The ESP Guitar Company

The description on the product page says it has an active EQ.  I don't know if that is controlled by the tone knob (furthest from the neck), or if there are EQ pots on the inside of the cavity (probably not likely.)  I suspect the bass would not work without the battery.  But as long as you remove the chord from the bass when you're not playing it, the battery will last for months (or longer).

Allen wrench for the bridge adjustment is probalby 1.5 or 2mm.

Congrats and enjoy your new bass!

I have a Ltd B-4E bass which has a different set of passive pickups and active 3 band EQ (separate bass boost/cut, middle boost/cut & treble boost/cut).  I'm not very familiar with the specific EQ on your bass, but after reviewing page 10 of the owner's manual (which can be found in the Customer Support section of the website), the tone knob (furthest from the neck) controls the EQ.  You will need to use a 9V battery for your bass to work.  If you invest in a good battery (Duracell or Energizer), you should get anywhere from 6-12 months life, depending on how often/much you play.  As Pus said, just make sure to unplug your cable when you're not playing to minimize the battery drain.

I am persuaded that the 9 volt battery is not a big deal, though it wasn't easy to pry off the cover after removing the screws! Regarding that wrench, the manual states "use the 1.5mm allen wrench included with your bass" for the height adjustment screws. However, the small wrench that came with my bass appears to be 2mm in width. Think ESP would send me the correct wrench?

Spend $6-10 bucks and just buy a set of metric Allen Wrenches (then buy a US set as well).  Less hassle, not a ton of cash, and a useful set of tools to have.

Pushead wrote:

Spend $6-10 bucks and just buy a set of metric Allen Wrenches (then buy a US set as well).  Less hassle, not a ton of cash, and a useful set of tools to have.

I already have a bunch I never use...all too big!

After playing with the three control knobs, it seems to me that the two volume controls (closer to the neck) have a bigger affect on the tone than the tone knob.  The tone knob seems to function more like a volume control.  Is this as it should be?

The way you describe it, it doesn't sound right.  It could be that something wasn't wired properly.  Did you buy it new or used?  If you purchased it new, the retailer might work with you to have it checked out.

tx-ogre wrote:

The way you describe it, it doesn't sound right.  It could be that something wasn't wired properly.  Did you buy it new or used?  If you purchased it new, the retailer might work with you to have it checked out.

If the two pickups give different tones, then it makes sense that changing their relative volumes would change the tone. I also noticed that one pickup seems more noisy than the other. Since my "active EQ" apparently has one "band" instead of three, perhaps it is like a bass boost function; in this case, might it mimick a volume control?  I'd be interested in hearing from folks with the same electronics as the B-50.

Turn two knobs off and turn the third knob while tapping the edge of a pick gently against each pickup.  It'll be easy to determine which knob controls which pickup.  For the third pot, it's possible that it's a blend pot (blending how much of each pickup is in the signal.)  Is there an indent (a "sticky" position) in the middle?

Pushead wrote:

Turn two knobs off and turn the third knob while tapping the edge of a pick gently against each pickup.  It'll be easy to determine which knob controls which pickup.  For the third pot, it's possible that it's a blend pot (blending how much of each pickup is in the signal.)  Is there an indent (a "sticky" position) in the middle?

When I turn the "tone" or "EQ" knob all the way off and the other two knobs on, there is no amplification.  When I turn the tone knob on and the other two knobs all the way off, there is no amplification.  When I turn on the tone knob and either of the other two knobs, I get amplification from both pickups.    It's hard to tell by tapping the pickups which knob has a bigger effect on the volume.  However, the middle knob has a bigger effect on the volume of the background noise.   Do single coil pickups usually produce a lot of background noise?

Did you buy this new?

The webpage for the B-50 says the controls are:

Vol/Vol/Tone Boost, which at first I thought meant the Tone Boost was the closest knob to the pickups, but after looking at the description for the Eclipses, I suspect the furthest knob is the Tone Boost.

What "Tone Boost" means is anyone's guess.

I believe this was ESP "B-Stock"...new but damaged.  The top of the headstock was badly fractured but it otherwise appeared brand new.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XPVKSXgqFA

At around the 1:00 mark this guy gets into the same thing you're describing.  From the buzzing sound this guy is getting, I suspect that it's just a noisy active preamp.  It seems to work just like the presence knob on an amp.  Probably not much you can do to get the buzz out of it without completely taking it out of the circuit.

Pushead wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XPVKSXgqFA

At around the 1:00 mark this guy gets into the same thing you're describing.  From the buzzing sound this guy is getting, I suspect that it's just a noisy active preamp.  It seems to work just like the presence knob on an amp.  Probably not much you can do to get the buzz out of it without completely taking it out of the circuit.

If the bass were re-wired to bypass the "tone boost/EQ/preamp" unit, would the pickups produce enough of a signal to be amplified?

If the "tone boost/EQ/preamp" unit is at fault for the noise, then why does the middle knob (presumably the volume for the bridge pickup) control the volume of the noise?

I'm amplifying the base with my home theater receiver through the Bandfuse videogame, which changes its tone settings to fit the songs.  When I retried the tone knob while playing a different song, I was able to get amplification with the tone knob turned off.  There is still no amplification when the other two knobs are both off.  Also, there is (almost) no noise when the middle knob is turned off.  It is possible that the instrument jack was loose during my first test of the tone knob.