ESP Ltd B208FM At Thomann

[Delberthot]

Having a browse as you do in Thomann and I spotted the B208FM at the relatively ridiculous price of £365 so I decided to buy one 

Here's the link as they seem to have more of them. I think it's been discontinued in favour of the spalted maple one which is £599 and looks like the same bass.

https://www.thomann.de/gb/espltd_b208.htm

I remember going to McCormack's in Glasgow and drooling over the one they had in stock and had a good play with one

 

 

[Lfalex v1.1]

Now I see what the "8" is for in the model number!🤣

[Delberthot]

I was looking in their miscellaneous basses section for something a bit different to the usual P, Jazz and MM type basses not expecting to see anything like this 

Edited July 4, 2020 by Delberthot

[howdenspur]

Nice! Looking at the spalted maple version (there are more photos), I think there is one saddle per string...is that right?

[Skybone]

I do fancy acquiring an 8 string at some point...

[Grahambythesea]

I play a 12 string guitar from time to time, but just don’t see the point of an 8 string bass. 

[Skybone]

21 hours ago, Grahambythesea said:

I play a 12 string guitar from time to time, but just don’t see the point of an 8 string bass. 

But surely, that IS the point! 😁

[stewblack]

What type of strings are the 'second set' as it were? 

Are they like geetar strings? 

[Woodinblack]

They are lighter, an octave up. so the smallest one is wire, the rest are still wound though.

8 string basses are a lot of fun. I found the ESPs a bit chunky but that is a good price for an 8 string.

[stewblack]

2 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

They are lighter, an octave up. so the smallest one is wire, the rest are still wound though.

8 string basses are a lot of fun. I found the ESPs a bit chunky but that is a good price for an 8 string.

I have a secret hankering I must confess. Is it possible to describe the difference between an 8 string bass and a four through an octave pedal? 

[Woodinblack]

describe? It would be like an 8 string with a lower copy I guess, I don't know, I never put my 8 string through one, but probably would sound good as an 8 string is harmonically richer

[Lfalex v1.1]

3 hours ago, stewblack said:

I have a secret hankering I must confess. Is it possible to describe the difference between an 8 string bass and a four through an octave pedal? 

If you mean an 8 string without effects vs. A 4 string with an octave pedal; 

The octaved 4 will have the original string frequency and an octave lower.

The 8 string will have the usual pitching of the 4 plus an octave higher. 

You'd need a pitch-shifter set to up an octave and a roughly 50/50 wet/dry mix to even get close. 

Both the octave pedal and pitch-shifter will exhibit some tracking errors or delay. The 8 string is just... Boom. It's there.

An 8 string through an octave pedal? A mess, at a guess.

Edit- unless the bass has separate outputs for the different courses of strings. That could be good. 

Edited July 8, 2020 by Lfalex v1.1

[Woodinblack]

Ah, I misread the original question. No, simple answer, it doesn't sound much like an octave pedal at all. The 8 string sounds rich, the 4 string with a shifter sounds like a 4 string with a synth harmonic.

I believe there is a thread around here showing the differences.

[stewblack]

9I guessed it would sound different. I think you should all buy one then sell them here at around the same time. This will drive the price down for me. 

Waddaya say?? 

[Skybone]

Isn't Happy Jack still trying to sell his Dean 8 string?

[Woodinblack]

I just sold my dean 8 string

[BigRedX]

On 05/07/2020 at 11:55, howdenspur said:

Nice! Looking at the spalted maple version (there are more photos), I think there is one saddle per string...is that right?

No definitely a separate saddle for each string looking at the 208SM photos.

Edit: looks like the same bridge and tailpiece that all the far-eastern made 8-string basses use - Dean, Schecter etc.

Edited July 9, 2020 by BigRedX

[BigRedX]

On 07/07/2020 at 18:33, Grahambythesea said:

I play a 12 string guitar from time to time, but just don’t see the point of an 8 string bass. 

The you need to play one. The sound is extra rich and ideal for post-punk bass lines.

I've got a hankering for one of these now even though I don't really need it.

[uk_lefty]

38 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

The you need to play one. The sound is extra rich and ideal for post-punk bass lines.

I've got a hankering for one of these now even though I don't really need it.

Me too!! Though I don't think I'd have much use for it I just like things that are a bit different! 

[Raslee]

Some 8 string shizzle here...I've always been intrigued. 'Jeremy' by Pearl Jam is a good example of a multi stringed bass...think that was a 12 string though.