Clip 1 - Pickups blended, then neck pickup soloed, then bridge pickup soloed. EQ flat.
Clip 2 - Pickups blended. Slight bass and mid boost.
Multi-scale guitars (or, in this case, basses) have historically garnered polarizing opinions. On one side, you have players who believe a fanned-fret configuration optimizes the tonal response of each string and makes for improved string-to-string tension. Opponents feel that the sweeping fret layout is nothing more than a gimmick, arguing that a well-constructed instrument with a conventional fretboard design provides the same structural and sonic benefits, without hindering traditional playing technique.
Despite these differing views, there are an increasing number of bass builders developing multi-scale instruments. ESP is one, and they recently entered the ring with the introduction of the B-1005SE Multi-Scale. Part of their more affordable LTD series, it’s a stylish multi-scale instrument that boasts active electronics and solid components.
Multi-Scale Factors
ESP’s fan-fretted bass hints at their signature looks, but adds a measure of boutique sophistication. While the sharp angles of the headstock might at first glance imply the B-1005SE is a bass for more aggressive music, the shapely instrument is aesthetically suitable for a variety of stages.
For those new to the world of multi-scale instruments, observe the angle of the nut and then check out the angle of the bridge. This positioning allows the bass to achieve different string scales ranging from 37" on the 5th string down to 34" on the 1st. Fret positioning must compensate for the varying lengths, which results in a fanned fretboard. As mentioned, this design maximizes string tension, and when done correctly, delivers consistency in feel and tone.
Supporting the sweeping frets is a 5-piece wenge and bubinga neck capped with a rosewood fretboard. These mid-friendly woods are bolted deeply into the curvaceous swamp-ash body that is topped with solid rosewood, which helps give the B-1005SE its rich, warm look.
Electrifying the string vibrations are Nordstrand Big Split pickups and ESP’s ABQ-3MS 3-band EQ. Two switches accompany the preamp. One is for selecting active/passive operation and the other is a mid-frequency selector to center the mid control at either 400 Hz or 800 Hz. Other features include a Hipshot Solo bridge system, abalone dot inlays, and Gotoh tuners crowning the headstock.
Horizontal Playing Field
As a player who appreciates the benefits of multi-scale basses, I was excited to explore ESP’s vision and the smooth, satin-finished neck and body of the B-1005SE. All the components felt solid, the electronics were shielded well, and the frets clean.
Strapped on, our test bass balanced at a near-horizontal angle. I personally prefer a more pronounced incline with multi-scale basses because it caters to the natural position of my fretting hand as it traverses the fretboard. However, this flatter orientation may appeal to bassists who strap their instrument up a bit higher or play with a pick.
String-to-string tension was pleasing, and if you like a tighter feel, you’ll appreciate the rigidity of ESP’s design. The 5th string had good definition across the first five frets, though it lacked just a little bit of resonance when playing longer note values.
Ratings
Pros:
Great modern tones. Smooth, contemporary looks.
Cons:
The bass’ playing angle might not cater to all players.
Tones:
Playability:
Build/Design:
Value:
ESP LTD B-1005SE Multi-Scale
espguitars.com
Multi-Pleasing Tones
The B-1005SE shined in the tone department and I was quite happy with the palette of sounds I could call on. I experimented with what the bass had to offer at a blues jam by plugging into a Bergantino B|Amp and a pair of Bergantino HD112 cabinets. In its flat setting, the B-1005SE established a firm foundation amongst two guitarists, a keyboardist, and a loud drummer. The Nordstrands were snappy and transparent in passive mode and revealed the warm and punchy characteristics of the chosen woods, but I preferred pairing the pickups to the 3-band EQ for increased tonal output and on-the-fly tone shaping.
With both pickups balanced, bass notes had a tight, low-mid punch with enough top end to cut through the ensemble. These characteristics enhanced articulations and dynamics—providing my fingers the ability to accent eighth-note shuffles and walking bass lines for stylistic authenticity. While the tone didn’t necessarily give off a vintage vibe, the clean sounds from the B-1005SE proved the bass could traverse classic and contemporary music styles with ease.
When B.B. King’s classic “The Thrill Is Gone” was called, I soloed the neck pickup and boosted the mids at 400 Hz. At first, the deep tones were a touch shy in the low end, but a bump in the bass control solved that by fattening the sound and adding some extra punch to the 5th string. The B-1005SE’s bridge pickup barked well when it was soloed—especially with the bass and mids boosted—and the aggressive tone punched mightily during a jam on the Meters tune, “Cissy Strut.”
The Verdict
With its appealing looks and solid construction, ESP’s B-1005SE is a nice addition to the LTD family. The woods and components are top-notch, and the B-1005SE’s electronics produce clean and commanding tones that make the bass ideal for contemporary styles of music or studio work. With that said, it’s well suited for the stages of more aggressive musical styles and a variety of other genres as well. Bassists seeking a workhorse instrument that provides the benefits of fanned frets should certainly give the B-1005SE a test drive. Even if you currently stand on the other side of the multi-scale debate, ESP’s approach to fanned-fret design is worth checking out.
Watch the Review Demo:
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NYC DSP Pico Series
The Electro-Harmonix Pico pedal series offers a range of compact, powerful effects suitable for various musical styles. The Pico Pitch Fork provides pitch shifting, while the Pico Oceans 3-Verb delivers three versatile reverb modes. The Pico Canyon Echo offers lush delay effects, and the Pico Deep Freeze gives dynamic freeze and shimmer sounds. The Pico Attack Decay allows for vintage envelope control, and the Pico Triboro Bridge produces rich, harmonic tremolo. The Pico Rerun emulates the warm, nostalgic sound of lo-fi tape echo, while the Pico Platform is a compressor/limiter with precise control. Lastly, the Pico POG offers polyphonic octave generation, all in small, pedalboard-friendly sizes.
"This bass is a reflection of everything I love about playing," said Blu DeTiger. "I wanted an instrument that could handle the diversity of sounds I create, from deep, funky grooves to melodic lines that cut through the mix. Fender and I worked closely together to make sure this bass not only looks amazing but sounds incredible in any setting."
Featured as the cover of the Forbes 30 Under 30 music list, Blu, who defines her musical style in the "groovy Indie” genre blending elements of Pop, Rock, and Funk, represents the next generation of pop music, earning accolades and a dedicated global fanbase with her work alongside top artists and successful solo releases. Bringing her signature sound and style, Blu marks a new milestone in her storied partnership with Fender and solidifying her influence on the future of music in creating the Limited Edition Blu DeTiger x Player Plus Jazz Bass.
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Her successful releases including "Figure It Out,” "Vintage," and recent album “All I Ever Want is Everything” have earned her accolades and sent her on the road to tour across the world to perform for her dedicated fanbase. Her distinct style of playing has also seen her play live with top tier artists such as Olivia Rodrigo, Bleachers, Dominic Fike, Caroline Polachek, Chromeo, and more.
Exploring the Limited Player Plus x Blu DeTiger Jazz Bass® | Fender Artist Signature | Fender - YouTube
Duane Denison of the Jesus Lizard, EGC Chessie in hands, coaxing some nasty tones from his Hiwatt.
The Jesus Lizard’s sixth album, Blue, served as the band’s final statement from the frontlines of noisy rock for the next 26 years. By the time of their dissolution in 1999, they’d earned a reputation for extreme performances chock full of hard-hitting, machine-like grooves delivered by bassist David Wm. Sims and, at their conclusion, drummer Mac McNeilly, at times aided and at other times punctured by the frontline of guitarist Duane Denison’s incisive, dissonant riffing, and presided over by the cantankerous howl of vocalist David Yow. In the years since, performative, thrilling bands such as Pissed Jeans, METZ, and Idles have built upon the Lizard’s musical foundation.
Denison has kept himself plenty busy over the last couple decades, forming the avant-rock supergroup Tomahawk—with vocalist Mike Patton, bassist Trevor Dunn (both from Mr. Bungle), and drummer John Stanier of Helmet—and alongside various other projects including Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers and Hank Williams III. The Jesus Lizard eventually reunited, but until now have only celebrated their catalog, never releasing new jams.
The Jesus Lizard, from left: bassist David Wm. Sims, singer David Yow, drummer Mac McNeilly, and guitarist Duane Denison.
Photo by Joshua Black Wilkins
Back in 2018, Denison, hanging in a hotel room with Yow, played a riff on his unplugged electric guitar that caught the singer’s ear. That song, called “West Side,” will remain unreleased for now, but Denison explains: “He said, ‘Wow, that’s really good. What is that?’ And I said, ‘It’s just some new thing. Why don’t we do an album?’” From those unassuming beginnings, the Jesus Lizard’s creative juices started flowing.
So, how does a band—especially one who so indelibly captured the ineffable energy of live rock performance—prepare to get a new record together 26 years after their last? Back in their earlier days, the members all lived together in a band house, collectively tending to the creative fire when inspiration struck. All these years later, they reside in different cities, so their process requires sending files back and forth and only meeting up for occasional demo sessions over the course of “three or four years.”
“When the time comes to get more in performance mode, I have a practice space. I go there by myself and crank it up. I turn that amp up and turn the metronome up and play loud.” —Duane Denison
the Jesus Lizard "Alexis Feels Sick"
Distance creates an obstacle to striking while the proverbial iron is hot, but Denison has a method to keep things energized: “Practice loud.” The guitarist professes the importance of practice, in general, and especially with a metronome. “We keep very detailed records of what the beats per minute of these songs are,” he explains. “To me, the way to do it is to run it to a Bluetooth speaker and crank it, and then crank your amp. I play a little at home, but when the time comes to get more in performance mode, I have a practice space. I go there by myself and crank it up. I turn that amp up and turn the metronome up and play loud.”
It’s a proven solution. On Rack—recorded at Patrick Carney’s Audio Eagle studio with producer Paul Allen—the band sound as vigorous as ever, proving they’ve not only remained in step with their younger selves, but they may have surpassed it with faders cranked. “Duane’s approach, both as a guitarist and writer, has an angular and menacing fingerprint that is his own unique style,” explains Allen. “The conviction in his playing that he is known for from his recordings in the ’80s and ’90s is still 100-percent intact and still driving full throttle today.”
“I try to be really, really precise,” he says. “I think we all do when it comes to the basic tracks, especially the rhythm parts. The band has always been this machine-like thing.” Together, they build a tension with Yow’s careening voice. “The vocals tend to be all over the place—in and out of tune, in and out of time,” he points out. “You’ve got this very free thing moving around in the foreground, and then you’ve got this very precise, detailed band playing behind it. That’s why it works.”
Before Rack, the Jesus Lizard hadn’t released a new record since 1998’s Blue.
Denison’s guitar also serves as the foreground foil to Yow’s unhinged raving, as on “Alexis Feels Sick,” where they form a demented harmony, or on the midnight creep of “What If,” where his vibrato-laden melodies bolster the singer’s unsettled, maniacal display. As precise as his riffs might be, his playing doesn’t stay strictly on the grid. On the slow, skulking “Armistice Day,” his percussive chording goes off the rails, giving way to a solo that slices that groove like a chef’s knife through warm butter as he reorganizes rock ’n’ roll histrionics into his own cut-up vocabulary.
“During recording sessions, his first solo takes are usually what we decide to keep,” explains Allen. “Listen to Duane’s guitar solos on Jack White’s ‘Morning, Noon, and Night,’ Tomahawk’s ‘Fatback,’ and ‘Grind’ off Rack. There’s a common ‘contained chaos’ thread among them that sounds like a harmonic Rubik’s cube that could only be solved by Duane.”
“Duane’s approach, both as a guitarist and writer, has an angular and menacing fingerprint that is his own unique style.” —Rack producer Paul Allen
To encapsulate just the right amount of intensity, “I don’t over practice everything,” the guitarist says. Instead, once he’s created a part, “I set it aside and don’t wear it out.” On Rack, it’s obvious not a single kilowatt of musical energy was lost in the rehearsal process.
Denison issues his noisy masterclass with assertive, overdriven tones supporting his dissonant voicings like barbed wire on top of an electric fence. The occasional application of slapback delay adds a threatening aura to his exacting riffage. His tones were just as carefully crafted as the parts he plays, and he relied mostly on his signature Electrical Guitar Company Chessie for the sessions, though a Fender Uptown Strat also appears, as well as a Taylor T5Z, which he chose for its “cleaner, hyper-articulated sound” on “Swan the Dog.” Though he’s been spotted at recent Jesus Lizard shows with a brand-new Powers Electric—he points out he played a demo model and says, “I just couldn’t let go of it,” so he ordered his own—that wasn’t until tracking was complete.
Duane Denison's Gear
Denison wields his Powers Electric at the Blue Room in Nashville last June.
Photo by Doug Coombe
Guitars
- Electrical Guitar Company Chessie
- Fender Uptown Strat
- Taylor T5Z
- Gibson ES-135
- Powers Electric
Amps
- Hiwatt Little J
- Hiwatt 2x12 cab with Fane F75 speakers
- Fender Super-Sonic combo
- Early ’60s Fender Bassman
- Marshall 1987X Plexi Reissue
- Victory Super Sheriff head
- Blackstar HT Stage 60—2 combos in stereo with Celestion Neo Creamback speakers and Mullard tubes
Effects
- Line 6 Helix
- Mantic Flex Pro
- TC Electronic G-Force
- Menatone Red Snapper
Strings and Picks
- Stringjoy Orbiters .0105 and .011 sets
- Dunlop celluloid white medium
- Sun Studios yellow picks
He ran through various amps—Marshalls, a Fender Bassman, two Fender Super-Sonic combos, and a Hiwatt Little J—at Audio Eagle. Live, if he’s not on backline gear, you’ll catch him mostly using 60-watt Blackstar HT Stage 60s loaded with Celestion Neo Creambacks. And while some boxes were stomped, he got most of his effects from a Line 6 Helix. “All of those sounds [in the Helix] are modeled on analog sounds, and you can tweak them endlessly,” he explains. “It’s just so practical and easy.”
The tools have only changed slightly since the band’s earlier days, when he favored Travis Beans and Hiwatts. Though he’s started to prefer higher gain sounds, Allen points out that “his guitar sound has always had teeth with a slightly bright sheen, and still does.”
“Honestly, I don’t think my tone has changed much over the past 30-something years,” Denison says. “I tend to favor a brighter, sharper sound with articulation. Someone sent me a video I had never seen of myself playing in the ’80s. I had a band called Cargo Cult in Austin, Texas. What struck me about it is it didn’t sound terribly different than what I sound like right now as far as the guitar sound and the approach. I don’t know what that tells you—I’m consistent?”
YouTube It
The Jesus Lizard take off at Nashville’s Blue Room this past June with “Hide & Seek” from Rack.