Since I do not play bass as my primary instrument, (but I still require one around the studio for a few odd jobs), I grabbed a brand new student model bass from ESP’s affordable LTD range thinking… “Okay, seems good enough – this should work.”
That said… I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that this LTD bass was performing well beyond its very reasonable price-tag!
The B-50, may be a “starter model” bass (which was why I initially thought ‘basic’), but surprise – surprise, it turned out to be anything but basic!
The B50’s basswood body is quite comfortable. It has a nice rounded body with well appointed rib-cut section and a mild contour to the front and back.
Access to the upper frets of the 24-fret rosewood fingerboard is fantastic, and the cutaway offers more than enough room for high-fret play-ability.
SOUND:
The B-50 is responsive with clearly defined tone. Even though the stock pick-ups are not much to write home about, the sustain is decent. It comes as no surprise that it sounds pretty good from the moment that it is plugged in.
The B-50 offers a solid, crisp tone with a number of pickup options, making this a fairly versatile bass for nearly all music styles.
Although it has been designed and manufactured to cater to a specific price point, (beginners), there hasn’t been any obvious corner-cutting.
CONCLUSION:
For any bass work I do, (and that does not amount to much), this B-50 ESP-LTD model 4-string is great. I’ve made no modifications to it, so it is all original – straight from the factory, and I have zero complaints.
In fact, this bass impressed me so much that it now has had me start considering an ESP guitar purchase due to it’s amazing construction and killer tone.