By Bill Leigh | September, 2007

ESP makes some mean guitars—that is, many of them actually look mean, with angles and edges that appeal to the pointy-axe crowd. But many of ESP’s guitars and most of its basses tend to have a more versatile vibe. That’s certainly true of two new instruments ESP sent for review: the sexy B-1004 4-string and handsome D-5 5-string. Both basses arrived with easy, fast-fingered setups that invited instant noodling. The necks were exquisitely playable and the bodies somewhat smallish. Both feature active electronics and two-way trussrods. From there, the basses begin to diverge.

ESP B-1004
The B-1004 has a neck-through-body design, a smooth satin finish over natural-finished woods, and a hastily routed but serviceable control cavity—three things I’ve seen on several other Korean-built basses. But with low-priced instrument manufacturing having emigrated to China and Southeast Asia, Korea has become a consistent source of well-built mid- to high-priced instruments from facilities that now have decades of building experience and mastery. The B-1004 certainly reflects this; the construction was high quality with expertly shaped laminated woods, the thin finish felt subtle and inviting under my hands, and there were no problems with frets, hardware, or electronics. My complaints were few: The battery and control-cavity covers were almost impossible to remove, and the cavity-cover screw holes lack threaded inserts, a long-life durability detail I’d hope for on a bass costing over a grand these days, at least on the battery compartment.

Otherwise, the B-1004 is solidly built and looking sharp. The body’s core is mahogany, with a substantial r" carved flame-maple top sandwiching a thin walnut veneer. The 24-fret neck has five pieces of alternating maple and walnut topped by an ebony fingerboard with smart-looking offset abalone position markers. Black satin Hipshot hardware—Ultralite tuners and a Hipshot “A”-style bridge with optional through-body stringing—completes the visual package. I just wasn’t jazzed about ESP’s swooping “LTD” headstock logo, which seems better suited to a budget axe or a shredder slab.

The B-1004’s natural voice is warm and stout, with a healthy helping of sustain and a clear, present punch. It doesn’t have a strong signature character—which is not necessarily a bad thing—but it more than makes up for that with fairly flexible tone, owing to its EMG active pickups and 3-band EQ. At the neck position, the soapbar-covered EMG-35P4 P-style pickup tends toward girth and darkness without quite throttling down to full-on old school, partially due to the instrument’s natural knack for long-ringing notes. The bridge pickup is EMG’s intriguing two-in-one 35TW, which holds two pickups under a single cover—a J-style stacked single-coil and a dual-coil—selectable via the push-pull volume pot. In this bass, the dual-coil mode speaks large, though not quite with the girth and zing of a StingRay-style pickup. Soloed, the single-coil sounds articulate but a tad thin, with noticeably lower output than the dual-coil. With both pickups on, pulling up the volume knob for single-coil mode produces a big, crisp slap sound with a slight mid scoop. The EQ adds lots of color to the tone palette without ever coming on too strong.

Overall, the B-1004 sounds big yet adaptable, while its small, smooth neck and svelte, comfy body made it feel sweet in my hands. It seems a bit pricy, but it could stand up well against other basses with fancy woods and active pickups.

Specs
Weight 9 lbs
Scale length 34"
Body Mahogany core with flame-maple top
Neck Five-piece maple and walnut
Fingerboard Ebony
Nut Black graphite
Neck width at nut 1 3/8"
Neck width at 24th fret 2 1/2"
Pickups EMG-35P, EMG-35TW
Color Natural stain
Other model B-1005 5-string ($1,713 list, $1,200 street)
Made in Korea
Hardshell case $150 list, $100 street
Warranty Lifetime limited

List $1,642
Street $1,150
Pros Excellent construction and playability; solid and versatile tones; flexible pickups
Cons Expensive
Bottom Line A factory-built bass with high-end features.

ESP D-5
I had been playing both basses for nearly two weeks before I learned their prices, so the ESP D-5 gave me sticker shock—in a good way. I just didn’t expect such a good-looking, well-built, active 5-string to sell for under $450. The D-5 looks and plays like it costs more. Like the better-appointed B-1004, the D-5 was designed thoughtfully and constructed with care and competence. It, too, was light and comfortable to play with a smallish, laminated through-body neck. The low B was tight and focused, and all the strings sounded consistent throughout the fingerboard.

So where are the cost savings? For one, the D-5 is made in Indonesia, with ESP’s own pickups and less expensive hardware, and none of the B-1004’s fancy figured woods. The body wings are made of merbau, an attractive and durable tropical hardwood that’s native to Indonesia, but has become endangered as a high-demand material for luxury hardwood floors. I like that the D-5 has an original look that doesn’t cop a tried-and-true design. Its deep-hued natural stain and straightforward profile could easily be dressed up for Sunday morning church worship or rocked out for Saturday-night rock & roll devil worship. In the conductive-paint-slathered control cavity, the neatly bound wires showed the same attention to detail as in the pricier B-1004, but one of the battery-compartment screws had already split the surrounding wood. The D-5’s bridge also has a through-body stringing option for increased string length and tension.

Though the treble knob felt a little like it was grinding against something, the controls worked well. The versatile pickups and electronics delivered everything I expected, from a bridge-pickup fingerstyle burp to a big, two-pickup slap sound. Whatever the setting, the D-5 has a natural upper-mid honk that can’t quite be dialed away. The sound could get tiresome during solo practice, but it seemed to be the ingredient that made the bass cut right through two loud guitars in a rock rehearsal.

What ESP accomplished with the D-5 for the price is a real achievement. I’ve seen many efforts to make a lot of bass for a little dough, and few have worked as well as the D-5. This is an impressive bass.

Specs
Weight 9 lbs, 8 oz
Scale length 34"
Body Merbau
Neck Five-piece mahogany and maple
Fingerboard Rosewood
Nut Black graphite
Neck width at nut 1u"
Neck width at 24th fret 2j"
Pickups ESP
Color Natural stain
Other model D-4 4-string ($569 list $400 street)
Made in Indonesia
Hardshell case $150 list; $100 street
Warranty Lifetime limited

List $619
Street $430
Pros Good construction and playability; great price for a solid active 5-string
Cons Minor construction concerns
Bottom Line A great 5-string at an unbeatable price.