175westwood29 Posted December 3, 2014 Author Share Posted December 3, 2014 well the bass arrived today! very impressed with it, nice finish, nice hardware etc. sounds very nice alot of tones on tap with the active eq, with my ctm 15 that i was playing a simple mid boost made the bass overdrive the amp really nicely so am quite impressed heres a few pics [URL=http://s245.photobucket.com/user/0175westwood29/media/IMG_0310.jpg.html][IMG]http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg72/0175westwood29/IMG_0310.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://s245.photobucket.com/user/0175westwood29/media/IMG_0310.jpg.html][IMG]http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg72/0175westwood29/IMG_0310.jpg[/IMG][/URL] 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 Congratulations. That looks gorgeous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismuzz Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 That looks incredibly well made, probably the best looking ESP I've seen! congratulations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0175westwood29 Posted December 4, 2014 Author Share Posted December 4, 2014 (edited) [quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1417683195' post='2622925'] That looks incredibly well made, probably the best looking ESP I've seen! congratulations [/quote] im actually really impressed with the finish, can maybe see new pickups in the future( not that there bad) already its been dropped a whole tone and soon its gonna get its new strings .175 low string is going on! [URL=http://s245.photobucket.com/user/0175westwood29/media/IMG_0311.jpg.html][IMG]http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg72/0175westwood29/IMG_0311.jpg[/IMG][/URL] andy Edited December 4, 2014 by 0175westwood29 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pby Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 Are these made in Korea or Indonesia? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0175westwood29 Posted December 13, 2014 Author Share Posted December 13, 2014 these are made in indonesia, as ive said above very impressed with the finish. andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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