Walked into GC and they have this shorty 5 sitting there... Plays well, neck not as thin front to back as soundgear. Tight string spacing though so I can get my hand around it. Searched for the model number on my phone but the thing doesn't exist on the Internet. It is an ESP LTD LB5JRBLK.
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NESPLTDBD
- Thread starter Brendan5
- Start date
I cannot tell you how long I have been waiting for a short scale 5 string bass like this one! I recently visited GC one day & returned the next day & bought one (in black) GC's price $179.99.
Cons:
The frets are a bit taller than most basses & the fret ends/edges are a bit taller, & rougher than most new basses (easy fix). However, the frets appear to be anchored very deep below the fretboards surface, deeper than most making the frets seem very stable (not sure on this). The frets could have ad a little better seating against the fretboard, but it does not seem to interfere with the playability or intonation. The worst part of the bass is the necks lacquer finish is rough (on the back), but big deal it's a $179 bass. I wish the model had optional paint colors and/or wood combos, but black is not all that bad (cmon ESP lets get to work on the options!) If they offered better paints colors or specialty woods, I would buy another one & maybe even spend a little more, I think ESP is onto something here. I had to tighten all of the tuners nuts on the headstock, they were all loose (no big deal).
Pros:
Duh, price of course! The contoured body is VERY compact in size but the thickness is big, I didnt measure it but it seems a bit thicker than my Fender. The neck pocket heel (backside) is also contoured so reaching that last upper fret is soooo easy. The neck is nice & thin & only a little wider than a 4 string. The intonation on this thing is almost perfect from the factory, mind you this thing was made in Vietnam! The bass is nice & light, but no too light. The neck is VERY comfortable & the body paint is good. The black nickel bridge is huge & solid. The black nickel ESP tuners are great & I love the "Batwing" headstock with the routered edges. The P style pickup sounds very solid, but I will be adding a bridge pickup to make it fatter & give it a little bit edgier sound capability (only for my tastes). Major points on this: The bass fits into a standard size hard guitar case & its a full headstock shorter than my Fender Jazz! Sweet!
Info only: Overall a great buy & no brainer. To date there is nothing on the internet about them, I have looked everywhere.
Oh yeah, & check this out. I have always been against buying a 5 string because I have always tuned my E string down to D & re-learned any song that needed the drop D (my 4 has the range of a 5 without the huge neck). Now with my ESP LTD B5-JR 5 string, I removed the D string & moved the E string to the D position, & all other strings followed the swap. I added another G string to the top end which I tune to B. If I need a drop D string, I tune the E down again & my bass now has a six string capability in a 5 string configuration! Dig it? I do!
Cons:
The frets are a bit taller than most basses & the fret ends/edges are a bit taller, & rougher than most new basses (easy fix). However, the frets appear to be anchored very deep below the fretboards surface, deeper than most making the frets seem very stable (not sure on this). The frets could have ad a little better seating against the fretboard, but it does not seem to interfere with the playability or intonation. The worst part of the bass is the necks lacquer finish is rough (on the back), but big deal it's a $179 bass. I wish the model had optional paint colors and/or wood combos, but black is not all that bad (cmon ESP lets get to work on the options!) If they offered better paints colors or specialty woods, I would buy another one & maybe even spend a little more, I think ESP is onto something here. I had to tighten all of the tuners nuts on the headstock, they were all loose (no big deal).
Pros:
Duh, price of course! The contoured body is VERY compact in size but the thickness is big, I didnt measure it but it seems a bit thicker than my Fender. The neck pocket heel (backside) is also contoured so reaching that last upper fret is soooo easy. The neck is nice & thin & only a little wider than a 4 string. The intonation on this thing is almost perfect from the factory, mind you this thing was made in Vietnam! The bass is nice & light, but no too light. The neck is VERY comfortable & the body paint is good. The black nickel bridge is huge & solid. The black nickel ESP tuners are great & I love the "Batwing" headstock with the routered edges. The P style pickup sounds very solid, but I will be adding a bridge pickup to make it fatter & give it a little bit edgier sound capability (only for my tastes). Major points on this: The bass fits into a standard size hard guitar case & its a full headstock shorter than my Fender Jazz! Sweet!
Info only: Overall a great buy & no brainer. To date there is nothing on the internet about them, I have looked everywhere.
Oh yeah, & check this out. I have always been against buying a 5 string because I have always tuned my E string down to D & re-learned any song that needed the drop D (my 4 has the range of a 5 without the huge neck). Now with my ESP LTD B5-JR 5 string, I removed the D string & moved the E string to the D position, & all other strings followed the swap. I added another G string to the top end which I tune to B. If I need a drop D string, I tune the E down again & my bass now has a six string capability in a 5 string configuration! Dig it? I do!
These are brand new, came out this year. There are a few youtube videos and threads from a few weeks ago
