# NBD: Purple is oh so delightful!



## Señor Voorhees (Aug 20, 2015)

I have no clue how long ago I was made aware of this bass. All I remember was browsing the Japanese ESP site and gawking at some of the over the top designs the Japanese artists chose.

Enter Doris Yeh. Her bass was pretty much the only thing I "like" liked. I didn't think about it too much since they weren't available stateside. Somebody posted pictures of Doris and her bass and for whatever reason I googled the bass up. (in hopes of finding the japanese site again so I could oggle the bass.) First result was for Musician's Friend. So apparently they released it stateside, and I have a credit card with them and they were offering 12 months interest free. Long story short, I bought it with what will be my tax return. (Just gonna pay it off once taxes come in next year. If not, I technically have the money now, but I like having some money set aside just in case.)




















The purple fills my heart with all sorts of fuzzies. Insanely gorgeous finish I have to say, and I'm super glad I bought it. It's my first proper $1k+ bass, and it does definitely show. I won't lie and say it's life changing or anything, but there is quite a bit more attention to detail over the fit and finish of this one over cheaper models. The pickups are just a treat, and the on board EQ is very nicely voiced. Lots of tonal possibilities. The fretwork is super clean, and there are no finish flaws that I've been able to see. The inlays are clean, the fret board is good and shiny (as are the frets) and it's just a nice playing instrument. 

The battery compartment was very interesting to me. You push on one of the edges, and the battery swivels out. On top of that, it's made of metal and not plastic. I can see it being a lot kinder to a live musician than the standard plastic clip-closed variants. You aren't accidentally going to open this one no matter how hard you try. I noticed MF's description claimed locking tuners, but they're just standard Gotoh tuners. Nothing fancy about them, but they're fantastic all the same. As promised, strap locks were included, and unmentioned on any site (other than ESP's site, which also says this is through neck which it clearly isn't.) is that it came with a hard shell case, which the guitar fits in nice and snugly. Super sturdy and nice. Upper fret access is also nice, and despite the 34" scale length I'm getting some super cool tones out of it tuned down to A standard. (though I do aim to get some tighter strings anyway.) I'll probably record a demo track or two in the coming days just for ....s and giggles.

Ten out of ten, would willy nilly drop $1700 again.


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## Konfyouzd (Aug 20, 2015)

Oh damn... I had no idea what I was walking into... That's SICK.


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## Radau (Aug 20, 2015)

Damn! That finish is gorgeous!


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## Dusty Chalk (Aug 21, 2015)

I kind of dig that pincer-y headstock, even though I'd probably keep it well away from me.

Doesn't she also have a full-on purple bass? Oh yeah, here it is:





I may have to google some Chthonic.


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## A-Branger (Aug 21, 2015)

mm purple  niiiice HNBD


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## Señor Voorhees (Aug 21, 2015)

I know she played a black one at some point. I'm unsure of her/their gear outside of this bass though. (I think the guitarist has an esp SIG 6 and 7?) Started actively listening to Chthonic and I'm really liking them. They're melodic enough to remain interesting for extended periods of time, but pretty heavy and brutal.

I've spent some more time with the bass and I'm falling more in love with it. I wasn't initially 100% sold on the body/head shape, but in person it looks so much more sleek. I really like the feel of the upper horn. The jack placement is also nice. It points upwards at an angle so as not to get pulled out or smashed up if you're sitting. I did some side by side comparisons to other basses I have lying around and this one destroys them tonally.

I rarely do signature guitars, but I just couldn't help myself with the purple/silver burst. So glad I bought it.


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## Dusty Chalk (Aug 21, 2015)

It's certainly very pretty and shiny.


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## punisher911 (Aug 21, 2015)

That looks tasty... and a nice bass too..... All jokes aside, I always liked that body shape on the ESPs. Had both the 6 string guitar and a 5 string bass in it. Just heavy as all heck..


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## Señor Voorhees (Aug 21, 2015)

As promised, a little audio/mix demo. Bass being more prominent than normal for obvious reasons. Pardon the sloppiness, as it was the first/only take I did for the bass track. (The song didn't even have bass originally.)

https://soundcloud.com/foxtrot89/sweetshare-instrumental


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## Nlelith (Aug 22, 2015)

Dusty Chalk said:


> Doesn't she also have a full-on purple bass? Oh yeah, here it is:


This one is on my wishlist, because of the 35" scale... Not sure if I should buy this one or Schecter Riot Session 5, though.


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## Señor Voorhees (Aug 22, 2015)

I owned the blue b155DX (I think that's what its called) and it was decent enough. The pickups were a little meh though. The build quality was good, so I can only imagine one in the same price bracket with an extra inch to its scale would be cool. 

I do have to say I like schecter though. I own one of the "stealth" 5's and I was pretty impressed with it. Bought it because it was 35", 5 strings, and had a split "p" pickup. Build quality on mine is damn good, and the amped sound is decent even stock. Can't say I noticed much, if any of a difference between 34" and 35" scales though. The difference in tension doesn't feel too drastic, much like a 26.5 vs 25.5 on guitar.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Aug 22, 2015)

Nlelith said:


> This one is on my wishlist, because of the 35" scale... Not sure if I should buy this one or Schecter Riot Session 5, though.



The Schecter will be better built and has active EMGs stock. 


But the LTD is purple... Hard choice.


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## Señor Voorhees (Aug 22, 2015)

That's the thing. Color is near unchangeable, while pickups and electronics are relatively simple. (Albeit pricey and time consuming.) I was really happy with the build quality of the cheaper basses I bought. The cheap schrcter and the cheap ltd were both pretty much on par with each other qualitywise. With that in mind, I'd just buy whichever is prettier (hint: purple) and spring some cash and time in the future for some good pups, if its even deamed necessary after trying the stock pups. 

Schecters are great though, IMO, but I'm vain as .... and id go the purple route because purple.

Edit: a bonus to all basses mentioned is that they all have battery boxes installed, so swapping to active pups is that much cleaner/easier.


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## iron blast (Aug 22, 2015)

For me the things I look at when buying a new bass are scale length string count and finish the rest can be added or changed later


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## Alex Kenivel (Aug 22, 2015)

Dat headstock makes me eek, and while I don't like weird pointy instruments, the body looks cool. And purple, who could argue with that? But I doubt you could pull off such nice cleavage 

HNBD


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## Señor Voorhees (Aug 22, 2015)

Alex Kenivel said:


> Dat headstock makes me eek, and while I don't like weird pointy instruments, the body looks cool. And purple, who could argue with that? But I doubt you could pull off such nice cleavage
> 
> HNBD



I couldn't rock the nice cleavage, but the bassist in my band could. And she's Asian to boot. As for the headstock, I didn't initially like it but its grown on me.


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## Hollowway (Aug 22, 2015)

I know I'm supposed to be focusing on the instrument, and that objectifying girls is bad, and all that, but I have a mad crush on Doris. 

And that is an awesome bass, man.


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## Dusty Chalk (Aug 23, 2015)

Hollowway said:


> I know I'm supposed to be focusing on the instrument, and that objectifying girls is bad, and all that, but I have a mad crush on Doris.


I don't have a crush, but I don't think it's wrong to find a woman attractive if she's appearing in FHM (yes, I googled her) trying to convey an image of being attractive, so ... I find her attractive. Attractive as . And I'll leave it at that.

Even if her bass was entirely periwinkle.


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## Señor Voorhees (Aug 23, 2015)

I definitely find her attractive (and probably crush on her more than I should as an adult,) but being in a band with all women gives a bit of perspective. 

I like to focus more on the instrument and/or skill just because I know personally how tiring it can get to have people glance over your skills/craft. They're not shy about exploiting her attractiveness, which is fine provided she's into it too. (I'm guessing she is, but I have no real way of knowing.)

Basically, on top of finding her attractive, I respect her as a musician and a person. Having experiences with being in a band with "hot chicks," I just prefer not being just another guy commenting on what is largely irrelevant.

That said, one of the before-mentioned bandmates probably has a bigger crush on her than I do. She'll never publicly express it though. 

I'm also not saying what anyone is doing is wrong. Just explaining my POV.


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## Dusty Chalk (Aug 23, 2015)

I definitely agree with you -- especially the largely irrelevant part. I just can't imagine how hard it would be to be a woman in the music business. When I saw Drain S.T.H. a bunch of years back, the audience could not stop drooling over these four beautiful Scandinavian women enough to appreciate the music. I'm sure that had a lot to do with them not putting out any more albums after that.


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## AkiraSpectrum (Oct 2, 2015)

killer


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## bnzboy (Oct 2, 2015)

As a huge Doris fan I approve this bass! HOT NBD!


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## leftyguitarjoe (Oct 3, 2015)

This bass is incredible!


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## ZiggyDude (Nov 9, 2015)

It is a really cool bass. The headstock is supposed to be a tear as her moniker was "Thunder Tears". Also the tears for the inlays and shape of the silver burst.

The one sold in the states is an ESP II and does not have the neck through or the lights. I was curious on how to get but the price dropped even me - and I tend to go boutique.

Oddly - she is not even playing this bass anymore.


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## ZiggyDude (Nov 13, 2015)

Senor Voorhees - where did you get the bass? 1700 is a good price.

The all purple one in the pics above is a very different animal. That is a basswood body and bolt on. I would not be surprised if it sounded a lot like an EBMM Bongo. I wish LTD made the black neck through in that color!


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## ZiggyDude (Nov 24, 2015)

Nlelith said:


> This one is on my wishlist, because of the 35" scale... Not sure if I should buy this one or Schecter Riot Session 5, though.



Hmm - for some reason the image did not come with the quote :-(

Well - Craigslist had the bolt on purple version for super cheap and I eventually got it. Purty as can be. But the 43mm nut is really cramped. The Doris Yeh and other versions are 45mm - but I can't see that as really helping much. It plays and sounds OK. But a real looker for sure!


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