Fender P to ESP with EMGs???

[KrisWarrington]

Browsing the ESP site I discovered that Whitechapels (not a fan) bassist switched from a Fender P bass to a ESP Viper with active EMGs. Which really made me ask myself what makes someone, who has played Fender P basses for several years, just wake up one day and decided to switch to a ESP with EMGs. I'm pretty sure he's played just about every brand of bass there is in the past but still always used a fender. I think it has something to do with their three guitarists getting signature models from ESP... then again that's a huge difference in tone. Fender P's sound nothing like a ESP with EMGs.

[bassphreak]

Funny. I started a thread on the new ESP models for 2012. Frank Bello just switched to ESP with EMGs too. He's been a long time Fender player. I haven't read why he switched. I know he swapped out the basslines for EMGs in his Fender models but not sure why he moved to ESP. Maybe they get a sweetheart deal and a boatload of gear that sounds great.

[bassphreak]

maybe it's just the relentless pursuit of the perfect tone (lol). I know I've switched around over the years mostly because I don't know what I want to play and always like trying out new (to me) gear.

[KrisWarrington]

Well most religious Fender users wouldn't be caught dead using something like an ESP. Your probably right though, if you get offered a great deal on something you might as well take it.

[steamthief]

Maybe it was a gradual process rather than a sudden switch. I've been a Fender guy the entire time I've played bass, then I got an EMG-loaded Spector last year. For me, the EMG/Tonepump combo just provides much fatter tones.