If you play a five string bass...

N

nezpierce

New member
Hey all!

I am looking for serious information here.

I may need to buy a five string bass and i'd like to hear from people who actually have a 5 string or have owned a 5 string in the past.

I am looking at Schecter, Yamaha, Dean and ESP. Preferebly with EMG;s or some type of active pickup system.
Sorry but I don't like the Ibanez models that I've played so they are out of the running.

Any help would be greatly appreciate such as tone, playability, things that you found out after you bought them that would have changed your mind etc. I already have a lovely 4 string Jazz bass that make me happy but the 5 string is for stuff that I recorded that I may now need to play live.

THANKS!


i should add that the music specifically for this bass at first is more industrial/dance type stuff but if I buy it I will use it for all atyles so a versatile bass is the key....


nP
 
Hey,

2 important considerations when buying a 5 string(or at least what I look for) string spacing and tightness of the B string.
If the strings are close then it make pop/slap hard to play and same with the B string, if it is not tight the tone and playability will suffer and you will just end up using it for stuff below E.

I have been drooling over a Music Man Stingray 5 for months now. Spent about an hour in guitar center trying out different 5 strings and fell in love with the stingray.

Goodluck,
Bassman
 
Have to agree with nP... watch the string spacing. My five string is a Bass Collection (Japanese) which have active circuitry as standard if memory serves (passive pickups tho on the starting models) although ive since replaced all the electronics with active EMG pickups and EQ. Nice wide neck, good string spacing and a reasonable B string... if i could afford one I would buy a Musicman Stingray as so far I havent played a better bass but alas I dont have the funds for one of those. My Bass Collection was half the price and to be honest I think undervalued!

Have you considered the 5 string Fenders? If you like the sound of your Jazz perhaps it would be worth looking into? Ive never tried one so dont know how they compare....
 
Lakland makes an affordable 5 string that might be worth checking out. I haven't played one yet, but I've heard good things about them. I had an Ibanez fivestring once that had a killer sounding B, but the string spacing was way to close for comfort. It was a 34" scale, so I used a 130 guage string on the B to keep it from feeling floppy. I agree with you, I wouldn't buy another Ibanez. I have a Carvin 6 string that I've used exclusively on gigs for the last eight years, but I'm thinking about retiring it and getting a Lakland 5 if it sounds and plays well.
 
Have you seen the Raven 5-strings? $350 - and they play very well - both slap and fingered - very smooth, good tone.

Just a thought.
 
Ok let's do these in order

thanks for the info so far! OK:

Bassman ( & OneLouder): I wish I could afford the MusicMan. Somehow I think the cost of the ensuing divorce wouldn't justify the cost of the bass hehe

OneLouder: I was going to give the fenders a shot but they are 34" scale which could cause problems

darrin_h2000: actually came across a used Samick 5 string this past weekend. It felt pretty nice, how are your pickups? These were some type of pseudo-emg jazz bass style pickups. I didn't plug it in to see if they were active or not...

MaKettle: Yeah the Lakeland stuff looked nice but I haven't found a place to actually get may hands on one. If you get one let me know how it stacks up

Griffinator : ditto on the Raven stuff. I have only seen it online...

Any others out there ?
 
OK ESP is out

Played a few different ones with active electronics over the weekend and they feel dead. I ab-ed them against a Curbow/Cort with a Bartolini(kinda nice) and a Fender Jazz V .

The Fender Jazz was pretty nice, the neck felt great and the sound was smooth but when you detune that lowest string it gets flappy really quick...

still looking for any opinions on Schecter Stiletto series basses if anyone can help....


nP
 
Just curious ...

Just out of curiosity, which ESP(s) did you look at and rule out? I ended up buying a Jazz Deluxe V (MIM) but was really surprised by the LTD B-205. I really thought it played well and sounded pretty nice. In fact, I was surprised enough by it that I actually took it home for a few weeks before going back and returning it for the Fender.
 
ive got a 5 string fender jazz. the neck is so damn huge and it weighs a ton... I kinda regret buying it but i got a great deal on it. in retrospect i should have bought a 4 stringer since im a guitarist first and foremost.
 
Yep, my Jazz V weighs a ton also. I liked the way it sounds so I bought it any way. I can live with the weight (for now anyway) since I don't play out with it. It just stays in the basement and I use it for recording.
 
Re: Just curious ...

DaveO said:
Just out of curiosity, which ESP(s) did you look at and rule out? I ended up buying a Jazz Deluxe V (MIM) but was really surprised by the LTD B-205.
Click to expand...

I checked out the b105, b205 and the b305 and didn't like them at all. I play a 4 string jazz bass right now and I guess that is why I kinda like the jazz V. BUt the Curbow/cort five string has a completely different feel then the Fender and I enjoyed it as well.


nP
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top