Kitted out with a fully contoured ash body with an effortlessly stylish bocote top, loaded with a two-pack of Nordstrand pickups and dipped in a Natural Satin to retain the visibility of the complex wood grain, the ESP LTD B-1005 five-string bass is a whole new world of sound and playability. The build lays down a clearly defined sonic foundation as well as irresistible aesthetics and combines with a super-stable, five-piece wenge and purpleheart neck and Gotoh hardware to fully polish off a dream of an instrument. The ESP LTD B-1005 Natural Satin: Adaptable Sound A Nordstrand Big Splits pickup sits at both the neck and bridge and feature staggered magnet poles so that they're precisely placed either side of each string to ensure maximum vibrational capture. The result is sort of steroid-injected J-bass-style sound but then more refined for the tastes of the tonal purist. In terms of controls, you're set up with an active ABQ-3MS three-band EQ as well as volume and balance pots for scrolling through a wealth of adaptable voicings that can be fine-tuned to match any style. ESP In 1975, Hisatake Shibuya opened his Electric Sound Products shop in Japan, where his reputation for churning out supreme-quality replacement parts grew so rapidly, that it wasn't long before he started hand-building his own guitars under the name ESP. In the 1980s, the brand shot to fame when ESP models made their way into the hands of massive metal bands, including Metallica. These days, ESP serves up a wide range of incredibly versatile instruments, from high-grade Custom Shop models to the affordable LTD series.