ESP LTD GL-200K George Lynch Signature Model Guitar Review

Howdy!

I still have a soft spot in my heart for one of the most ridiculous guitars I have ever owned. It was a gorgeous ESP custom shop George Lynch Kamikaze 1 guitar. Remember dreamy George from Dokken or the Lynch Mob? I do…

It was a one-trick metal-god riding pony, so it did not stick around long. But it had looks that made the girls’ knees go weak, and when it is plugged in it made babies cry and old ladies faint. Besides, these are really expensive guitars, with a list price of $6398 and a street price of $3999. That is right, four thousand bucks.

Well, there is a route that will get you pretty close for $3600 less, and that would be the LTD GL-200K George Lynch Signature Model. In case you are not familiar with the brand, ESP is a Japanese company that has been building amazing instruments since the 1980s, and is the favorite of guitar gods such as Kirk Hammett and George Lynch. As these guitars are ungodly expensive, ESP introduced the LTD line to make their popular models more affordable for us common folk. The hardware, electronics, and wood are a little cheaper, and the labor costs are a lot lower as they are put together without using Japanese labor – this LTD instrument was built in China.

As we go through the construction and features I will point of the differences between this LTD and the real deal. The body shape and graphics are the same, which is good as this the only reason I want one. The LTD is made of light and soft basswood, instead of hard and heavy maple, and the edges of the body seem a little more radiused. The bridge is a Floyd Rose Special that is considerably sloppier and lighter than the real Floyd Rose that comes on the ESP.

The maple neck and headstock have the same profile, and that is good as I love the really fat “U” feel to the back of the neck and the 13.7-inch radius fretboard (rosewood in this case, not ebony). There are still 22 extra jumbo frets and the scale length is still 25.5 inches. There is a 1.693-inch wide locking nut and really cheap LTD logo tuners in some sort of black chrome.

The electronics package falls far short of the original, which for the Japanese models is a super-intense Seymour Duncan Screamin’ Demon at the bridge, and an ESP SH-100 single coil at the neck. This LTD guitar comes with an “ESP Designed LH-150 humbucker” at the bridge and an LS-120 single-coil at the neck. More on these in a minute. As with the original the controls are simple: there is a single volume knob that has a push-pull switch for pickup selection.

How does it all work? Pretty well for the money, honestly. The finish on the body and headstock is good, and the neck feels the same as my old ESP. The frets are pretty well done too, and it came out of the box as a playable instrument. I am not happy with the feel and operation of the tremolo and am even less impressed with the electronics. They serve up a very weak-assed sound and there is one hell of a pop when using the push-pull part of the volume knob.

But it is totally worth the money, and I am toying with the idea of adding in the correct electronics and tremolo, and I would still be way ahead of the game as long as these guitars are cheap. Cheap, as in $499 street price (list is $713), and the sale price at Musician’s Friend is $366.77 right now. That is the bargain of the century.

By the way, I had the opportunity to meet George Lynch at a trade show a few years back. He was very personable, and was nice enough to spend some time chatting with me. And he is still a damned nice-looking man!

Mahalo!

ESP Standard Series Phoenix II B Electric Bass Review

Howdy!

Today we are looking at the ESP Standard Series Phoenix II B bass guitar, which is their take on the Gibson Thunderbird. There were sold from 2009 through 2012 with little success in the US market, though their cheaper LTD version seems to still be doing pretty well. I recently had the chance to pick up a few of these for short money, and cold not resist, as they are really wonderful instruments.

For starters, this is a real live ESP bass, not an LTD model that was made by craftsmen in Japan, not by little kids in some third world country. And every ESP bass (or guitar) I’ve had has been a great player with no cosmetic or functional flaws.

And the Phoenix is no exception: this is a super smooth-playing neck-through bass, and the build quality is first rate. The neck is spot on, with perfect fretwork, and a great action is attainable with a minimum of fussing around. The 2-tone burst finish (black was also available) is deep and gorgeous, though the white pick-guard is a bit too much of a visual contrast for me.

The body is mahogany, and with a modified reverse Thunderbird shape. As I said it is neck-through, and the 34-inch scale maple neck has a bound ebony fretboard. The neck has a thin-U profile with 21 extra-jumbo frets and a 40mm (1 9/16-inch) bone nut. I like the inlays, especially the ESP inlay at the 12th fret, which hearkens back to the ESP 400 models that really made a name for the company.

The hardware is excellent, with a custom high-mass bridge and large-base cloverleaf tuners. Like I said, the white pickguard does not do much for me, but it is a quality multi-ply piece.

The electronics are first-rate, as ESP sourced a pair of EMG 35DC ceramic magnet pickups that are powered by a single 9-volt battery that is hidden by the coolest battery box design that I have ever seen. The wiring and joints are very neat, and the cavity is nicely coated. The controls are two volume pots and a master tone control.

The bass plays wonderfully and sound amazing, and can everything from jazz to blues to rock to metal which only minor adjustments of the knobs and your playing style. It balances much better on a strap than any Gibson I have ever played, which might be due to the 10.5 pounds of fine hardwoods they crammed into this package.

These basses shipped in a black ESP deluxe tolex hardshell case, which is to be expected at this price point. And that price is probably what killed this bass in our market. As you may know, the dollar was really weak around the time these were being built, and ESP needed a lot more dollars to make the same amount of Yen. The list price for the ESP Phoenix II bass was a nut-shrinking $2750, with a street price of $1900. That was Sadowsky Metro series money, so you can see why ESP had a lot of trouble moving these.

Anyway, they are great basses that are as rare as hen’s teeth, so if you see one make sure you get a chance to try it out. You might just like what you hear!

Mahalo!

2014 ESP Amaze AS Bass Review

Hi there!

If you have read my blog for any period of time, you surely know by now that I love Japanese guitars and basses. Until now, the ne plus ultra of Japanese instruments for me has been Sadowsky Metro series basses. That was until I picked up a 2014 ESP Amaze AS jazz bass. All I have to say is “wow!”

ESP has been cranking out high-end guitars and basses for over 30 years, and they set a very high standard for craftsmanship and playability. Their line-up has been muddied by the introduction of the LTD series of instruments that are built in third world countries (but are still surprisingly good), but they still maintain production facilities that produce amazing instruments in Japan.

This Amaze AS is one of these, and the “Original Series” bass is not intended for export to the United States market, mostly due to its astoundingly high price. This is pretty much the top-of-the-line for ESP.

This four-string bass has a beautifully-figured Swamp Ash body that is sprayed with some sort of amazing thick and tough poly finish. The bolt-on neck is hard maple and it has 21 frets and simple black plastic dot inlays. The neck has a flat U shape, a 1 ½-nch bone nut, and a compound radius fretboard: 9 ½ inches to 15 ¾ inches. Weird, I know. It is a conventional 34-inch scale, though.

The heavy chrome hardware is very good, and not surprisingly it is supplied by the venerable Japanese manufacturer, Gotoh. The tuners are open-gear adjustable-tension 1:20 ratio GB11W, and the high-mass 404BO4 bridge has a Zinc base with brass saddles underneath all of that chrome. There is nothing to complain about here! Well, maybe I can complain about that weirdly shaped neck pickup cover, but it will come off easily enough…

The last piece of the puzzle is the electronics package, which is all bespoke ESP stuff. There are pair of ESP Custom Lab pickups (CL-PJ-1N and CL-PJ-1B) wired though master volume (with push-pull active bypass), a pickup selector knob, and a three-band ESP Cinnamon EQ (also a Custom Lab piece).

This bass came to me with no modification and in perfect condition, and its build quality is the best I have ever seen. It is comparable to a NYC Sadowsky or Fodera, and you could not do better. The finish, frets, and wiring are second to none. It plays beautifully (if you like a Jazz Bass profile neck) and it can achieve any sound you are looking for, from vintage 1960s jazz to high-fi hardcore active bass, and everything in between. If you are looking for the best Jazz Bass out there, you need to look no further.

Of course, this comes at a price, and the list price on these is 345,000yen (before tax), which means you are going to plunk down well north of $3000 to get into one of these, and Japanese guitar shops are pretty firm on sticking to list price on instruments. Fortunately, they do not hold their value well on the used market very well, so you can get one of these for less than a Sadowsky Metro if you can find a seller that is willing to ship overseas. I know you will not get a chance to try before you buy, but trust me on this one – these basses are worth every penny.

Mahalo!

1991 ESP M-IV Bass Guitar Review

Howdy!

Today we are looking at ESP’s answer to Fender’s tremendously successful Japan-built Jazz Bass Special that Duff McKagan popularized in the late 1980s/early 1990s – the M-IV. This P-bass derivative has many of the features of that iconic bass, including the pearl white finish, a black headstock, black hardware, and passive P-J pickups. As far as I can tell, they were built in Japan by ESP and were never intended for export; very few made it to the states. I have never seen one in this color combination or without the pointy ESP heavy metal headstock.

As with any Japanese guitar copy, always there are a few things that are not quite like the original. Most obviously, the back of the neck is finished in clear instead of black, and the body is more aggressively carved. Less obviously, there is no TBX tone control, and the nut is a tad wider than the Fender, coming in at around 1-11/16 inches. It is still quite fast and manageable, though.

The materials are good, with an alder body, maple neck, and a rosewood fretboard with 21 frets hammered into it. The hardware is very nice, with a high-mass bridge and large base open-gear tuners, and all of it is finished in black that has not oxidized yet, unlike every Japanese Fender I have ever seen. The controls are simple: volume, tone, and a 3-way switch.

It is a really well made bass, with great fretwork and excellent fit and finish on the neck pocket. The truss rod has not maxed out and it is easy to dial in a low action with no buzzing or other untoward side effects. It has been well cared for with no damage, repairs or modifications. The pearl white paint has faded into a very light yellow, but not nearly so much as the Fender Jazz Bass Specials from the same era.

All of this adds up to a great playing and sounding bass that is very versatile. Some guys are down on the P-J pickup set-up, but it is still one of my all-time favorites. The electronics are quiet and high output and this bass can sound very smooth or aggressive. The body cutaways provide a little better access to the higher frets, but who uses those things, anyway? Oh yeah, and as an added bonus, this thing weighs just a touch over 8 pounds – not bad!

Nothing stays around here very long, but it is sweet for now and I love the look of it. Drop me a line if you are interested, maybe we can make a deal!

Mahalo!

2007 ESP Vintage Four Bass Review

Howdy!

Today we are looking at a cool ESP Vintage Four bass guitar. The Vintage series was introduced in 2007, and it was not a very hot seller for the company. This was probably because they were just too expensive, plus they were saddled with an overdone phony relic look. But in today’s used market they are pretty cheap, and the appearance is the only major gripe I have, as it is a great bass.

For starters, this one is a real live ESP bass, that was made by craftsmen in Japan, not an LTD model put together by little kids in some third world country. And every ESP bass (or guitar) I’ve had has been a great player with no cosmetic or functional flaws.

This Vintage 4 is no exception; it is a super smooth-playing bass, and the build quality is first rate. The neck is spot on with perfect fretwork and a great action, even eight years later.

The body is alder, and it has the traditional Precision Bass shape. As I said, it has a relic look, which some genius in the design department decided to cover in clear lacquer. It looks very contrived.

The hardware is very good, with a Gotoh high-mass bridge and vintage-look tuners. ESP carried over the trussrod adjustment at the base of the neck and no cutout in the pickguard to access it. Again, pure genius. The maple neck also gets the relic treatment, but it is still very cozy. I like the ESP inlay at the 12th fret, which hearkens back to the ESP 400 models that inspired this bass.

The electronics are first-rate, as ESP sourced Seymour Duncan P and J pickups. The wiring and joints are very neat, and the cavity is nicely coated. The controls are two volume pots and a master tone control. The Vintage 4’s electronics work well, too, but then again I have always been a sucker for P/J-equipped basses. I find it easy to get any tone from Motown thump to gnarly loud fingerstyle, and everything in between. This bass can do most anything you need from a 4-string bass, if you can get past the way it looks.

This one was well cared for and the relicing has softened a bit with age, so it does not look quite as bad. These basses originally shipped in a black ESP deluxe tolex hardshell case, which was to be expected in this price range, and this one still has it (though it is a bit worse for wear). That initially high price was probably the real deal-killer for these basses when they came out.

Though the dollar is strong now it was very weak in 1989, and ESP needed a lot more dollars to make the same amount of Yen. The list price for the ESP Vintage 4 bass was a nut-shrinking $2499, and I did not see new ones for any less than $1499 online. That was Sadowsky Metro series money at the time, so you can see why ESP had some trouble moving these. There were a lot better values for your money at the price point if you wanted to buy something new then. But now they are the same price as a used Fender Japan P-bass, which makes them a true bargain. If you ever see one, give it a try – trust me!

Mahalo!

ESP Standard Series Phoenix II B Electric Bass Review

Hi there!

Today we are looking at the ESP Standard Series Phoenix II B bass guitar, which is their take on the Gibson Thunderbird. There were sold from 2009 through 2012 with little success in the US market, though their cheaper LTD version seems to still be doing pretty well. I recently had the chance to pick up a few of these for short money, and cold not resist, as they are really wonderful instruments. Let’s see what we have here!

For starters, this is a real live ESP bass, not an LTD model that was made by craftsmen in Japan, not by little kids in some third world country. And every ESP bass (or guitar) I’ve had has been a great player with no cosmetic or functional flaws.

And the Phoenix is no exception: this is a super smooth-playing neck-through bass, and the build quality is first rate. The neck is spot on, with perfect fretwork, and a great action is attainable with a minimum of fussing around. The black finish (2-tone burst was also available) is deep and gorgeous, though the white pick-guard is a bit too much of a visual contrast for me.

The body is mahogany, and with a modified reverse Thunderbird shape. As I said it is neck-through, and the 34-inch scale maple neck has a bound ebony fretboard. The neck has a thin-U profile with 21 extra-jumbo frets and a 40mm (1 9/16-inch) bone nut. I like the inlays, especially the ESP inlay at the 12th fret, which hearkens back to the ESP 400 models that really made a name for the company.

The hardware is excellent, with a custom high-mass bridge and large-base cloverleaf tuners. Like I said, the white pickguard does not do much for me, but it is a quality multi-ply piece.

The electronics are first-rate, as ESP sourced a pair of EMG 35DC ceramic magnet pickups that are powered by a single 9-volt battery that is hidden by the coolest battery box design that I have ever seen. The wiring and joints are very neat, and the cavity is nicely coated. The controls are two volume pots and a master tone control.

The bass plays wonderfully and sound amazing, and can everything from jazz to blues to rock to metal which only minor adjustments of the knobs and your playing style. It balances much better on a strap than any Gibson I have ever played, which might be due to the 11 pounds of fine hardwoods they crammed into this package.

These basses shipped in a black ESP deluxe tolex hardshell case, which is to be expected at this price point. And that price is probably what killed this bass in our market. As you may know, the dollar was really weak around the time these were being built, and ESP needed a lot more dollars to make the same amount of Yen. The list price for the ESP Phoenix II bass was a nut-shrinking $2750, with a street price of $1900. That was Sadowsky Metro series money, so you can see why ESP had a lot of trouble moving these.

Anyway, they are great basses that are as rare as hen’s teeth, so if you see one make sure you get a chance to try it out. You might just like what you hear!

Mahalo!

Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky Bass Strings .045 to .105 Review

Hello!

I recently picked up an ESP Phoenix 4-string bass that was stone-cold gorgeous, but sounded deader than Sherriff Block despite its stout active EMG setup. I fussed with the control on the bass and the EQ on my amp, but nothing was making it sound like I knew it could. Though the strings on it looked shiny and good, they were an unknown factor and I hoped they might be the cause. So, I swapped on a new set of my go-to strings and voilá! It was as right as rain! These strings are the Ernie Ball Power Slinky bass string set, model number 2833.

If you have not been living in a cave for the past 50 years, you have heard of Ernie Ball strings. Mr. Ball was an innovator that came up with the idea of mass-marketing custom gauge strings and he built the business into one of the biggest string manufacturers in the word. That is what happens when you listen to your customers and give them what they need. His son and grandsons now run the company, and the strings are made right here in the US by people that earn a living wage. A few years ago I had the opportunity to tour the factory (near Palm Springs) and it is an impressive organization.

These long-scale Hybrid Slinky strings are right about the same as their regular Slinky set with the top two string just a bee’s dick smaller, measuring 0.045, 0.065, 0.085 and 0.105. Woot! They are roundwound with nickel-plated steel wrap around a tin-plated hex profile steel core. There is no coating or cobalt going on here, just straight-up strings. Ernie Ball strings still come in individual paper envelopes, but now they are sealed in airtight foil packets. I much prefer this packaging so I know I am going to get fresh strings. You never know how long strings have been sitting around at the store...

Anyway, for the ESP bass I eagerly tore open my new foil pack of Hybrid Slinkys, trimmed them to length and used my Ernie Ball Powerpeg string winder to cinch them up. They filled the nut slots perfectly, and after a bit of fussing with the truss rod I got the action to a reasonable height. After a bit of playing it was apparent that this was a good move as it played just fine with plenty of bite, and the lighter top strings gave me a bit more mobility while the larger bottom strings gave me all the thump I could ever need.

Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky bass strings are very good, and they have always held up just fine for me – at least a month or two and sometimes more. It will not break the bank to see if you like them, as they are pretty reasonably priced. They have a list price of $35 and an Amazon price of $16.99, and if you catch a lucky break with a sale or coupon you can get them even cheaper at Guitar Center. How can you go wrong?

ESP LTD B-335S Electric Bass Guitar Review

Greetings!

Today we are looking at a very good 5-string bass value: the LTD B-335. You know by now that I am not a 5-string kind of guy, but this thing is a really neat piece of work.

In case you are not familiar with ESP, this Japanese company has been building amazing instruments wince the 1980s, and are the favorites of guitar gods such as Kirk Hammett and George Lynch. Unfortunately these guitars are ungodly expensive, so they introduced the LTD line to make their popular models more affordable for us common folk. The hardware, electronics, and wood are a little cheaper, and the labor costs are a lot lower as they are put together without using Japanese labor – this LTD instrument was built in Indonesia.

Looking this bass over, the first impression is that the B-335 is a handsome instrument. It is not a Fender clone, and its unique body shape, pointy headstock, and see-through satin finish look pretty awesome. This LTD is a bolt-neck instrument with an ash body that has fairly aggressive angles and cutaways, and a super-long upper horn.

The 6-bolt neck is a work of art, and I do not know how they can build something like this at this price point. It is a five-piece maple/rosewood laminate with a nicely figured rosewood fretboard, and there are 24 jumbo frets sunk into it. There are no problems getting to the upper frets, though bass players have no real business up there. The 34-inch scale neck has a very thin U profile, and it measures about 45mm at the nut (that is a touch over 1 ¾ inches, in case you are wondering).

The black nickel hardware includes sealed-back tuners and really nice high-mass super-adjustable bridge. All the literature I found says that this bass strings through the body. But, this one doe not, so maybe the literature is wrong...

The electronics are pretty nice, with two ESP ASB-5 passive pickups and an ESP ABQ-3 3-band active EQ. These are wired through that are wired through a master volume knob, a pick-up blend knob, and three knobs for the EQ.

This is a very pretty bass, but the see-through brown finish might not be everybody’s cup of tea – it kind of screams “Warwick.” It is put together exceptionally well, particularly when you consider it does not cost very much. The fretwork is good, the neck is straight and the finish is nice and even. The neck pocket is clean and it came with a good set-up right out of the box, too.

It plays well, and the neck is very fast with good access to the upper frets; I did not find any buzzing or dead frets. The neck feels much smaller than the usual five-string neck, and would be good for players with small hands. As an added bonus for smaller players, this thing weighs in at 7 pounds, 3 ounces, which is featherweight for a fiver.

The tonal options cover pretty much any style of music that you would want to use an electric bass for. Rock, funk or metal, it does it all, and sounds pretty good doing it. There is a little hum, and I think some better pickups and shielding would make a noticeable difference, and it might be worth an upgrade if you like the feel of this thing. Other than that, this thing sounds solid with well-defined low B and sustain for days.

The LTD B-335 is one of the best 5-string bass values on the market, with a list price of $713, and a street price of $529. But, it gets better as a lot of retailers are clearing these out for only $348, which is a killer deal for a well-made and very playable instrument. Check one out if you get the chance, you will not be disappointed!

Mahalo!