BigRedX

Remember that although string tension (along with neck stiffness) will affect whether or not you have to adjust the truss rod, the actual feel of the string is determined by tension and compliance. Compliance is how stiff (or not) a string feels and is not wholly dependant on tension, but also on string construction, break angles over the bridge and nut and any other items in the path of the non-speaking part of the string such as string retainers. So a lighter string might still feel "right" is it is sufficiently un-compliant when attached to your bass.

In general the low B is by far the lowest tension string on a Bass. If you look at the tension values for the suggested D'Addario EXL 170s, looking at the 6 string set, the highest tension string is the D, and then the string tensions reduce for the higher or lower strings, with the higher tuned strings decreasing less in tension than the lower ones. Therefore unless you go for something very light (compared to the rest of the set) you can see that the high C is around the same tension (at standard tuning) as the A string and considerably higher tension (39lbs as opposed to 31.5lbs) than the low B. Whether or not this will actually matter will depend on the stiffness of the neck of your chosen bass, but you may need to tighten your truss rod slightly to compensate.

Scale length is an irrelevance unless you have a general preference for a particular scale length irrespective of the number of strings. What is important is the construction of the bass in particular the neck and how it attaches to the body and the strings that you choose. Strings are tricky things. IME what works well on one bass doesn't necessarily work at all on another, and also IME most budget (sub £500) 5 string basses come with terrible low B-strings. Unfortunately the level od construction required to make a decent 5-string bass comes at a price and generally unless you get a second hand bargain you are unlikely to find anything really satisfying under the £500 mark. The cheapest decent 5-string bass I own cost £700 and it was only that price because it was an EOL model that had been reduced from its original £1700. Go to the Gallery and play all the 5-string basses you can get you hands on including those that are outside your current price range and you'll find what suits you and what doesn't. Don't buy something you don't really like just to test it out because that's all you can afford. AFAICS most people who buy a 5-string bass and then give it up do so because the bass wasn't very good in the first place. If you've tried lots you'll get a feel for how much you need to spend to get something you will be happy with, and if you can't afford it now put off your purchase until you can.

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I don't know how accurate the custom shop stuff is to the original models. Does anyone here own an Eastwood custom shop guitar or bass who would like to comment? However from what I have seen the standard product ranges are essentially what I would term "parts bin" instruments. That is something with roughly the same shape as the original it is copying but all the hardware etc taken from easily available generic production parts. Obviously Eastwood would say that this means their versions are better made and more reliable than some of the quirky original guitars and basses, but IME it is exactly those quirks that give the originals their unique character. Otherwise all you end up with is a standard guitar or bass with an eccentric shape.

Looking at the Mouse, that fingerboard extension is not only fitting the pickup to the end of the fingerboard but also getting it to sense the lowest string, unless the pickup is mounted further along the body anyway. Maybe the mounting the pickup over the strings isn't such a wild idea after all. What are you going to do with the cabling?

A Tokai guitar or bass from any era, that has been made in Japan will certainly be a great instrument. Made anywhere else, expect nothing more then a generic copy built to the average standard for an instrument made in that particular country, but with an unwarranted premium on the price due to the name on headstock.

The Schaller site still won't load, but I managed to find what looks like the current equivalent of the pickup I have on the Thomann Site. Have a look at all the photos to see how the adjustable mounting system works. According to the technical drawings the pickup itself is only 9mm high, but you probably need to add another 1mm for the mounting system. It's designed for the top of the pickup to be flush with the top surface of the fingerboard and so quite close to the strings. I have mine mounted by the bridge and bolted through the top of the guitar (with the neck mounting system removed). The strings are probably only a couple of millimetres above the pickup but I haven't noticed any of the adverse effects on the tuning that having the pickup that close can often produce, so I suspect it's not particular "hot" compared with the average pickup.

That looks lovely! What's the panel on the back for?

Schaller used to make an acoustic guitar pickup that was designed to attach to the end of the fingerboard by screwing into the sides. I have one fitted to my acoustic guitar and it's slim enough to fit between the soundboard and the strings. I don't know if they still make it because their site won't load for me at the moment.

Here's mine which I still own: It's Burns Sonic from the early 60s which I got second hand in 1981 for £60 including the original Hard Case and a Fender-branded strap thrown for good measure. It's far from original, although most of the modifications were done before I got it, and all of what I have changed - replacement bridge, machine heads potentiometers and capacitors were done to keep the bass playable as the old parts had worn out. I used this with the first two bands I played with including the demo recordings that nearly got my second band signed to CBS records! It doesn't get much use these days as I play 5-strings and Bass VIs, but I'm toying with the idea of using it as a basis for a custom Bass VI build.

Here's mine: As you can see it's hardly in original condition. However what I consider to be the essential components of the Burns Sonic sound the pickups and their placement, and the overall construction of the bass are all original. The other electronic components although replacements were done with the same value components and wiring layout as was on the bass when I bought it. Mine also had the latter style fully adjustable bridge, so although the 80s brass version looks like an anachronism, it's probably closer in overall mass and break angles of the string than some of the alternatives I could have fitted at the time. You can also see how the heelless set neck construction works. This cost me all of £60 in 1981, which included the original Burns Hard Case and a Fender branded strap thrown in by the shop to sweeten the deal! Regarding playing the bass through a guitar amp that's what I did on all the recordings I made with this bass including the demos that almost got my band signed to CBS records back in 1982. Maybe that's as important to the sound as the pickups their placement and wiring!

I would be suggesting this: Plus if you believe that construction is important, the Burns Sonic has a unique heelless set-neck design, and no adjustable truss-rod.

Different pickups and from the looks of things different pickup placement - IMO the extreme closeness of the pickups to the bridge and neck respectively is an important aspect of the sound. I don't know for sure but I would imagine that the all-important 2 pickup selection will put the pickups in the more conventional parallel mode rather than series as it does on my Sonic bass. Also if you think these make a significant difference; neck and body woods are different and the overall construction of the two basses is completely different. About all they have in common IMO is the Burns name and the scale length.

But the original tuners would have been very similar in terms of size and design. Also for the scale length, since this bass has a zero fret you should measure form the centre of the zero fret to the centre of the 12th fret and double it.