This is one of the best sounding basses I’ve ever played!! This is my new go to bass!! The slap sound is what I’ve always been looking for! TRULY AMAZING!! Hats off to Jahmal Nichols and the Anaconda crew for getting it right!!

I have been looking for a bass that represents my tone correctly in live and recorded settings. I’ve been able to find that with the Ultra J5 Essence. Andrew has put in the work to design a bass with a noise free signal that you can pretty much dial any tone out of. I needed meaty lows with crispy clean highs and this Bass delivers. I only need to slightly nudge the EQ to make the whole room feel this bass and even non-musicians noticed the difference! Beautiful design and relatively lightweight compared to other brands. Top tier customer experience working with Andrew. A master of his craft, and a real bass player who understands the needs of real bass players! Should you get one? Yes!

Sometimes in life you find a product that just enhances your creative output where music is concerned, the Anaconda Ultra J-5 Essence is that product! Having purchased a J-5 Essence from the previous batch of basses I felt that those basses where perfect in terms of looks, playability & sound. Then I purchased another J-5 Essence from the current batch of basses, I can tell you that I love this bass! First off Anaconda made a suble upgrades to the body and headstock ,the body having a more sharp edge to the top makes for a more comfortable playing position either sitting or standing and the headstock having a slightly new edge to the top part of it gives the bass a premium look ,the new tuning keys turn smoothly & stay in tune forever. Plus they look really modern which is a nice touch to the overall look of the bass. where this bass is truly killer is it's overall sound, tight punchy low mids ,crystal clear top end that doesn't sound shrill or tinny, nice creamy mids that don't sound honky and a push/pull knob that boosts or cuts the mid frequencies in a vary useful and musical way. I had no problems cutting through the mix of drums & guitars & keys when In rehearsal either, this bass brings out my creativity like now other! Having owned more than a few jazz basses from everybody's favorite company Fender,these Ultra J-5 Essence basses from Anaconda are what I feel to be superior in terms of quality, playability and sound . Top notch fit & finish, awesome colors & Monster Tone Are what Anaconda bring to the world of J-basses. Also Andrew at Anaconda basses provided top notch service & correspondence when placing my order right on through to the delivery of the bass. If you are looking for a Jazz bass that combines awesome looks , awesome playability and Monster tone you should FORGET ABOUT FENDER ! And do yourself a lifetime favor and purchase a Anaconda Ultra J-5 Essence right now !

I took delivery of my latest Ultra J5 - Essence a couple of weeks ago but wanted to wait a little before leaving a review so that I could use it in a few different situations, including several gigs. This is not my first Essence and as I already have one with the latest AC5-TN pickups, I opted for the AC5SB-TN Soapbar humbuckers with added series parallel switching for each pickup. Having now used the bass in rehearsal and on several of my regular gigs and jam sessions, I can safely confirm that this is one of the best sounding basses I have ever played and also one of the best setup with an extremely comfortable neck profile, such that I am largely unaware of the bass while playing, leaving me more time to think about the music. The tonal variety on offer makes for a very versatile bass with warm focussed mids that seem to find a place in the mix every time. The B string is full and solid and the highs when popping the G and D strings are strong, clear and musical. The new AC3-TZ preamp is exceptionally well voiced and the 250/800hz mid-select is particularly useful. I tend to favour the 250hz frequency to add weight to my tone, but the 800hz option is very effective to fill out stopped harmonics for those Jaco, Portrait of Tracey vibes. Construction and finish are flawless and I am in love with the colour (perfect for Halloween!) and the beautiful flame maple facings. I thought my previous Essences were good, but Anaconda have raised the bar with these latest basses. How Andrew Taylor-Cummings and Anaconda have managed to produce such exceptional instruments at this price point is difficult to comprehend. Try, no, buy one for yourself, you won't be disappointed!

+ 6

Wow, what can I say? Put simply the bass looks, feels and sounds incredible. The natural tonality and resonance of the bass is just beautiful. The bass feels perfect balanced for me with the b string incredibly clear and precise. For me it is hands down the best J bass I have ever played and I am incredibly glad and grateful to have bought one. Trust me when I say: “This bass will put a smile on your face!” Thank you so much Andrew @ Anaconda for creating my dream bass.

Andrew restored my faith in humanity, if not humanity, Anaconda. I can’t thank them enough for my bass. I received it last week. When it arrived, I feared that it was damaged. The shipping box was in pretty bad shape. I could see the soft guitar case through a large, diagonal tear on the box. I prepared myself for the worst. I thought the neck was cracked or the bass was damaged in some way. I was relieved that there was nothing wrong with it. After playing it later that evening, I was impressed with the feel, sound, and craftsmanship. I appreciated the ongoing communication throughout my purchasing process. Andrew returned my emails and Facebook messages immediately. That is unheard of in today’s world of answering machines and automated systems. I challenge any company to match their customer service. I will totally endorse Andrew and Anaconda's products.

My Anaconda Ultra J Essence is THEE bass my hands, ears, and eyes have been wanting since forever! It does everything I ask it to do—and does it very well! The Ultra J Essence has more than just an “essence” of Anaconda’s handmade custom basses; it’s loaded with the full glory of those bass’s DNA, courtesy of Andrew Taylor-Cummings’ meticulous design and attention to detail. And I can say that with full throated authority, because I spent a good amount of time playing and listening to his basses at the Anaconda NAMM Booth in 2018. And in between being at that booth and checking out the rest of the event, I went around like a man drunk on bassy deliciousness, telling everyone who would listen about Anaconda Basses! Simply put, the Ultra J5 Essence bass embodies everything that Anaconda puts into all their basses; amazing build quality, comfort and ease of playability (they almost play themselves!), clean, authoritative, and accurate tone, ergonomic and esthetically pleasing design—and a versatility that gives you the confidence that it is the ONLY bass you’ll need to take to any stage or studio. The Ultra J5 Essence does it all. Very—VERY WELL. And at a price point that, for ALL that you get, is unrivaled in the industry. RUN! Go get some bassy deliciousness and grab up an Anaconda Ultra J5 Essence Bass. Grab a couple of you can! You’ll be eternally glad you did!

+ 2

I first tried an Anaconda bass in May 2022, it was the last of the previous batch Andrew Taylor-Cummings had made. We talked for some time, and reassuringly established we had a number of mutual acquaintances in the bass building business over the last 40 years. I liked that bass and I decided to order one, but there was a snag. The basic instrument is made overseas before Andrew completes the final set up and quality control for shipping, however the overseas company was changing, and a number of design and cosmetic changes were being introduced. This meant the delivery took quite a while, was it worth the wait? Originally, I wanted a Daphne Blue bass with maple neck, but while ordering, I “got confused” and went for a very vibrant yellow to red sunburst over a flame maple type finish. Known as “Honeyburst”, with matching headstock, it really stands out. First impressions are it is well made. The website quotes a weight of 4.0 to 4.4kg, mine was in the middle at about 9.25lbs. It is not heavy, and balances well. The neck has changed subtly from the previous version, it feels wide, but shallow for a Jazz bass. Frets are well finished, and no sharp fret ends, the back of the neck has a satin finish. Acoustically it is resonant and bright. Plugging in confirms this, with a clear and articulate tone. The extra 0.5” scale length and carbon reinforcing probably add to the sustain and clarity. The active electronics are switchable, and in “passive mode” the bass sounds even across the strings, and up and down the neck. Panning between pickups gives the variation of tones you would expect, while the passive tone takes the edge off the new strings, without sounding dull. The active circuit opens things up. old-time reviewers would often say to be careful boosting the controls, especially the bass, and the cut and boost range feels substantial. I was not sure I needed a switchable mid frequency, but pushed in, a little cut combined with a bass and treble boost gave a super scooped tone. Moving towards the bridge pick up, pulling the mid out and boosting the higher frequency gave that mid-range hump beloved of finger players. The passive tone smooths the top end in active mode too. That’s really helpful to avoid fiddling with the active tones mid song. Getting used to the circuit, you appreciate it has a significant effect and needs relatively little movement of the control to start changing things. Like better circuits, it feels intuitive, the core sound is good but can be adjusted easily by slight tweaks of the different controls. I compared noise levels with class leading units, this wasn’t too scientific as it depends on the pickups too, but the AC3-TZ preamp is as good as the best. If it was available for sale, I would probably put it in at least one of my basses. Tonally the Ultra Essence reminds me of jazz funk / gospel basses with deep lows, and bright high end. The neck profile reinforces that, it is easy for me to play a bit faster for slap style. In rock settings, the classic scooped Jazz sound can be too “clean”, but adding mid / lo warmth is easier than trying to get definition from fuzzy basses / pickups. When soloed chords and harmonics ring out really. The low B is clear and focussed and well matched for volume and tone with the other strings. I really like this bass, but what sounds good solo doesn’t always sit in a band mix. First band rehearsal showed just a slight bass boost provided enough low end to underpin everything, but some mid boost added definition in the space being gobbled up by a distorting guitar. The two frequency options were helpful to reassert presence, but I will add more mid into my bass amp settings, then tailor specific sounds with the on board Eq starting with everything flat. This is not a fault of the bass, but trying to coexist in the same sonic space as enthusiastic, low / mid frequency laden guitars. On the subject of fitting in, there are a number of high end and volume brands operating in this price range, using a mixture of offshore manufacturing with market-based design and finishing. I think this competes well. I briefly looked at a “bright” signature model from one of the big names, and I think while it is good, it gave the impression of being mass produced and the hardware perhaps not quite so well chosen. The price comparison was very close. Any criticisms? Not really, I adjusted the action very slightly down at the bridge (personal taste), the master volume was slightly “scratchy” at first, but is sorting itself out with use. The bass looks stunning and at this price point the spec is pretty much nailed down. In an ideal world I would have gone for a maple fretboard with black dot markers, but that level of customisation is not available at this price point. At the time of “going to press” this bass costs £1330.1 with a gig bag, and in my opinion, sounds like a bass costing more.

The Anaconda Ultra J5 Essence is a beast. The tone is awesome with flat eq and the setup as I requested was perfect. It took a while for the bass to be in stock but it’s was worth it. Love this bass!!!!

My first impression of the high-end bass guitar was the excellent fit and finish. The addition of the new pickups and preamp makes it extremely flexible for any genre of music. I truly believe that this bass guitar can compete with other high-end instruments in terms of quality and sound. The attention to detail in the construction and the quality of the components used is evident in the way it plays and sounds. Overall, I was very impressed with this high-end bass guitar and would highly recommend it to any serious musician.