ESP LTD B-50 Review – Dark and Delightful

Body And Neck:
Electronics:
Hardware:
Sound:
Value:

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ESP have a knack for creating a no-nonsense instrument – simple in style, but with solid heavy rock power that impresses, even in their budget LTD line. And this LTD B-50 bass, which sits comfortably in our chart of the best basses under $300, shows off everything that’s great about LTD. Let’s see why it’s so popular.

Body And Neck

As you will see from the pictures, this four-string bass is an all-black affair, using a double-cutaway body shape, which allows unhindered access to the highest frets. The body is made from solid agathis, and features a bolt-on maple neck (securely fastened using six bolts). With a 34” scale length, the neck is very player-friendly, with a thin U shape, a slick rosewood fretboard and a full 24 frets. These are extra-jumbo frets, which makes fretting and string bending a breeze.

The frets are marked with simple small dots, although the 12th fret bears the name of the bass; the calling card of most ESP LTD guitars. The simple, no-frills style of this bass is hard to dislike, and would fit a hardcore metal band as much as it would a funk, jazz or pop punk bassist.

Hardware

While the design is great, it’s nothing we haven’t seen before, and you may wonder what justifies the extra cash over something in the $200 range. But it’s the electronics that boost this bass into a higher category. The B-50 is loaded with two covered passive ESP-designed pickups – a Precision-style split-coil at the neck and a Jazz-style single-coil at the bridge.

Both pickups have their own individual volume control knobs, as well as an active ATB-1 tone boost control (this is battery-powered, with the battery compartment located on the back of the body). The non-electronic components of this bass also stand up quite well, with a LTD DB-4 bridge, a molded nut, and four decent chrome closed-gear tuners on the LTD-branded headstock.

Sound

Like its versatile design, the B-50 is capable of adapting to most styles of music you can throw at it, – punk, jazz, pop, rock or funk, it’s relatively comfortable. This is partly down to the decent pickups and the active EQ control, which allows you to boost bass and treble directly from the instrument – particularly handy for stage performances. There’s plenty of punch on offer from the neck pickup, and whether performing live or recording the sound on offer is smooth and consistent.

Conclusion

At such an affordable price, you are getting a lot of bass with ESP’s LTD B-50. The design is timeless and will appeal to many bassists, whether beginner or experienced. With a good amp it’s very capable of stage performances, and the active EQ is a convenient bonus. While there may be no bells or whistles, the quality of this B-50 speaks volumes, and is another fine example of what LTD can do.

For more info about the ESP LTD B-50, click here.
For more bass guitar under $300 you might like, click here.