ESP B-205

Korean made in 2000. I bought it in 2001. Black 5 string with EMGhz pickups. String though body. 5 knobs, pickup panning, volume, bass, mids, treble. All the other stuff you can read about in the other reviews.

Suits me just fine for the money. If I had the cash I would buy a G&L or an older version Musicman Stingray or a Warwick. I play all kinds of music and this bass is very versatile. I play in a mostly top 40 country band but we do play some funk, some 80's rock like Van Halen, Journey, Ozzy, some Metallica, Godsmack, Lenny Kravitz, Kid Rock, Greenday,you get the idea. I also play with another classic country band and a contemporary Christian Rock group(Jeremy Camp, Mercy Me, Kutless)and some praise and worship in church. I play through a Peavey nitrobass head and 410 TVX cabinet. I occasionally use a digitech dbx compression pedal depends on where I'm at. I also use a senheisser wireless unit. I move a around a lot. I sat in with a lot of different groups and everyone compliments on how much they like my tone. I don't know how much of "my tone" is the amp and how much is the bass. The bass is very versatile. I leave my settings in the neutral position and then set my amp to get the warmest thickest tone as possible. Depending on the tyle of music I'm playing I'll just tweek the tone knobs on the bass instead of going to the amp. I'll leave the pickup panning knob set to a neutral position for most of the country stuff and then roll it back to the bridge pickup a little for more growl. I'll roll it forward to the neck position for more balls especially on the low B string like for Nickelback kind of tone. When using the bridge pickup the volume increases considerably which is kind of annoying. The sound is good but it's not great.

Set up was good when I bought it. the intonation on the low B string sucked. I tweaked it myself which was extremely easy to do. I lowered the action and adjusted the pickup height till i was content with the tone. Now she plays pretty good. The finish is great. It's black though so fingerprints galore. The bridge oxidized a little but it looks cool. Tough bass. Have gigged with it for 4 years now using only a gig bag and dropped it a few times and no problems yet.

As I said before it's a tough bastard. Played in all kinds of conditions. It's held up very well. I live in San Antonio TX and the climate hear is extremely humid. In the winter months we go from 30 degrees to 75 in a day and no problem. strap buttons have held up just fine. Haven't adjusted the truss rod in a while since I set it up the way I like about 2 years ago. Have never used a back-up and don't think I'll need one.

Never needed it.

First of all let me say I'm very critical of musical equipment. I may rag on this bass a little but don't misunderstand I enjoy this bass and do not plan on buying another one unless I have $1500 to blow. I'm very content with it and it has worked for me gigging pretty regularly for 2-3 years now. My musical styles are very versatile and it has served me well. I've been a guitar player for about 17 years and switched to bass 4 years ago. All of my other gear is guitar stuff, American fender telecaster nashville B-bender, Dr Z. Maz 18 Jr 2X12, Fender Special double humbucker telecaster, gobs of effects. If it were stolen I would be pissed and kick their ass if I caught em but I wouldn't buy it again. Well actually If I had a budget of $500 I would buy it again. If I had the money I'd step up to a G&L or a Warwick. I love the feel of the bass. It fits my hands perfectly. (I have small hands) When I bought it I didn't know crap about basses and had a $500 budget. I picked this one mostly because of the feel and it seemed really sturdy and versatile which it is. The tone is good for the money. I would like it to have a little more growl overall. I think it's too clean and smooth. It's perfect for country and jazz. Rock and funk it lacks a little in my opinion but it gets the job done. I would recommend it to anyone on a budget who needs something versatile.

i believe it was a 2002 or 2001 model, i forget...it was made in korea... where so many great things are made. 24 frets, amazing... 5 strings.. also amazing. it has a volume, pick-up pan(not two volumes!),treble, bass, and mid boost/cut... two EMG Hz pick-ups.. very nice everything active the neck is maple/rosewood/maple/rosewood/maple. body is made of basswood and has a gloss black paint job (fingerprint magnet) all hardware is ESP neck is thin for a 5 string and the frets are X-tra Jumbo.34" scale neck... didnt come with anything, im too poor for that.

it sounds amazing... ive been playing bass for four years now and have played everything from bluegrass to speed metal and i can tweak it to sound like anything i want...ive pretty much customized the whole blasted thing, replaced knobs, set the action specific (low on the high strings for fast runs and tapping and high on the low side for superior tone) and ive tweaked the pick-up heighth a tad. ive used it both live and in studio and havent had a backup for the 2-3 years ive owned it... i truly love this machine.

factory set-up was great. the strings were d'addario and has amazing pop to them, the action was alot lower than the fender jazz rip-off i had been playing before so it was a welcome change. the 6-bolt neck was tight and hasnt budged despite a few stanley clarke like bends(if your not familiar with that, hit a harmonic, grab the headstock and bend the bass's neck to make the harmonic go up a step...)bridge was great, i loved the string-thru body option... very nice.the only thing i havent liked is that over time the black chrome oxidizes and it looks ancient... i happen to like that look, but some may not.

ive carried this thing around with me for 3 years now and at least 1 year it didnt have a case... and guess what, no dents or anything... i bang it on something at least every gig... and i have a gig at least once a week... and ive played several outside gigs where condensation was horrible.. but it didnt even throw it out of tune.. i would definitley tour without a backup.. strap lock's were great... i replaced them anyways because i wanted to throw it around my head, and since then ive bought an ancient bass of unknown origin and used the ESP's strap locks to replace that bass's ones and they still work great.

no customer support... never needed it.

ive been playing for four years now, my gear consists of a Peavey 1x15,digi delay,distortion,wah,and a talk box.. all for my bass... if this thing was stolen i would cry for a bit then take a hit out on the person with the mob, and then torture them for a week before "icing" them...thats how much i love this guitar.

Korean esp b205. Bolt on 5 piece neck (6 bolts). bass/mid/treble volume and blend controls, solid swamp ash body. (im only listing the decent features from the factory model)

It sounds like a hippo farting under water on the B string (not a good thing), and no amount of messing about is gonna improve the sound, without a major overhaul. The rest of the strings seem to have a fairly even sound, but it is not the best tone. Not appropriate for metal in my opinion, unless you customise the hell out of it. (ie. GOOD setup job, fret dressing and pickup replacement are a must, even if it came straight out of the shop, and a new bridge and nut are a good step too.) The emg Hz pickups are extremely poor imo. Just banking on thier good name are emg, and the Hz pickups are disappointing. These pickups are the shitest pieces of work i've ever had the misfortune of owning and playing. btw I use my fingers 90% of the time, but even with a pick, this bass sounds flat unless you boost the treble. And then the pickups are noisy, and hiss at even the slightest boost in treble. The mids are rough and sound more even basically scooped out. If you play slap, this bass is the most anal, un-funky sounding fucker i ever heard. It even sounded shite through an Ampeg svt3 pro. And NOTHING sounds shitty through that amp. D/I through a desk and you'll hear all the crappy noises that the pickups make. and dont expect much in the way of tone.

the setup from factory is not what i expected from esp. the frets need dressing from brand new, the action is sloppy and high, and the B string is basically a grumbly noise with no clarity due to the stupid choice of emg Hz pickups. The body is nice, as is the neck, and this is imo the only saving grace that the b-205 has. A good bass to customise, and a comfortable neck. The bridge seems to do the job. Overall, i found this bass lacked character, sustain, tone and response. Looks nice, but thats not what its for. For shame esp. SET YOUR SHIT UP PROPERLY DAMMIT!!! Great wood, althought the stain is a tiny bit cheap looking. Crappy, string-breakingly rough saddles, noisy as hell electronics, and when i got the cash, im gonna get the ltd and esp markings removed and the whole bass refinished. Its a musical instrument, not a noisy ad for esp.

seems tough. the hardware has kept up with my abuse and it gigs well. I've owned it for about a year and a half and it hasnt broken on me yet. But I nearly threw it out my bedroom window before customising the hell out of it.

none that i know of. It was hard enough to find specs on the net, let alone get a hold of customer support so i can blast them about the shoddy workmanship.

I have been playing fo twelve years. I run an SWR workingmans 4004 with a 15" sub and a 2x10" (soon to be replaced by a 4x10"). A sansamp, and a crybaby wah.
I love the body and the neck, I hate the steep price and the abuse of a good name. I also hate the emg Hz pickups, the crappy nut, and the lack of workmanship in the setup. But buy it if you want a quality body and neck to add good quality components to. Overall, a good bass to make your own, but a pile of crap off the shelf.

2001 model, made in Korea. The features can be read in earlier reviews, so I'll skip it. Love the active pickups.
The finish is what gives it a 10. It has an evil-looking, crimson red finish that is awesome to behold. It is, by far, the most beautiful bass i've ever seen.

I play mostly rock with this bass, but i want to begin playing funk.
I think I'll have to get a single coil bass for a brighter, more funky sound, because this one is very deep and growling - but lacks character. On the other hand, this is probably because I haven't changed strings in about a year (I love the sound of real greasy strings!!). The pickups are thunder and lightning, but as mentioned, it lacks a bit character, even with fresh strings.

The bass was set up perhaps a bit low, but i've gotten used to it. =)
I haven't noticed any flaws in it yet. (Had the bass for a year)

Yes, yes, yes!!! This baby is ROCK solid! I have had no need to adjust or tighten the hardware yet, and the strap locks have not failed me. The finish has already withstood alot of knocking around without any wear other than the usual "two-weeks after"-kind of scratches. I'm completely confident this bass will withstand most of the damage i can dish out at it, and because i can't afford a backup, it'll just have to do.

Not dealt with 'em

I've been playing bass for about a year and a half, but guitar for four. Most of the gear i own are guitar-stuff (an ibanez, ovation acoustic, little sucky peavey amp etc.).
I absolutely love this bass. For the style of playing i use it for, it's nearly perfect. The low end is amazing, and the pickups sound grrreat. As mentioned above, it may sound a bit dull for bass solos and funk pieces, but you can't win em all. I'm thinking about getting another bass for that. My favorite feature has got to be the finish, superficially enough. ;) I compared this to a few Cort curbow basses, a Yamaha, a lot of Fenders and a Warwick. Personally, I think only the Warwick could compete, but after all it costs at least four times as much (I bought this one used). The ESP B-205 is amazing value.

The features on my bass goes as follows: 24 frets, 5 strings, 2 emg hz pickups. The neck is connected by 6 bolts. I think the tuners are ESP since they say ESP on them. String-thru body(which I love). 5 knobs volume, tone, treble, mid, bass. Lot more features than my old pathetic excuse of a bass Fender Squier P-Bass Affinity Series. (Friends Don't Let Friends Play Fender)

This bass has a great high end to it and the bottom end is pretty clear too. My friend wanted to but some thicker strings on it to test it out but I don't play metal 24/7 like he does. I use it in my Fender Frontman 15B and a Fender Bassman 65 and some huge amp at my school I don't even know the brand but it's a 115. I get some feedback some of the time but it doesn't happen too often. Doesn't happen when I'm playing though. Just like waiting around plugged in and I get a huge ehhhhhh sound so I just turn off the amp or off the volume and problem solved.

When I go really fast up and down the neck I feel some sharp edges on the neck but what are you gonna do. One thing that kinda sucked was that a knob just fell off one day. Easily fixed with an Allen Wrench (which wasn't included).

I have only had the bass for 2 months or so but no real problems with it besides the one knob falling off. I feel very comfortable playing it w/o a backup. But always have one in case you need to smash something. Always throw the ghetto one. THe starp buttons are really nice but I need to get some strap locks because my strap really sucks when it comes to the staying on anything department. But I don't really seem to have as much problems with it on this bass I think the tops of the strap buttons are wider. The only problem with the finish is that fingerprints show up really easily so it would help to have a polishing kit. I am really confident that I will have many years with this bass.

Haven't had to worry about customer supprt. ESP is known for their lifetime warrantees but the company I bought mine from didn't give me one but it was a lot cheaper than one's a saw that said they included them so I think that may have been the reason t was cheaper.

I have been playing for about 3 years now. I mentioned pretty much all my gear. If I lost this sucker I would probably buy it again unless I fell into a load of cash in which case I would buy a Ernie Ball 4string and probably a Lakland 5. But for the money this is an awesome bass. I got a hardcore Ibanez player (I won't play anything non-Ibanez) to give it props. He battered me down for getting it told me if I even went with ESP to get the C-305 but he even loves it. I compared it to pretty much every 5-string out there in my price range. $300-$500. (I didn't play them all but I looked at all there qualities. It came down to this and an Ibanez but everybody is jumping on the I play an Ibanez train so I went with a brand noone in this town as and am very comfortable with my desicion.Something I don't like about it is that the strings are closer then on other basses I've played so I can't get as much stage presence as I could. I would've asked them about the warantee if I would have remebered.

A decent 5-string bass.. one volume per pickup, three-band active EQ, 24 frets, pickups are EMGs (two humbucking). Nice body, decent black finish - not sure of the wood. Decent and stable tuners. Black finish on hardware. No case or gig bag, this was bought for home studio use.

My, but this is a thunder lizard! I'm not the world's most capable bass player but even I can slap and pop on this puppy, and when I hit the low B string the whole apartment shakes. I can't wait to get evicted! :p

It can do anything, the EMGs are VERY sensitive and the active electronics quite effective (with the two volume controls) at going from a deep, almost synthesized bass to a bright, poppy sound. I'm actually suprised at the range I can get, the EQ is very effective.

It came set up slightly low, so there was a little buzz but nothing a little adjustment didn't fix. Again, the only complaint I have is with a small knot in the neck wood, but there's nothing else and it doesn't affect playability.

I can't say anything here yet as I've only had it a short while, and it's for home studio use. I'd guess from the feel of it you could beat a drummer to death with it and still finish your gig.

No experience here.

I've been playing guitar for well over 20 years and bass (off and on) for about three. I had stopped playing guitar to try keyboards but.. well.. keyboards suck! Try choking the strings, multiple bends, pick slides on a synth. Ugh.

Anyway, if it were stolen I'd kill the thief and sell his organs on the black market to buy another one of these. It'll be ages (if ever) before I outgrow what this will do. And the price is amazing! Even made in Korea, it's a hell of a lot of bass for the money. I have no regrets at all.

Korea where else. I can see why Metallica and Def Tones use the Esp brand. They are hard to break and take a beating. Nice black finish...

Sounds awesome, after playing a slammer hammer for a while, this thing is a Caddy... Stage, Studio, anywhere this instruent is awesome.

Action, it was good low action for small fingers and quick music.. The bass line to When I come Around is really awesome... You get that good pop on the g-5h4... Finish is rather plain, but im looking forward to getting some artwork done on it...

Its a light armored tank. Heavy duty yet it wont cut your shoulder off...

Lifetime warranty, nough said.

I dont think I could have bought a better instrument for the money... Nothing I hate about it, except i havent mastered it yet, haha. Since being a drummer I moved to bass, I prefer it actually now...

1999 I believe. Black Cherry see-through finish - wish it was a bit lighter in tint (see-through flame, etc.). Active electronics with three tone controls, two volume, probably passive EMG HZs. Body style standard - probably the most comfortable. Non-brand enclosed tuners - see below. All black hardware. The case was included - what a concept! Any bass above budget should include the damn case!!! 24 frets, all usable for my hard/punk/funk style.

Great sound!!! For the money, I don't think you get a better bass or guitar. The active preamp is quiet and versatile, and the two EMGs get some. Great for our style.

Action was a bit low for my taste but a local medium setup solved that.

I've used it live several times, no problem except the plastic-cased output jack just quit a onth ago while recording - annoying! I replaced it without a problem. I always change to Schaller strap locks but have learned the hardway to be careful with the finish - the Schaller screws are too small for ESP (and probably other) products and so must be glued in.

Here's where ESP rocks! I broke a tuner 3 days before a show and ESP fedexed 3 tuners at no charge to me in time for the show. I can't believe they suport a Korean-made product so well. For this reason alone, I recommend ESP to bassists and guitarists.

Great, decently-priced bass. Sound kills Ibanez (who buys that stuff?) and the support is the best - go try and buy now!

This is a 2000 Korean made LTD 5 string bass. It has a rosewood fingerboard with 24 extra jumbo frets (2 Octave), 34" scale, maple neck with tilt back head stock, Mahogany body and a transparent black finish. It has two active EMG HZ Humbucking pickups and an active 3 band EQ. Controls are: volume/volume/bass/mid/treble. All hardware is black. Neck is bolted on using six bolts! I would have given this bass a 9 in this catagory if it had a volume/blend layout instead of volume/volume.

The sound of this bass is simply POWERFUL! Everytime I play it out, it turns heads! I've been playing in a church praise band for several years now and have played about every style you can imagine. I also play in a Christian rock band that plays alot of alternative mixed with a little contemporary and ska. This bass fits in with both gigs. This bass seems to cover the frequency spectrum from lows to highs and it sound great no matter where you set the onboard EQ. The low B feels and sounds as tight and punchy as the rest of the strings. Turn up the bass control and you get more bass, not mud! There is no hiss or noise when turning up the mid and treble. The sound is absolutely crystal clear. I can get a wide range of tones by blending/soloing the pickups and setting the EQ. It also has an incredible slap tone! About the only place I'm not shure this bass would fit in is playing classic rock or somewhere a more vintage or Fender like tone would be desired. The biggest problem I have with this bass is I cannot play this bass through my Peavy Microbass practice amp. Even with no equalization and very low volume, the 8" speaker can't handle it. I also use a 100 watt SWR Workingmans 12 and a 50 watt Peavy Basics 112 and believe it or not, the peavy sounds better and I can play through it at higher volume levels than the SWR. The SWR will start to distort at a much lower volume. Before you jump to conclusions and think this guys just a stupid rocker, I'd just like to let you know that I know how to set gain levels and I am not overdriving any of these amps.

I bought this bass from a local music store and it was set up perfectly. The action was exactly where it should be, 3/32 at the 12th fret with no buzz. I have been playing this bass heavily for about two months now and have not needed to adjust anything. I went over this bass with a fine tooth comb both in the store and at home, I also had two friends of mine who build there own acoustic and electrics instruments look at it and they could not find a flaw with it. They were very impressed with the construction, especially the six bolt neck joint and the finish. Transparent black doesn't sound very attractive, but the mahogany grain does show through very well and the combination of the wood tone and finish gives the bass a deep purple appearance in most light. The frets are all even and well set. The hardware all seems sturdy and built to last. Everytime I pick it up I have to look at the back of the headstock to verify that it was actually built in Korea! This is simply the finest Korean built instrument I have ever picked up (and I've picked up and played quite a number of them).

I am a poor man financially, I don't have a choice but to gig without a backup. I don't believe I have anything to worry about, this bass seems very solid and built to last. The strap buttons are very wide (wider IS better) and I trust that my strap will not slip off. Although, I still plan to replace them with strap locks in the very near future.

I have never needed to deal with them. The bass comes with a lifetime warranty! That was a question I forgot to ask at the store but made for a nice surprise after reading the tags and registration card at home.

I've been playing bass for about 7 years now, I played keyboard for many more years before that. In addition to the ESP I have a Yamaha bass that I had defretted and modified and a modified 1971 Gibson EB-0. I have three peavy combos (I'm not a big Peavy fan, it just kinda worked out this way. The one I bought dirt cheap, one was given to me and the third is just a little practice amp I bought to carry around without breaking my back.) If this bass were lost or stolen I would definately replace it with the same! (Unless I won the lottery or something and could afford a High end bass.) I love the powerfull crystal clear sound and aggresive growl of this bass. About the only thing I really wish is that it had a blend control instead of two volumes. I did compare this bass with others in its price range (Ibanez, Yamaha, Schecter, Alvarez, etc.) and none of them had the combination of feel, sound, construction and looks that this bass has. They all (IMHO) compromised it at least one of those catagories. Bottom line: if your poor like me but want a great sounding well constructed bass, the ESP LTD B-205 is definately the ticket!