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ESP basses!

#6
I own modulus, spector, ibanez and esp basses. I play the esp basses live. Like most companies quality is hit and miss with foreign made basses. I would NOT say the ibanez quality is anymore greater then the esp basses. I will say my ibanez 5 string's neck warped and the preamp wasn't the most usable. does that mean the company makes bad basses? no... I've heard and played some nicer sounding ibanez basses so I know its not all their basses..


what Im trying to say is... for the most part foreign made "budget" basses will be hit and miss. Unless you're paying for something in the $1000+ range I would worry more about bass that feels comfortable and gets you the tone you want. I use the Esp basses 1)because they sound just as good as the spectors through my gk+mesa rig for the tone I want and 2) I dont worry as much about the basses getting damaged or stolen because they run about 3-400$ 3) Its a cosmetic thing.


I did a show with the band Hemlock a while back and thats the same bass their singer uses. Sounded fine and he's had it for years.
 
#7
I own a B404-SM and its a player!
Mine has full-fledged EMG pickups and pre and has a powerful tone.
I took it to practice yesterday-we were auditioning a singer and rhythm guitar player and running through a Behringer PA combo-it more than held its own against drums, 2 guitars and vocals.
 
#16
I have an ESP LTD F-254

Its really nice, i love neck-throughs :bassist:

iv never even had to adjust the neck out of 4 years of having it and having it fall over from not sitting on a stand.:hiding:

I would say go for it, cant go wrong in my book with ESP LTD
 
#17
I had an ESP LTD F-404FM. Sounded nice, but the 35'' scale was uncomfortable enough for me to return it. Also, I noticed that they stopped putting those wicked tribal inlays on their basses...don't get me wrong, the bass I had was very nice, but maybe they are more budget conscious now...does that translate to any other part of their basses?

How it used to be:
http://images.google.com/imgres?img...DFA_enUS340&sa=N&um=1&ei=diaKSrmWFMWflAfeqewm

How it be:
Link Removed

Still, it did sound very good, a bit harsh...really rock oriented.
 
#18
diechris said:
very good point. ESP would be ther USA models... LTD by ESP is the foreign stuff. I should point out I've got the LTD's when I talked about "ESP" in relation to Ibanez ect. ect..
Click to expand...

Mildly incorrect, actually. ESP is a Japanese company. There was a brief period in the '90's where an American ESP factory was working, but it's out of commission now. Most ESP models are hand made in one of two Japanese facilities, with the northern one focusing more on their extensive custom shop. LTD is the budget line, these are either Korean or Indonesian factory made. One thing I like to point out is that some of the LTD factory basses in the Forrest, D-, and B-series are neck-thrus for a decent price. If that's important to you.

This next part isn't quite official history, but...after Fender acquired Jackson, there's certainly been a few popular metal acts that have jumped to the ESP boat. And while metal and rock are popular draws, it's not an exclusive genre identity.

I've been quite impressed with these basses and guitars in the past. Their custom shop is their big draw, and I'm thinking about indulging a little for my next purchase.

~Taelyn, who is not an endorsing artist, just a fan
 

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