ESP LTD B-205SM Review

This might be the most underrated bass around!

This bass is not perfect and it doesn't have tons of bells and whistles that more expensive basses have, however, this bass feels and plays like my basses that cost twice as much. The quality of instrument you get for this price point is crazy! ESP knocked it out of the park with the B205!

---

Cancel Comment

Amazing Bass

I got this Bass for my wife who normally plays a 4 string but had trouble finding a 5 string that was comfortable for her. This bass filled that role and sounds outstanding. It cuts very well in the mix but still brings the thunder to pair with my overly tuned down guitars in metal and still sound smooth for church on Sunday.

---

Cancel Comment

8-Year Review

I bought one of these in 2012. I've played many paid gigs with it for much of that time, and it is has proven to be a solid instrument. Intonation is easy to adjust, the neck is very stable, and it mostly stays out of my way. Any player can easily set this instrument up the way they wish with minimal effort. I've never liked active basses, but I get plenty of mileage out of one… read more 9v battery with this thing. Running the neck pickup only produces a very P-bass-sequel sound, the bridge pickup has plenty of upper-midrange bite, like a J-bass bridge pickup. And the continuous blend between is just a dream. I wish more basses, and especially guitars, had this capability. So many tonal options from just that one control. The EQ has a very broad range and is not subtle on the extreme ends of their range. Not hard to dial at all though. I just set my amp tone controls in the middle and shape my tone on the instrument. The center detents on each control (besides volume) make getting my tonal bearings easy without having to play anything - great for last minute setups with no sound checks. If you take the time to get it dialed in to your liking, this can be your money bass for years. No need to spend the big bucks for a job. I highly recommend it to any serious player.

---

Cancel Comment

After an exhaustive search, I believe this is the best 5-string money can buy.

I never cared much for the image of ESP guitars. I thought of them as cheap knock offs of Jackson. I was rather sadly mistaken about this for many years. I now own a H-207 7-string, a B-204SM Fretless and a B-205 Satin Black 5-string and these ESPs are now my go to instruments all day long. It is like collecting baseball cards....SOMEBODY STOP ME!

---

Cancel Comment

ESP LTD B-205SM

I haven't bought a new bass guitar in over 20 years. I was knew I wanted to go 5 string but the options on the look I wanted, the quality and the sound just seemed too deep for my pocket. I kept looking at this particular model several times and decided to pull the trigger. After playing it for a couple days I noticed the string height was too low with a lot of fret buzz so I fixed… read more that. I don't know what brand of strings they used but I don't like them. So soon I'll be changing them. Changed the battery, that wasn't any good either. Overall it seems to be playing better. The sound is ok, the quality is good. Overall its an ok 5 string that I never thought I would own.

---

Cancel Comment