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After much deliberation I bought one of these in the now discontinued rainbow crackle finish. It is absolutely stunning. I traditionally use fender precisions, but the Surveyor 87 is far superior to any of the fenders I own, or have owned in the past....don't know how they do it at the price point. Will definitely buy another LTD bass.
Bought the Rainbow Crackle version of the Surveyor 87, and it's now my favourite gigging bass. I love the neck profile. It's very well made for the price point with very good quality pickups and hardware.
I'm thinking of selling my Fender Precision and buying the purple version as a backup.
It would be great if there is a 5-string version of Surveyor '87. I would immediately buy one.
I've had this bass for more than 2 years and it's a fine machine. The factory bridge holds .120 strings tuned to C with no problem and very seldom do they detune. Although it doesn't have as much growl as a classic P, it doesn't stop far from there, and the J pickup is really punchy with a well-rounded sound. It's a very comfortable bass to play. The only minor downside is that the pots need to be cleaned quite often, or they might start crackling a bit.
Other then these, the ap series, and franky bello sig. Esp doesn't have anything with just a jazz pickup (even discontinued models)? I love esp ltd basses im just looking for something other then soapbars. I like pj setups just making sure im not missing anything.
Hello guys, so after a bit more than a year, I can say that this instrument became a high end bass, with some mods. I changed the bridge to a Hipshot Kickass and I swapped the tuners to Hipshot HB7 ones (a luthier helped because of holes). I replaced the scratchplate too, to custom made 3 ply black/ white/ black one and a 4 ply black pearl one. Both looks to be stunning, the black is more hardcore. Fender style plates will not fit on these, they need modification.
The same idé i have. Is it possible to see some picture of it? Maby you can send some of them to me.
Regards Niclas
Hi, I already took the pics, I will try to upload them later.
When will be the last day these will be available?
if you have any questions you may reach out to our customer service team at customerservice@espguitars.com or https://www.espguitars.com/pages/support
Hi Carl, I know this bass comes with D'Addario.045-.105. Will Rotosound 045-105 longscale fit without any problem?
if you have any questions you may reach out to our customer service team at customerservice@espguitars.com or https://www.espguitars.com/pages/support
Is it possible to get an overall weight of this 87 model? I play a 2012 ebony model which I absolutely love but it's a backbreaker! Wondering if this version is lighter?
if you have any questions you may reach out to our customer service team at customerservice@espguitars.com or https://www.espguitars.com/pages/support
Hey Carl is there any chance these will be available with Black Friday discounts?
nothing planned at the moment
I really would like to play this bass, but it'd be cool if there would be a left handed version of it. Maybe one day that could happen
They do make a left handed version of it.
Yes, this is currently produced in left handed as well. These should be in stores this fall, you can always request for your ESP dealer to preorder one of these for you.
I just got mine today, I absolutely love it! Thank you
glad you're enjoying it
Sucks it is out of my price range. If ESP made a lower-end version of this bass with just the P pickup, I would have an excuse to try ESP.
maybe our AP line is more in your price range
https://www.espguitars.com/products?categories=ap-series-basses-2
can this be special ordered without the painted headstock? like Jasons bass pictured.
Woah where did you find that picture. I’ve seen him playing a 400 series with the nameless headstock.
When jason joined metallica in late 86 he played the surveyor. I believe he used it in 86 through 87. By 88 he switched to wal basses as seen on the van halens monsters of rock tour. The bass with the nameless headstock, i assume the one pictured on the original garage days ep, i believe is a warmoth parts bass not an esp, but i could be wrong on that. Check out the show from canada 9.12.1986 on youtube and you can see jason using the surveyor pictured.
For the record jason wasnt in the band in september of 86, but that is the title of the youtube vid. Not sure what the real date of concert was.
These models would just be offered as pictured
Carl, I would love to put a hipshot on the Surveyor bass I bought. Can It be done, and which do you recommend?
Unfortunately we do not test the fit of aftermarket bridges on our instruments, might be best to have a professional handle this replacement for you if you are unfamiliar with this kind of work
Hi, I have a Kickass on my MIJ Jackson and I measured the screws' distance, and it seems like the mounting holes are in the same position as on the Gotoh 201. So I will change it also.
The only things that I'm stucked about, are the "cheapo - china- o" tuners, I couldn't find a decent Hipshot that could fit to the exsisting holes on the headstock... Maybe the HB-7, the BT-7 and a luthier could help but I'm not sure because of the tuners' baseplate's length.
I was thinking the same thing, so I just called Hipshot C/S and asked. They said the proper drop-D tuner for the Surveyor would be their GB5 model, which unfortunately has been discontinued. Hope that helps!
Could a standard precision bass pickguard fit on these or is it specific for this model? I have a mirror pickguard and was wondering if it would fit on it.
It would be best to have one specifically made for this, pickguards can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer so we cannot guarantee the fit of aftermarket pickguards on our instruments.
Hi, a "made for Fender Prec." pickguard won't fit on these, you will need to drill some holes or leave it as is (with th 1 ply matte 'guard).
Just got my black Surveyor 87 bass guitar today, It looks and feels absolutely insane. Thanks ESP for making such killer guitars!
Glad you are enjoying it
Does this go for other models like the Ltd ec-1000 in blue natural fade for example?
These models are not region specific.
Hello, is this bass no available in Canada as a lefty? Even though it says it’s available as one. When I called my local music store yesterday, the buyer told them it didn’t come in a lefty...
These are being offered in left handed, this would not be region specific. It would be best to inquire with your local ESP distributor for availability in your region. If unavailable they could then import one for you.
This would be the bass I would get if I could switch to ESP. Big complaints I have with this is the J pickup and the price. If there was a $300 version of this, I would scoop one up.
thanks for the insight