GrassRoots Bass-IV

it definately looks very cool... nice bass.

I wanted one of those to match my Bass VI which it is obviously modelled after.

Totally zombie thread here (14yrs!) - I was going to start my own NBD thread but this came up on a search so I'll jump on board to avoid redundancy.


I just pulled the trigger on this super cool bass I just was made aware of. As the thread title pronounces - it's a GrassRoots Bass IV, visually based on a Fender VI, made by ESP for the Japanese market only. I've read it was introduced in the '90s although I've yet to get a definitive breakdown of exactly when they were made. The OP here said he bought his in '07, but not sure if bought used or new. Another '60s retro guitar-to-bass was the Fender/Japan Jaguar bass introduced in '06. I almost bought a red Fender Jaguar bass in '06 because I liked the borrowed guitar style but this variation on a Fender IV bass/guitar tops it for me visually and a three pu bass rocks.

They came in this cool Fiesta red sparkle/mint pg, and 3TSB w/tort. The hs was branded a few different ways; ESP Bass IV, Edwards Bass IV, and Grass Roots Bass IV. Apparently they were considered "lines" of ESP guitars/basses which included the Navigator line. The one I bought is Grass Roots.* 34" scale, alder body 3 pu's V/T and a 4-way pu selection make for a very tone-rich bass.

*Grass Roots guitars are aimed at the low cost market. Like the other Japan-only line of ESP, Edwards, there are online dealerships for such guitars. When production first started in the early 1990s, Grassroots Guitars were produced in Japan, but they are now produced in Korea

The OP mentions them being heavy - and according to what I've read it weighs about 10lbs. That is my deal-breaker limit for buying a bass and once I get it I may do some chambering to lighten it to a more reasonable weight. I would welcome basswood as it's a considerably lighter tone-wood. It's coming from Japan, so I'll post more details once it arrives.


Japanese bass-player Tetsuya with the band L'Arc-en-Ciel designed a group of 'signature' basses including the Bass IV. His sig model has the stickers on it and is badged ESP. You can see it on the like below.

tetsuya ESP GEAR GALLERY

Here's a Grass Roots Bass IV demo - it might have been aimed at the low cost market - but it sounds great! I think about the original MIJ Fender/Squier instruments of the early '80s and how they are now sought after for their quality and sound. These early ESP's were on a similar trajectory. In my book, anything MIJ or MIK is top-drawer quality.


And another using the sig ESP IV


Here's Tetsuya playing his sig ESP Bass IV in 1999 - so it was obviously around then.


And here's info on the early '60s Fender VI for reference - it too was a sort of oddball and to this day enjoys a more cult status with players than it being a main-stream ax.
RetroFret Vintage Guitars

Jack Bruce made good use of one with Cream in the late '60s before settling on his Gibson EB. (his VI painted by the Fool - currently in the Museum of Modern Art)

Just got an email stating my Bass IV has shipped (from Japan- by March 9th) - in the meantime here's more YouTube vids of people playing one.

another ESP/Grass Roots Bass IV demo



ESP/Edwards Bass IV demo -

Wow-Bob-Wow! The Bass VI is 'out for delivery' - that is some fast shipping! (from Nagoya Japan to SF - 9 days!) woo-hoo! (originally stated March 7-9th!)

Once it arrives, I plan on carefully wet-sanding the "Grass Roots" decal off the hs, and I found a custom decal company on-line that is making me this. (gold instead of yellow) Yes! I'm also thinking about replacing the mirrored-plastic bridge plate and control plate with metal clones.

So, the bass arrived in good shape/was well boxed and came inside an inexpensive gig-bag, which wasn't mentioned in the eBay post. Tuned it up, plugged it in and made sure everything worked, which it did (sounded good) - and then started addressing some issues. But first.., the colour is very cool. From a distance it's a nice coral/orange, and up close you see the fine gold sparkle - right up my alley. The body has a few small dents in the lower butt of the body but otherwise it's in VG condition overall. It feels fairly light (haven't weighed it yet) so it's probably basswood. Frets had minimal wear but needed cleaning so 1st thing I did was remove the strings and dress the frets. Then I flat-bladed the fb and oiled it. These basses were their inexpensive line so they cut corners in a few ways that I will turn around. It's worth the extra-effort because the bass has good bones, as I hoped. The pu/control cavities were not shielded so that was next; carbon paint and copper-tape floor. And star-grounding. With three single-coil pu's, you need to ground everything as thoroughly as possible. Also note the rotary tr adjuster - somewhat buried so removing the pg for adjustment is mandatory. It is what it is. Neck pocket is nice & tight.


I copper-taped the switching cavity - it already had a cavity ground wire.

...and copper taped the underside of the pg around the pu openings

You can see a faint difference in colour where the pg sits - the colour has gotten a little deeper with age.

One way they cut cost was to install mirror plastic covers instead of chromed metal. I'll look into replacing it with one from a Fender VI. (or Squier VI) if available.

Same with the mostly cosmetic bridge-plate platform - should be able to fabricate one of metal.

...and the control cavity plate

Neck is very nice - J nut and nicely profiled. Another cost-cutting move was painted-on side dots. Will probably install aluminum position dots - they catch light well in low-light (stage) situations.


more tomorrow...

That's awesome! I'm a huge tetsuya fan, I love ESP basses and I have several ESP Japan and Edwards basses... but I honesty wouldn't have thought of getting the Grass Roots version if I could get a higher model.

That's really cool that it is a good platform like you hoped and that you can put the work into it to really make it shine!

Here . . .

GRASS ROOTS | ESP GUITARS

. . . and here . . .

EDWARDS | ESP GUITARS

. . . for their current offerings, from ESP's Japanese website:

ESP GUITARS JAPAN, which is generally filled with some eye-opening stuff, especially the yearly release of their Exhibition Limited Series, where they encourage their individual builders to build one in their own vision.

EXHIBITION LIMITED 2021 | ESP GUITARS

Well, well, well . . . .

ESP Museum on Instagram: “【tetsuya Fair】 ESP BASS V OPEN TIME 11:00 - 19:00 #tetsuya #espmuseum #esp渋谷 #tetsuyafair”

Awesome! But where are the before pics?!?
Oh, and some good news, the control plates, both the one with switches and the one with the Jack, looks very much like the ones on a jaguar bass. You might be able to salvage from there too!

That ESP Museum insta is just crazy. SO much cool stuff.

ModuMan said:

That's awesome! I'm a huge tetsuya fan, I love ESP basses and I have several ESP Japan and Edwards basses... but I honesty wouldn't have thought of getting the Grass Roots version if I could get a higher model.

That's really cool that it is a good platform like you hoped and that you can put the work into it to really make it shine!

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I barely knew anything about ESP until 9 days ago when I bought the Bass IV! I stumbled upon it and was knocked out by the way it looked and sounded in the various demo's. From briefly playing it before doing work on it, I can tell it sounds great with a wide variety of tones from big bottom to top-end sizzle! Once it's properly grounded with a set of new D'Addario XL's it'll rock!

H K said:

Awesome! But where are the before pics?!?
Oh, and some good news, the control plates, both the one with switches and the one with the Jack, looks very much like the ones on a jaguar bass. You might be able to salvage from there too!

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I'll take more pics after I get it sorted - it looks the same as the ones played in the demo's I posted. It's a good looking bass. And yes, I'll see if I can find the Jaguar plates you mentioned.

Man, looking at this, I realize why I want one so much. It reminds me so much of the Jags, but with an even rarer, more vintage vibe to it!

Also, a g'''' version popped up locally today, and looking at it, I think you might be able to source plates from that too.

Fender Offset Player Series Mustang PJ Bass Control Plate Pots Knobs Switch Jack - will disconnect the switch, it'll get used on another project down the line. Was going to reface the pot's/jack/knobs anyway.

Unfortunately, a 4 switch plate like one that came on the early version of a Fender VI doesn't appear to be available. If anyone has seen one for sale - let me know. They later 3 switch version is readily available but shorter side-to-side. Speaking of 4 switches, the top 3 are neck/center/bridge and the last one appears to be a treble boost.


Hopefully it will be the same size as the mirrored plastic one on it. Still had some clear=film under the pot nuts/washers. Until the Mustang one shoes up, I shielded the bottom with aluminum tape.

Odd smattering of carbon paint (?) in the control cavity.

This is how it's done - continued star-grounded on the copper tape and finally to the jack ground. All cavities connected by one ground.

The fb was looking pretty dry, so I used Watco oil to darken and oil it.

I took off the bridge surround which is solely cosmetic to visually elude to the Fender VI. I'll cut an aluminum version and polish it to come close to chrome.

After seeing these pics, I'll probably change the bridge for a nickel version - it looks too chrome-ie.

A bass VI with four strings and an ordinary bridge. That is a sacrilege.
I keep mine ...

DirkP said:

A bass VI with four strings and an ordinary bridge. That is a sacrilege.
I keep mine ...
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Cut and installed for fit before polishing - used a different bridge also. Instead of cutting it out I just mounted the bridge on top.

JIO said:

Cut and installed for fit before polishing - used a different bridge also. Instead of cutting it out I just mounted the bridge on top.

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Loving the progress photos.

I used to own one of these grassroots Bass IVs as well. Very versatile for being the cheapest model of the 3 japanese lines.
Only sold it because I couldn't justify a third bass when I already have (and mainly use) my Edwards Buzz bass and my Grassroots Bardic bass when I gig.