ESP LTD Surveyor '87 Bass Guitar - Pearl White Reviews
Making its introduction in the 1987 ESP catalog, the Surveyor bass emerged as one of ESP’s most popular instruments, and vintage models have become highly coveted in collector circles. Featuring a classically shaped alder body and a 34-inch maple bolt-on neck, the Surveyor had a familiar feel with a contemporary edge. The ESP LTD Surveyor ’87 is a faithful re-creation of the original Surveyor, featuring the same P/J pickup combination, 21 extra-jumbo, nickel silver alloy frets, distinctive headstock, and striking black hardware. Premium appointments include a Gotoh 201-B4 bridge and LTD vintage tuners, for spectacular tuning stability, and a gorgeous Macassar ebony fingerboard that has caught the eye of bassists at Sweetwater. The Surveyor ’87 is a throwback instrument with an undeniable, timeless appeal.
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Highest Rated Reviews
Player friendly and gorgeous!
I will be making a review video of this bass and will add a link as soon as it's finished if possible for those who want to see it up close.
For background, I have not owned a bass in several years and the majority of my playing experience on bass has been on an early 2000's Fender made-in-Mexico jazz bass. I can tell you definitively that this bass has more player-friendly features than my beloved J-bass
The #1 thing I love about this instrument is the neck. It's a little wider on the fretboard than a jazz neck, but it's a slim profile that is extremely comfortable! The finish on the back of the neck is so smooth - if you're into playing fast, you will appreciate how this feels from the second you pick it up. The ebony fretboard looks great and to me feels a little bit harder/cleaner than a rosewood fretboard to play on.
The pickups sound clear and I couldn't notice any hum or static at all. The P/J setup gives you plenty of room to find your ideal tone. I think I'd prefer that the knobs were set to P-volume, J-volume, and Master Tone but the Master Volume/Master Tone/Blend setup does give plenty of range and versatility and I think I'll get used to it over time. This is more of a preference thing than a performance thing - the actual quality of the pots and electronics feel top notch. Everything is smooth to the touch and free of crackling.
I did a bone nut upgrade so can't comment on the stock nut other than to say that this is a commonly mentioned item in several other reviews on other sites. The GOTOH bridge is very solid and easy to adjust. Shout out to the Sweetwater staff who set up my particular instrument because it came out of the case sounding flawless and exactly to my preferences.
I thought about dropping a half star from the rating because the tuning keys feel like they're a little lower quality than the rest of the bass. They're a little bit sticky to me but haven't had any issues with the instrument going out of tune so far even with new strings installed so I don't think the functionality of the instrument is compromised by this. It's just a thing I noticed that I'm sure I can live with.
Aesthetically... man, this is a wonderful instrument. It doesn't show quite as well in photos but the finish has a great lightly pearlescent accent and the black hardware all looks great along with it. The ebony fretboard complements it well. My bass weighs in at 9lb 10oz so some might find that a little heavy but I don't mind that. There were no visible issues with the finish or construction - it's extremely well built apart from my minor gripe with the tuning keys.
In this price tier, it's competing against the Player/Player Plus series from Fender. I decided to give ESP a shot because I own an old electric guitar made by them that I bought used that I absolutely love the quality of, and I really feel like I made the right decision here because it sounds great and the neck is extremely comfortable. It's just wonderful to play and a really great value for the price point by my estimation.
Bass Explosion
First I really think the bone nut upgrade was a great move ...it gave me a chance to have a bass set up to awesome specs..just the way I need the bass to play sight un seen ...just an big thanks to the techs @ Sweetwater for doing a bang up set up Alder body has the correct resonance Ghoto bridge and ESP open gear tuners keep ya locked in tight in addition the Seymore Duncan vintage pickups really do this bass justice..also the frets are nickel alloy hate to have to do a GP but there real hard and the Madagascar Ebony fret board speaks in a very clear crisp way again the nut is one if not the most important parts on the bass as it will speak real clear with a bone nut ..the bass is not a knock off yes over seas built however the techs at Sweetwater again and of course my trusty sales rep Evan M...hooked me up with the demo in black super bad look and feel in not so short a review Go For the ESP re issue LTD Surveyor 87 re issue bass ya won't be short changed on this bass.
