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Official ESP club
- Thread starter funkmasterflex
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The Surveyor arrived safely! Will update later when I arrive from work. Just had the chance to tune it and play it a lower volumes through my Markbass Pure rig, not headphones. Sounded really good, the strings are excellent but not for me. It was also ready to perform out of the box (just a bit flat of course), the intonation seemed perfect for the current setup, which I will change because I always do. But anyone could have easily just played the beautiful bass right after unboxing it.
I didn't find the Duncan Jazz Vintage particularly hum-happy, so it seems everything is shielded well. Just a very, very mild hum. Also not weak at all. Seems the pickups are good-if after my new strings and setup I am satisfied, I may just keep using these Duncans.
The tuning machines were actually fine and look cool-I wouldn't change them except I need the Hipshot Xtender, otherwise I wouldn't have thought about it.
Too new to the bass, however, and barely had the time to play. Looking forward to getting to know it better tonight. Everything looked top notch quality, and it is Cort-Tek, not made in Korea. The nut seemed cut slightly higher than usual, but it could be the setup. The G string had good height at the first fret. Heavy, but it felt and sounded special!
(Ignore the crappy pictures, honestly did not have the time to photograph it. Will update this later, when I am able to actually play it and fool around with the setup more. The pearl white finish will never translate to the camera well-in person it's truly awesome. Also loved that the macassar ebony fretboard is not super dark.)
I didn't find the Duncan Jazz Vintage particularly hum-happy, so it seems everything is shielded well. Just a very, very mild hum. Also not weak at all. Seems the pickups are good-if after my new strings and setup I am satisfied, I may just keep using these Duncans.
The tuning machines were actually fine and look cool-I wouldn't change them except I need the Hipshot Xtender, otherwise I wouldn't have thought about it.
Too new to the bass, however, and barely had the time to play. Looking forward to getting to know it better tonight. Everything looked top notch quality, and it is Cort-Tek, not made in Korea. The nut seemed cut slightly higher than usual, but it could be the setup. The G string had good height at the first fret. Heavy, but it felt and sounded special!
(Ignore the crappy pictures, honestly did not have the time to photograph it. Will update this later, when I am able to actually play it and fool around with the setup more. The pearl white finish will never translate to the camera well-in person it's truly awesome. Also loved that the macassar ebony fretboard is not super dark.)
As suggested previously, NBD and new LTD fan here, though I will also forever love my several Fender and Squier basses.
My new Surveyor 87 is amazing, having one of the best necks I have played. Now, I know from experience that no one needs such a flat radius to play fast, or to play tasteful bass music, but darn it feels great. I love my vintage 7.25 radius too for other reasons, and honestly do not relate to "either/or", "black/white" statements. All radii can work if you get used to them. But the LTD neck fits the true definition of a so-called "fast" neck. That stated, these type of necks can be played "slowly" too as needed, so I see no big disadvantage to these other than getting used to them.
The Surveyor 87 neck is also not super thin as others can be-just super comfy and fluid. The frets feel like home despite being labeled "extra jumbo". For some reasons, my guitars with jumbo frets do feel larger than these "extra" jumbo LTD frets. They are obviously not small or Fender "vintage tall", they just do not feel huge. Perhaps it's just perception, and they are big or bigger than they should (I haven't measured them, and am not that analytical to do it; they feel great, and that's it.)
Sound is great with the stock, Vintage Duncan PJ set. I am truly satisfied, though wondering if other PJ sets would fit this style of bass better. Truly, though, with my setup and fingers, I can do above and beyond my usual-it's super versatile, and am wary to make it go too much in one direction or the other. The Duncans are good pickups, and with my particular strings and rig, quite clear.
Now to some pseudo "cons":
It has a "regular" setup so I immediately felt something too different than what I usually do. Yet it had great intonation for that setup, and I am sure most players could have gigged the bass right away. The strings were great, but rather thick/bassy sounding *relative* to my light gauge stainless steel SB66s. I needed to change the strings and setup to feel truly at home, but once home, the bass feels like a big homerun of an instrument. The intonation process was super easy, the truss rod was easy to turn, and the frets are super well in tune throughout the neck (perhaps my best "pure intonation" neck among all of my basses.)
But talking about the truss rod, the included, nice and long truss rod hex tool didn't seem to fit, whereas my set of Allen keys did work fine (5/32 is the size.) The included one is very similar in sizing, but somehow wouldn't fit in, as if it was just slightly thicker. The Allen key for the bridge height adjustment was perfect, and the Gotoh saddle screws turned easily. It is a classic bridge, and fits this bass great, with enough adjustment room despite the thicker base plate. It has an additional Allen wrench, I suppose for the knobs.
The nut actually "sounds good" despite being plastic, but I feel it's cut "safe", and most of you may find it too high. But because I use light gauge strings, it was no trouble at all (with the stock strings, though more than playable, one could feel the difference right away.) However, I am getting a white Graph Tech XL nut over the mail soon, and am happy to report I was able to set up the bass perfectly for my needs with the stock nut. Feels SUPER comfy as stated several paragraphs above.
Neutral Good: tuning machines are not bad at all, and are even quite good-just not Hipshot good. I think that although the MiM Fender size is more standard, these often maligned tuners are actually better than those in terms of working for micro adjustments. Unfortunately, these will be temporary, as I need to add an Xtender, and as mentioned earlier in this thread, there are no currently in production Hipshot Xtenders that are a direct fit without modification of the bass. If you do not use an Xtender, the stock tuners won't be trouble for you, IMHO.
Good or bad depending on who you ask: *my* Surveyor sample is ten pounds, which most modern players will likely have trouble with. However, it balances well in my playing position without neck dive, and truly I do not feel the weight with the strap (I am using a 2.5 now from another guitar, but have a 3 inches wide DiMarzio Cliplock strap ready to install.) You only feel it's a solid, hefty bass when you pick it up (and I find it funny it weights the same ten lbs. as the LTD Phoenix 1004 bass I returned to Sweetwater last week.) In any case, some Precision basses are 11+pounds (see the Steve Harris signature basses), and it honestly doesn't get in the way-I am never thinking "man, I wish this was lighter!" I know it is indeed a deal breaker for many, but even as my heaviest bass, I do not care about this. It feels great somehow, and super solid.
I know ESP/LTD people tend to sh*t on the Indo LTDs vs MiK, but there were no problems, and I bet the "issues" mentioned above could very well be in the Korea models. In any case, the price new was ridiculously low, and having so many Cort-Tek basses and guitars, I know they can do a GREAT job. The LTD specifications are just so good.
I honestly recommend this Surveyor 87 bass, whether it's a Korea or Indo model, if you like the classic Fender P bass vibe with a totally different, but super wonderful neck. It feels and plays like a high end instrument, not a cheapie. A "pro" quality instrument in every regard. Loving it-it's particularly awesome personally because it's inspired in the early ESP 87 models-I was a 12 year old with much to learn in this world, but remember well all my heavy metal and thrash records/cassettes of that time in my life. I feel any musician from that era would have LOVED this classic bass, even stock. It is technically discontinued, but if you can find one to try new or used, at least I suggest you do that.
My new Surveyor 87 is amazing, having one of the best necks I have played. Now, I know from experience that no one needs such a flat radius to play fast, or to play tasteful bass music, but darn it feels great. I love my vintage 7.25 radius too for other reasons, and honestly do not relate to "either/or", "black/white" statements. All radii can work if you get used to them. But the LTD neck fits the true definition of a so-called "fast" neck. That stated, these type of necks can be played "slowly" too as needed, so I see no big disadvantage to these other than getting used to them.
The Surveyor 87 neck is also not super thin as others can be-just super comfy and fluid. The frets feel like home despite being labeled "extra jumbo". For some reasons, my guitars with jumbo frets do feel larger than these "extra" jumbo LTD frets. They are obviously not small or Fender "vintage tall", they just do not feel huge. Perhaps it's just perception, and they are big or bigger than they should (I haven't measured them, and am not that analytical to do it; they feel great, and that's it.)
Sound is great with the stock, Vintage Duncan PJ set. I am truly satisfied, though wondering if other PJ sets would fit this style of bass better. Truly, though, with my setup and fingers, I can do above and beyond my usual-it's super versatile, and am wary to make it go too much in one direction or the other. The Duncans are good pickups, and with my particular strings and rig, quite clear.
Now to some pseudo "cons":
It has a "regular" setup so I immediately felt something too different than what I usually do. Yet it had great intonation for that setup, and I am sure most players could have gigged the bass right away. The strings were great, but rather thick/bassy sounding *relative* to my light gauge stainless steel SB66s. I needed to change the strings and setup to feel truly at home, but once home, the bass feels like a big homerun of an instrument. The intonation process was super easy, the truss rod was easy to turn, and the frets are super well in tune throughout the neck (perhaps my best "pure intonation" neck among all of my basses.)
But talking about the truss rod, the included, nice and long truss rod hex tool didn't seem to fit, whereas my set of Allen keys did work fine (5/32 is the size.) The included one is very similar in sizing, but somehow wouldn't fit in, as if it was just slightly thicker. The Allen key for the bridge height adjustment was perfect, and the Gotoh saddle screws turned easily. It is a classic bridge, and fits this bass great, with enough adjustment room despite the thicker base plate. It has an additional Allen wrench, I suppose for the knobs.
The nut actually "sounds good" despite being plastic, but I feel it's cut "safe", and most of you may find it too high. But because I use light gauge strings, it was no trouble at all (with the stock strings, though more than playable, one could feel the difference right away.) However, I am getting a white Graph Tech XL nut over the mail soon, and am happy to report I was able to set up the bass perfectly for my needs with the stock nut. Feels SUPER comfy as stated several paragraphs above.
Neutral Good: tuning machines are not bad at all, and are even quite good-just not Hipshot good. I think that although the MiM Fender size is more standard, these often maligned tuners are actually better than those in terms of working for micro adjustments. Unfortunately, these will be temporary, as I need to add an Xtender, and as mentioned earlier in this thread, there are no currently in production Hipshot Xtenders that are a direct fit without modification of the bass. If you do not use an Xtender, the stock tuners won't be trouble for you, IMHO.
Good or bad depending on who you ask: *my* Surveyor sample is ten pounds, which most modern players will likely have trouble with. However, it balances well in my playing position without neck dive, and truly I do not feel the weight with the strap (I am using a 2.5 now from another guitar, but have a 3 inches wide DiMarzio Cliplock strap ready to install.) You only feel it's a solid, hefty bass when you pick it up (and I find it funny it weights the same ten lbs. as the LTD Phoenix 1004 bass I returned to Sweetwater last week.) In any case, some Precision basses are 11+pounds (see the Steve Harris signature basses), and it honestly doesn't get in the way-I am never thinking "man, I wish this was lighter!" I know it is indeed a deal breaker for many, but even as my heaviest bass, I do not care about this. It feels great somehow, and super solid.
I know ESP/LTD people tend to sh*t on the Indo LTDs vs MiK, but there were no problems, and I bet the "issues" mentioned above could very well be in the Korea models. In any case, the price new was ridiculously low, and having so many Cort-Tek basses and guitars, I know they can do a GREAT job. The LTD specifications are just so good.
I honestly recommend this Surveyor 87 bass, whether it's a Korea or Indo model, if you like the classic Fender P bass vibe with a totally different, but super wonderful neck. It feels and plays like a high end instrument, not a cheapie. A "pro" quality instrument in every regard. Loving it-it's particularly awesome personally because it's inspired in the early ESP 87 models-I was a 12 year old with much to learn in this world, but remember well all my heavy metal and thrash records/cassettes of that time in my life. I feel any musician from that era would have LOVED this classic bass, even stock. It is technically discontinued, but if you can find one to try new or used, at least I suggest you do that.
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Sounds like an awesome bass. That pearl white looks great in the pics. I'm sure it's better in person.
I'm super happy with the build quality on my Indo LTD. Some of what they put out from there may be built down to a price, but they also do some work that's on par with any other country of origin.
I'm super happy with the build quality on my Indo LTD. Some of what they put out from there may be built down to a price, but they also do some work that's on par with any other country of origin.
The body, neck, and finish are awesome. Built as a high quality instrument, regardless factory provenance. My few issues were really matter of preference, there were no real defects anywhere. They could have spend more on the tuning machines and a TUSQ nut, but what they chose to use works great. The pickups are US made, old SPB-1 + SJB-1, and while I have been looking at options over the day, I am still not convinced I should replace these. I can make them sound as tame or gnarly as I wish with my gear, and am surprised as how low noise the I pickup is. Truly a wonderful, "humble" bass.
I will actually take pictures later, when I return from work-was just excited to type a brief overview. I have no complaints about the quality of construction. Have heard some guitar people complaining about "bad" or uneven finishes from Indonesian LTD, but mine is perfect. Love that Pearl White!
Some images-barely anything has been changed, just the setup (no nut filing, waiting for nut over the mail), Rotosound SB66LB strings, and the trusty, short length DiMarzio Cliplock strap, this time the wider size. Heavy bass, but comfy with the strap. It honestly is comfortable to play a long time standing up, and doesn't feel brutal on the shoulders one bit. Also took off the double protective, clear layers on top of the satin pickguard. Pickups had no clear stickers over them in my sample.
The pickups sound great, and the volume difference between the blended modes isn't too extreme when playing with a compressor, which I do. Even with mild settings, that single SJB-1 sounds good, and the hum is quite low. Have been thinking of Area J or Model K for the bridge, but maybe I should just enjoy what these pair bring to the table.
The bass has a clear tone, at least with the current Swing Bass set. Not muddy, and for the way I play, quite clear and bold.
Have been playing with flat settings on the Markbass amp on purpose, but with the amp tone shaping, the possibilities are near endless.
Love this LTD, have zero regrets, and I will keep it forever.
(Pardon the bad lighting-somw redundant pictures where my rather futile attempt to help others notice how good the finish is, with all those particles within the finish that are truly hard to photograph. Most pictures make it look like just another snow white finish-which are nice too-but this one is a step above the usual.)
The pickups sound great, and the volume difference between the blended modes isn't too extreme when playing with a compressor, which I do. Even with mild settings, that single SJB-1 sounds good, and the hum is quite low. Have been thinking of Area J or Model K for the bridge, but maybe I should just enjoy what these pair bring to the table.
The bass has a clear tone, at least with the current Swing Bass set. Not muddy, and for the way I play, quite clear and bold.
Have been playing with flat settings on the Markbass amp on purpose, but with the amp tone shaping, the possibilities are near endless.
Love this LTD, have zero regrets, and I will keep it forever.
(Pardon the bad lighting-somw redundant pictures where my rather futile attempt to help others notice how good the finish is, with all those particles within the finish that are truly hard to photograph. Most pictures make it look like just another snow white finish-which are nice too-but this one is a step above the usual.)
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Some images-barely anything has been changed, just the setup (no nut filing, waiting for nut over the mail), Rotosound SB66LB strings, and the trusty, short length DiMarzio Cliplock strap, this time the wider size. Heavy bass, but comfy with the strap. It honestly is comfortable to play a long time standing up, and doesn't feel brutal on the shoulders one bit. Also took off the double protective, clear layers on top of the satin pickguard. Pickups had no clear stickers over them in my sample.
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The pickups sound great, and the volume difference between the blended modes isn't too extreme when playing with a compressor, which I do. Even with mild settings, that single SJB-1 sounds good, and the hum is quite low. Have been thinking of Area J or Model K for the bridge, but maybe I should just enjoy what these pair bring to the table.
The bass has a clear tone, at least with the current Swing Bass set. Not muddy, and for the way I play, quite clear and bold.
Have been playing with flat settings on the Markbass amp on purpose, but with the amp tone shaping, the possibilities are near endless.
Love this LTD, have zero regrets, and I will keep it forever.
(Pardon the bad lighting-somw redundant pictures where my rather futile attempt to help others notice how good the finish is, with all those particles within the finish that are truly hard to photograph. Most pictures make it look like just another snow white finish-which are nice too-but this one is a step above the usual.)
Glad you're liking your bass and I agree 100% that the finish on these is outstanding. No flaws at all on mine but it is, as you said, difficult to capture in photos.
The stock pickups are great too. I ended up replacing mine with EMGs but only because I needed a modern sounding bass that looked fairly traditional.
Your fretboard is a lot more interesting than mine. Mine is pretty much uniform black with no visible grain or figure.
For what these cost, and especially now that they have been discontinued and prices have dropped, they represent an incredible value. There is truly a lot to love with these Surveyor basses.
Definitely, do not blame you for wanting another flavor with the EMGs, as you do have other Surveyors. I am happy with this one, but if I had another one with an alternate finish, I would also put something different in them. Indeed the Phoenix 1004 I had ordered but returned immediately was exciting due to the EMG PJ pickups in a soap bar shape, but I was dumb enough to not realize that physics would prevent a reverse headstock from working with a Hipshot Xtender. That, however, led to this happy ending with the Surveyor 87 which is supremely comfortable and closest to home due to the classic body shape.
My other "super fast" neck is my Cort Modern GB 4 (a super Jazz, kind of, but with humbuckers routings and Nordstrand Big Single pickups.) That one has in paper better specs all around, and was most likely built in Cort-Tek's high end facility for their own brand, but despite having identical fingerboard radius, the LTD feels even better and "faster"-maybe a psychological effect brought about by familiarity, but real nonetheless. The nut widths should make the Cort faster in theory (38mm vs 42mm) but I feel it's pretty even or better with the Surveyor, as I am just used to wider necks, and have never felt "slow" or that it's in any way harder to play them. The back is super smooth. It's truly a stellar neck! And not too thin, feeling natural. I am definitely open to all sorts of neck specs (I have lots of different types), but must admit the specs used for the Surveyor necks are perhaps among the best in the market for 4 string basses-and it's the "best" neck I have in terms of working for what I do.
It seems most Macassar Ebony necks are preferred black, so as to resemble Gaboon Ebony, but the special quality of Macassar Ebony is that it can at times have these streaks, which I found lovely when I saw the bass on the website. I even did a double-take, thinking it could be something else, but indeed it is Macassar Ebony, just a streaky piece. It looks slightly darker in person, more dark chocolatey, very, very beautiful. Definitely not dry or cheap looking. Both are good quality and non-cheap fretboards, though of course tradition dictates that most will prefer Gaboon Ebony, and thus like an evenly black appearance.
I will have an LTD M-1 87 Custom delivered sometime next week, and by chance it also will have a streaky Macassar Ebony fingerboard-same factory! I think also made in 2024, maybe they had lots of that streaky Macassar wood during those months. Later models I have seen are much darker to very black.
Back to this humble Surveyor, it's superb and addictive to play-which is what you would want from any instrument of any brand or make. I can make the pickups work for me for everything, and with the Roto "medium light" strings (they are actually very light) they even lean towards the aggressive side with an amazing bite, and near no effort to produce this. I am really in love with this bass and how it transforms my playing.
Looking forward to adding the other stuff, tuning machines, Xtender, and nut, but even now, I just love to play the thing. Beautiful and inspiring bass.
I paid $599+tax, new, unblemished. The instrument feels high end, and not something I would expect from a $600 factory instrument.
To others who may read this post in the future-Indonesia is currently making great LTDs, so do not be afraid when a model is not Made in Korea. Just see if you can play or at least see it. Mine had no real issues, no sloppy QC, etc. Not a MiJ standard, but then you have to pay for that. LTDs can be amazing in their own way.
My lowly, but very much beloved, LTD B4-JR, that I got for what equals about 60$ used.
It had one of the worst setups I ever experienced, and a loose output jack socket, when I got it, but otherwise it was pretty much flawless.
Perfectly leveled frets and all.
Rosewood fretboard, on a maple neck, with a Basswood body, but even if the stock reverse P pickup actually sounded pretty good, I replaced it for an EMG Geezer Butler P.
It is just 28.5" scale length, which though is perfect for the tenor bass tuning I prefer to play with, which is G#1 standard tuning, using Elixir Nanoweb guitar strings of the gauges .068 - .052 - .038 - .038 for this.
Anyway, here the beast is, I named it "Dud Bottomfeeder Jr.":
My main instrument of choise at the moment.
It had one of the worst setups I ever experienced, and a loose output jack socket, when I got it, but otherwise it was pretty much flawless.
Perfectly leveled frets and all.
Rosewood fretboard, on a maple neck, with a Basswood body, but even if the stock reverse P pickup actually sounded pretty good, I replaced it for an EMG Geezer Butler P.
It is just 28.5" scale length, which though is perfect for the tenor bass tuning I prefer to play with, which is G#1 standard tuning, using Elixir Nanoweb guitar strings of the gauges .068 - .052 - .038 - .038 for this.
Anyway, here the beast is, I named it "Dud Bottomfeeder Jr.":
My main instrument of choise at the moment.
