(Note: What is the exact model name? ESP can't seem to make up their mind. The website calls it a B-1005SE Multiscale. The headstock says B-1005MS Special Edition)
So, this was something of an impulse buy. I used to own a number of basses, but sold off all but my P-Bass during a cash crunch a few years ago - the main victims were my Alembic Epic 6 fretless, and a 5 string Pedulla. I've been wanting a 5 string "hi fi" type bass for a while, and after buying a Strandberg guitar last year have become a huge fan of fanned frets. So, when I came across this new ESP model....well, let's just say the credit card came out pretty quick.
PICS:
Sound sample: (Recorded straight into Audacity via a USB adapter, no EQ, no compression, no amp sim)
The facts:
Strings: 5
Construction: Bolt-on, Wenge with 2 Bubinga stripes, Rosewood board, body is Swamp Ash with a Rosewood top.
Scale Length: 37"-34"
Frets: 24
Pickups: Nordstrand Big Split x2
Electronics: Passive pickups, active/passive EQ
Controls: Vol, Blend, Bass, Mid, Treble, The first toggle swaps the Mid knob from 400 to 800hz, and the 2nd bypasses the active EQ entirely.
Price: $1999 MSRP / $1399 MAP/Street
Sound: This thing has serious balls. Hard to describe really, just listen to the sound sample. It's really growly (although it can be tamed via EQ if you want to), or if you back off a bit technique wise. Think Dave School's tone with Widespread Panic. With the treble boosted just a bit it does the boutiquey thing well. I can get a prog rock Jazz or 4001 type sound. I haven't really experimented with EQ too much yet, it sounds really good just flat, but right now I really dig it with the treble rolled off just a hair, and the blend knob at about 75% on the neck pickup.
The B string is the best I've ever heard on any bass, as you'd expect given the scale length. Fundamental is very present, but it's not at all flabby. Tone is very even over the entire, and intonation is right on. Even at the 24th fret the intonation is out less than 10 semitones on all 5 strings. The B string doesn't get boomy, it's all very balanced, can use the full neck and nothing sounds out of place, boomy, or dead.
Playability: I was a little concerned about the neck since the ESP website described it as "ultra-thing" but i'd call it more of a "regular" thin. Feels pretty much like a typical import bass neck. Nothing to complain about, and with the extra width on a 5 I'd rather be on the thin side. That said, the neck on my Strandberg has spoiled me for regular necks with their trapezoid profile.... but this ain't bad!
The fanned frets are easy to adjust to (I already on a FF guitar, but this is a much more aggressive fan), and feel nice and natural. They got the neutral fret position right, that's important. Frets are typical import jumbo frets. I would prefer something a little lower profile, but again, not terrible at all, and they'll have plenty of life. Action and setup were right on out of the box.
The bolt on neck joint is pretty massive, with 6 bolts, but it's mostly inside the body... the heel doesn't start until the 17th fret and it has a nice rounded profile that provides a nice thumb anchor when playing way up.
Looks: It's....dark. The grain on the rosewood isn't nearly as flashy as on the NAMM demo bass (surprise surprise!), but it isn't unattractive - just a bit plain. No one is going to mistake this for a $5k Fodera. Satin finish feels good in the hand and won't show fingerprints like gloss. Hey, at least it's not A: black or B: Some really yellow "natural" like seemingly ever other import bass. Inlays are nice very colorful mother of pearl. That said, I don't think the positioning of the top dots is ideal...it's fine on the lower frets, but up high the B string basically exactly covers them. I wish that above the 12th fret they were offset to the treble side for better visibility. The hardware is all solid stuff...tuners are Gotoh, bridges are Hipshot, all in black. I do wish the two mini-toggles were black as well - they sort of stand out being the only chrome bits on the bass.
Quality: Bang on. No flaws noted, fretwork is solid, setup was great right out of the box. Electronics are dead silent, the controls have a nice weight, and have great center detents where appropriate. What I've come to expect from the World factory in South Korea (who also make many Schecters, PRE SEs, and many others). They know what they're doing.
Overall: It's a lot of bass for the money. This is absolutely a professional-grade instrument. No corners cut in terms of construction or equipment. There's no other multi-scale bass on the market at this price point and level of quality. ESP didn't quite hit a grand slam with bass (see: Inlay positioning, and top wood), but I'd say they cleared the fences. Multi-scale is starting to go mainstream, and this is a worthy addition.
So, this was something of an impulse buy. I used to own a number of basses, but sold off all but my P-Bass during a cash crunch a few years ago - the main victims were my Alembic Epic 6 fretless, and a 5 string Pedulla. I've been wanting a 5 string "hi fi" type bass for a while, and after buying a Strandberg guitar last year have become a huge fan of fanned frets. So, when I came across this new ESP model....well, let's just say the credit card came out pretty quick.
PICS:
Sound sample: (Recorded straight into Audacity via a USB adapter, no EQ, no compression, no amp sim)
The facts:
Strings: 5
Construction: Bolt-on, Wenge with 2 Bubinga stripes, Rosewood board, body is Swamp Ash with a Rosewood top.
Scale Length: 37"-34"
Frets: 24
Pickups: Nordstrand Big Split x2
Electronics: Passive pickups, active/passive EQ
Controls: Vol, Blend, Bass, Mid, Treble, The first toggle swaps the Mid knob from 400 to 800hz, and the 2nd bypasses the active EQ entirely.
Price: $1999 MSRP / $1399 MAP/Street
Sound: This thing has serious balls. Hard to describe really, just listen to the sound sample. It's really growly (although it can be tamed via EQ if you want to), or if you back off a bit technique wise. Think Dave School's tone with Widespread Panic. With the treble boosted just a bit it does the boutiquey thing well. I can get a prog rock Jazz or 4001 type sound. I haven't really experimented with EQ too much yet, it sounds really good just flat, but right now I really dig it with the treble rolled off just a hair, and the blend knob at about 75% on the neck pickup.
The B string is the best I've ever heard on any bass, as you'd expect given the scale length. Fundamental is very present, but it's not at all flabby. Tone is very even over the entire, and intonation is right on. Even at the 24th fret the intonation is out less than 10 semitones on all 5 strings. The B string doesn't get boomy, it's all very balanced, can use the full neck and nothing sounds out of place, boomy, or dead.
Playability: I was a little concerned about the neck since the ESP website described it as "ultra-thing" but i'd call it more of a "regular" thin. Feels pretty much like a typical import bass neck. Nothing to complain about, and with the extra width on a 5 I'd rather be on the thin side. That said, the neck on my Strandberg has spoiled me for regular necks with their trapezoid profile.... but this ain't bad!
The fanned frets are easy to adjust to (I already on a FF guitar, but this is a much more aggressive fan), and feel nice and natural. They got the neutral fret position right, that's important. Frets are typical import jumbo frets. I would prefer something a little lower profile, but again, not terrible at all, and they'll have plenty of life. Action and setup were right on out of the box.
The bolt on neck joint is pretty massive, with 6 bolts, but it's mostly inside the body... the heel doesn't start until the 17th fret and it has a nice rounded profile that provides a nice thumb anchor when playing way up.
Looks: It's....dark. The grain on the rosewood isn't nearly as flashy as on the NAMM demo bass (surprise surprise!), but it isn't unattractive - just a bit plain. No one is going to mistake this for a $5k Fodera. Satin finish feels good in the hand and won't show fingerprints like gloss. Hey, at least it's not A: black or B: Some really yellow "natural" like seemingly ever other import bass. Inlays are nice very colorful mother of pearl. That said, I don't think the positioning of the top dots is ideal...it's fine on the lower frets, but up high the B string basically exactly covers them. I wish that above the 12th fret they were offset to the treble side for better visibility. The hardware is all solid stuff...tuners are Gotoh, bridges are Hipshot, all in black. I do wish the two mini-toggles were black as well - they sort of stand out being the only chrome bits on the bass.
Quality: Bang on. No flaws noted, fretwork is solid, setup was great right out of the box. Electronics are dead silent, the controls have a nice weight, and have great center detents where appropriate. What I've come to expect from the World factory in South Korea (who also make many Schecters, PRE SEs, and many others). They know what they're doing.
Overall: It's a lot of bass for the money. This is absolutely a professional-grade instrument. No corners cut in terms of construction or equipment. There's no other multi-scale bass on the market at this price point and level of quality. ESP didn't quite hit a grand slam with bass (see: Inlay positioning, and top wood), but I'd say they cleared the fences. Multi-scale is starting to go mainstream, and this is a worthy addition.
