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!!
Customer Reviews
Customer Reviews
Thank you Elliot for taking the time to share your thoughts about your new bass. Glad you're loving your new bass.
Much appreciated Aaron. Really happy to hear that your expectations have been exceeded. Appreciate your continued support.
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!
Thank you Clive for your review. The Honey Burst Ultra J5 Essence has been very popular indeed. It's great to hear that your experience with your new bass exceeds your expectations. Continue to enjoy.
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.
Thank you Rob for your excellent review. Good to hear that you’re loving your new 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.
Walter thank you for your review and your support. Happy to hear that your experience with my business and product has been a good one.
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!
Thank you Kenery for your comprehensive and stellar review. Much appreciated.
Thank you Jon for your comprehensive and excellent review. Your feedback is greatly appreciated. Happy to hear you’re enjoying your new bass.
Thank you for your review Gregory. Much appreciated. Happy to hear that you’re loving your new bass. The first production run always takes longer than you’d expect, especially when there are global supply issues. Future production runs will be shorter.
Thank you very much for your feedback Trevor. Happy to hear that your loving your new bass.
Ultra J5 Essence (Honey Burst)
Review of the Anaconda Ultra Essence J5 Bass - to be updated after I have tried with the band, but these are my interim thoughts, and ramblings. I miss old style bass magazine reviews. With the information on the internet, you quickly realise it is often cut and pasted from the manufacturer’s website / press release, often with little or no editing. It feels like reading a dry and biased view of the product. I grew up on reviews in the Bassist magazine, where they were never critical, but you could read between the lines.
The Ultra Essence is a bolt on Jazz style 5 string. The body is Alder, and the neck is maple, reinforced with carbon fibre, with a 20” radius Indian laurel fretboard, with pearloid inlays. The black hardware feature tuners by Gotoh Lightweight RES-O-LITE, both smooth tuning and light. The 5 string neck is 48mm wide at the nut, and the other end of the 21 frets and 34.5” scale length are Sung II Monorail saddles, which are spaced at 19mm for all models. The factory fitted strings are D’Addario Nickels.
The electronics are an in house designed hum-cancelling AC5-TN pickup, the AC3-TZ preamp is new for 2023. Working from the neck end of the bass, it features a stacked volume and passive tone (works in active too), a pickup blend, mid, stacked bass and treble. Apart from the volume and passive tone they all have centre detents. The preamp is comprehensive, the mid control is a push / pull pot, which changes the centre frequency between 250 and 800Hz, there is a gain pot to adjust the output level (I left it alone). There are cost options of a bright switch and battery life indicator.
Despite my introduction, that was from Anaconda’s website, because I wanted to get the details right, but from now on is my personal views on this bass. I first tried an Anaconda bass in May 2022, it was the last of the previous batch Andrew Taylor-Cummings had made. He is easy to talk to, and we 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?
I had wanted a Daphne Blue bass with maple neck, but during the ordering process I “got confused” and ended up going 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 pretty much in the middle at about 9.25lbs. 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 features a satin finish. It is not heavy, and balances well.
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 the pickups gives the variation of tones you would expect, while the passive tone takes the edge off the new strings, without making it sound dull. The active circuit really opens things up. Old-time reviewers would often say to be careful boosting the controls, especially the bass, and here the cut and boost range is substantial. I was not sure I would need the switchable mid frequency, but with it 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 fast finger players. On top of that the passive tone can be used to smooth out the top end in active mode too. I see that being really helpful to avoid having to fiddle with the active tones mid song. Getting used to the circuit you really appreciate it has a really significant effect, it needs relatively little movement of the control to start changing things. Like all good circuits it feels fairly intuitive, the core sound is good but can be adjusted easily by slight tweaks of the different controls. I compared circuit 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.
The Ultra Essence reminds me of jazz funk / gospel basses with those deep lows, and bright high ends. The neck profile reinforces that, it is easy for me to play a bit faster for slap style yet it is not a one trick pony. I am not sure how this will fit in a rockier setting, but adding mid / lo warmth is a lot easier than getting definition from a bass / pickup that are lacking. I really like this bass, I have yet to play it in a band, what sounds good solo doesn’t always sit in a band mix, but I already like the character of this bass. Playing on my own chords and harmonics ring out really well. The low B is clear and focussed and well matched for volume and tone with the other strings.
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 pretty 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.
And on Bass Review by Jon Farr 19/10/2023
Ultra PJ4E - Elite
”What an absolutely stunning and beautiful bass that it is. It's a great testament to your skills and dedication it was love at first sight.
Again, I don't know what you do with them but the neck is so smooth and fast, The tonal capabilities are exactly what I have come to expect from your basses and are second to none on the market. I did a show with my new bass last night. It played beautifully it sat in the mix like no other bass that I have ever played, towards the end of the show the sound guy cranked up the bass in the mix and it hit you well and truly in the chest I was well pleased and the sound guy was very impressed.”
Matthew Pedrazzini - 22/09/2022
Ultra J5 - Essence (Neon Burst)
”The Ultra J5 essence is an amazing instrument. I love the fact that the bass has a tone control that also works in active mode. Really nice touch! The bass sounds & plays like a dream, and looks like a dream. I definitely recommend any of the ultra J essence basses to anyone looking for high quality bass at a price that is unheard of. Really awesome basses! I'm now an Anaconda basses player for life ! ”
Aaron Hill - 20/05/2021
Ultra J5 - Essence (Green Burst)
”One of the best sounding and well made basses I have ever played.
Will definitely be buying again.”
Tyrone Ruffin - 19/05/2021
Hydra
”I must say that I am enormously satisfied with the bass. I am profoundly impressed with the work you have done.
I have the possibility to a very versatile sound, often with a very tight bass and mid. It works great also in rehearsal recording and concert context, it sits great in the mix. The playability is fantastic, I really love the neck it feels and plays beautifully. And must say that I am quite surprised how usable the tremolo bar is.
Thank you once more for building this fantastic bass and for helping me sourcing the Bartolini pickups. I will be doing some more in-depth videos of the bass on my Instagram page the following weeks. I give the bass 10/10”
Cassius Lambert - 07/05/2021
Ultra J5 - Essence
“I immediately loved the look being a fender jazz guy. My first impression with the sound was AWESOME!!! A variable tonal range allows me freedom to play, without being distracted. The control layout is very familiar. Once I was able to balance the treble and tone control....look out, GAME OVER!!! I play with a light touch so the Dual Fibre Rods allows me to set the action low. It did take me a minute to get use to the slightly wider neck at the nut. After working with it a few days. I got past that and off to the gigs. I’ve already played a few gigs and sessions and already very comfortable with it in my hands. My only complaint is that I don’t have another one. Going to fix that in the near future with a UJ5 “Natural”. So put me on the list for when they come in!!”
Ron Hall - 03/05/2021
Ultra J5 - Essence
“Anaconda Basses is going to become a major name in the bass world very soon! I’ve had mine for a week and I can’t put it down. This is major competition for the well known brands! The clarity of tone, uniquely comfortable neck design, KILLER preamp & pickups, one of the best B-strings I’ve ever played, boutique level build quality, fit & finish, very reasonable price point...everything is here in this Ultra J5 Essence!”
Chuck Webb - 05/2/2021
Ultra J4E - Elite
"The bass has arrived today. I've been on it quite a bit already. Mate it a beauty, the neck is so comfortable and easy to play. I like how you set up the controls it's a superb touch and makes the bass that much easier to play first up.
The low action setup is just how I love it and allows easy speed in playing. Again Andrew thanks very much for such a finely crafted bass and for your personal touch through this whole process."
Matthew Pedrazzini - 09/12/2020
Ultra P/J4 - Essence
"I can not begin to tell you how happy I am with the bass..... the neck feels as though it was made especially for me, and action so fast!!!! The sound of this bass far surpasses my greatest hopes. My band mates over the moon with the power of this bass!!!"
Peter Morales - 23/07/2020
J7E -Elite
"Can I just add, I've never seen so much attention to detail; from the glow in the dark side markers, to the lamination of the matching top with Headstock. It's drop dead gorgeous and sounds as good as it looks. I'm not a slap player but I know it has that sound too. Speaking of sound, you can dial all kinds of tones up. Some reminiscent of Alembics. THANK YOU Andrew Taylor-Cummings."
Edo Castro Woodhouse - 2019
Ultra J4E - Elite
"The tone range is huge & I quickly found fabulous tones that work me, for both bands. The balance and ergonomics are excellent but the stand out feature is the neck profile scale & feel....its something I have been searching for, for many years. I normally play 2 different basses each gig...I have only used the UJ4 as it feels part of me and my (small) hands do not get tired. Ohh don't forget it looks stunning...thank you Andrew."
Bernard Hewitt (Fynnius Fogg) - 18/12/2019
Crusher CXE4 - Elite
"I want to say thank you for producing such a wonderful instrument. It has Exceeded my expectations a hundred fold. I have not put it down since i got home and have a feeling this will be my number one instrument from now on. The neck is to die for and so fast.."
Mike Hebron 17/11/2019
Ultra P/J4 - Essence
"For the price, this bass has an unbeatable combination of great looks, killer tone, supreme playability, immaculate fit and finish, and at just 3.8kg, exceptional light weight - what’s not to like!"
Clive Newnham 26/10/2019
Ultra J4 - Essence
"It is very well built. The fittings all feel solid, smooth and precise. The tonal range is wide.
The controls have a linear feel to them, in contrast to my other basses
and the neck and action are a delight."
Tony Hoyle 25/10/2019
Ultra J4 - Essence
"I've never been so taken by a bass - my new Ultra J4 Essence. Great power in the low end and
crisp vintage jazz tones - you can get everything from Jaco to deep RnB to a raw classic jazz sound,
all from a passive circuit. Seriously impressed, you need to check these tone monsters out!"
Adam Handford 13/09/2019
Crusher CXE6 - Elite
"Andrew!!!!! This thing is DEFINITELY a Tone Monster !!!! I took it to rehearsal tonight and man !!!!
I have yet to get all of the different tones fooling around with the different switches.
JOB WELL DONE MY FRIEND!!!! I'm VERY PLEASED !!!! PEACE"
Nathaniel Smalls Jr
Ultra J5E - Elite
"Andrew's knowledge and craftsmanship is second to none. My UJ5E has effortless playability,
versatile tones, and it sits in the mix no matter what. All this from a passive bass!"
Huw Foster
"It's got some serious options here dude. It sounds wicked. It's an awesome bass I really like it".
Mike Flynn.
Crusher CXE5 - Elite
"The marriage of beauty and sound is second to none in Anaconda Basses, Tone Monsters
with SERIOUS BITE!!!".
Nathan David Omoregie
"These basses have some serious punch! Their looks are incredible and they have a
ridiculously versatile range of tones - so good in fact that I've already put my order in for a CXE4!"
Mike Prince
Crusher CXE5 - Elite
"Anaconda basses have somehow combined great feel, tone and versatility into a bass guitar
and let's not forget the stunning look! What's not to love about the bass."
Nathan Bossoh
Crusher CX5 - Standard
"I've literally waited half a lifetime to own a bass of this quality. Andrew's attention to detail
is second to none. I love the instrument, and it draws a "Wow!" whenever it is seen and heard."
Russ Sargeant
Crusher CXE5 - Elite
"I am very happy with my custom built Anaconda bass guitar, best I have ever played, love it."
Roy Stewart
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Allen, thank you for your review. I'm happy to hear that your new bass is your new go to bass. Jahmal is happy to hear that you're loving his Signature Anaconda Ultra J5 Essence Bass.