ESP LTD B-204SM Fretless - Natural Satin Review

Very nice

Been looking at this unit for quite awhile. Finally made the jump. Should have done it sooner but better late than never. Mr. Williams was very knowledgeable and helpful. Thank you

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Punches above its weight class

I've only had my ESP fretless bass for two days at this point, but have barely been able to put it down. This is my first fretless after playing bass off and on for 20+ years, and it does not disappoint! If you like the way Ibanez and sleeker Fender necks play, you'll love the feel of this one. It looks, sounds, and PLAYS like a much more expensive bass. It came with standard round-wound… read more strings, instead of flat-wound like many fretless basses. They keep the tone bright, but I may have to experiment with flat-wounds next. PROS: - sleek and flawless fingerboard/neck - thinnest, fastest neck I've ever played on a bass - the spalted maple top looks great in person - craftsmanship - nice, "woody" tone from the neck pickup for thicker sounds a la Roger Waters (Pink Floyd) or Jeff Ament (Pearl Jam) - punchy "lead" tone from the bridge pickup; with the right preamp/amp, you can get a great Les Claypool sound, or something suited for a jazzy bass solo CONS: - The pickups sound great individually, but they don't blend well together; summing/blending the two leaves the tone feeling lacking and less full. I just fully use one or the other and then adjust EQ to get the sound I'm looking for. - a little heavier than I'd like Bottom line: I am very happy with my purchase. It provides tremendous value for the money, and if it was stolen tomorrow, I'd replace it with the same thing immediately.

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Awesome bass, awesome value

Sweetwater delivered as promised. The bass arrived in perfect playing condition and I haven't needed to make any adjustments 4 weeks in. The tone cuts through and the preamp can dial in "your" sound. If your interested in this bass buy it. You won't be disappointed.

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A WELL MADE BASS THAT DOESN'T BREAK THE BANK

If you're looking for a non-Squier or non-Epiphone option for a well made great sounding bass in that price range then this is it. Out of the box neck relief was spot on. String action was spot on. Intonation was spot on. The nut was set in perfectly. No sharp frets. No high frets. I cannot remember the last time I recieved a Fender American that way. The neck is slim and fast as… read more is the fretboard which is like glass on mine. The pickups are nice and strong with controls that make sense and are fairly intuative. I was able to dial in the sound I needed quickly and reliabley. The bridge is nice, solid and high mass. String through is a nice option. The six bolt neck isn't going anywhere. The spalted top is flawless and though it may be a bit heavier than other basses I liked that. This bass doesn't feel like a toy in any way. You've decided to play bass. Don't whine about the weight. This bass is well balanced and a pleasure to play. The only thing that I will personaly have to get used to is the flatness of the fretboard. I am used to a little radius but I feel that will work itself out quickly. I could not see anyone buying this bass and not be completely happy about the purchase.

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A great choice for your first fretless bass guitar under 500$.

Beautiful guitar with high-quality parts.Convenient "24 frets"(signs)neck.The main disadvantage for me is its high weight (about 5Kg). Try to choose your specific guitar, since the natural wood grain looks different on each guitar. I took the risk and order blindly and I was lucky and I love my guitar.Please note that recent models are with Jatoba Fingerboard (and not rosewood)… read more and without the ESP model inlay on the neck.It has an active preamp/tone (bass/mid/treble) circuit with passive pickups.List of modifications I did to match my needs:Strings - I changed to Ernie Ball Slinky Flatwound Bass Strings 45-100.Electronics - I changed both PU's to two SD (NYC model) and push/pull active/passive switch on the volume pot, as well as 3 position switch (instead of the treble knob location) to choose between single/parallel/serial for the two SD PU. I kept the treble knob in its center position in the electronic compartment (it is large enough).I am very happy with this setup.

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