ESP / LTD STREAM 204 REVIEW
A pleasant surprise at my local GC yesterday: they had just put out 2 of these Stream 5 days before, so I spent 1/2 hour or so with one. Here are my impressions:
APPEARANCE
Absolute killer looks! I prefer the black one which is as impressive "live" as in the photos. Personally, I prefer the black bridge, tuners, and control knobs on the E-II $1800 ESP version of this bass, instead of the contrasting silver color on the LTD. Replacing the hardware would be around $200-250 plus installation. If I bought this bass, I'd likely use it as-is to see if the silver bothered me enough to replace it.
NECK DIVE
OK, this has been a concern of several TBers, myself included, given the body shape & lack of an upper "horn". To test it I put on a cheap slippery all nylon strap and the neck took a dive like the Titanic. Then I switched to a strap with a suede underside and, voila, no neck dive!
ERGONOMICS
With the strap button at the 15th fret, I wanted to see how the bass sits when standing up, using a strap. With the bass at my usual position (at my hips/waist; neck inclined slightly) my left hand in neutral position was at the 10th fret. With my basses which have the strap button on the tip of the "horns" i.e. at the 12th fret, my hand is at the 6th fret. The Stream strap position is great for playing the upper registers. However, I found playing the E & A string on frets 1-4 awkward to reach because, with the strap at the 15th fret, the nut is further away. So I lengthened the strap, dropped the body a little lower and angled the neck up more. That made the lower registers, especially on the E & A strings, much more accessible. That might make the upper registers a bit awkward to play but I don't play there too much. Given a little time, I'm sure I could get used to playing with the neck at a different angle. IMPORTANT! The upper strap button is not at a right angle to the strap due to the body shape (which I think is very sexy, esp in black
). Wearing this bass with the neck angled up will make the angle between the strap and button more obtuse (think high school geometry here
) i.e. more open. If the strap button hole is not very tight, the bass could come off the strap! LOCKING STRAP BUTTON HIGHLY RECOMMENDED (which the $1800 version of this bass has).
SOUND
OK, we're all in this for the sound, right?
I plugged into a TC Electronic BG250 combo amp at GC because I own that amp and know what it sounds like. I set the EQ on the amp to flat with no Tone Print effects on, to try the bass's EQ alone. The controls are: master volume (I much prefer that to individual volume controls for each pickup); pickup balance; stacked 2-band EQ (bass boost/cut is the larger, lower ring; treble boost/cut the upper). I found I could dial in a good variety of tone from this bass by tweaking the EQ and balance. To scoop the mids I boosted the bass and the treble (leaving the mids flat) and tipped the balance toward the neck pickup. This gave me a warm, fat sound that had just enough edge to give clarity to the lower register and prevent boominess. Reversing those settings will accentuate the mids substantially if that's the sound you're after.
CONCLUSION
I'm thinking of buying either this bass or a Fender Aerodyne Jazz (which I have yet to try). The Stream-204 is $300 less and has a lot going for it. I wish I had more time with it. As my local music stores don't have an Aerodyne, I will probably buy it and A-B it at GC against the Stream.
Hope this helps someone
Joe
, only the same old Fender and Fender copies everywhere
in the ever-shrinking bass sections of Guitar Centers etc
. Because stores don't offer much choice in inventory, the only way I could A-B the 3 amp heads I was interested in was to buy all 3 and return the 2 I didn't want :***:! You just have to time things with your credit card billing cycle and watch the 30 day return time
**
