Jellyfish Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 Having gotten very used to my Ibanez Prestige 5-string bass, I am now seeking a bass guitar of similar proportions or more specifically, 16.5mm string spacing. I've looked at most of the major brands and can only see Ibanez that do them with the string spacing like this. Does anyone else know of any other 5 string basses that have 16.5mm spacing? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Cloud Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 I seem to recall that 5 string Ken Smith basses had a spacing similar spacing to 16.5 but I may be wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumple Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 I'm a fan of narrow string spacing on a 5 string, 17mm or 17.5 suits me, 16.5 is very narrow and apart from Ibanez there probably aren't a lot of mass produced basses out there that would fit the bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dread Bass Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 (edited) I think Music man use 16.5mm on their 5 strings. Could be wrong though. *Edit* - i checked i was wrong. Edited December 15, 2012 by Dread Bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumple Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 Yeah MM5's are 17.5mm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dread Bass Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 not sure what i was thinking tbh. The worst part is i have owned two 5 string rays Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildratte Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 My Hamer Cruise 2TEK 5er has 16.5 mm, as well as my Soundgear 5ers. But the Hamer is not a current model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 I used to own a Washburn ABT105 5-string bass which had 16.5mm spacing. It was a fairly poor 5-string bass though. BTW what's the obsession with only going by the string spacing at the bridge? It's only part of the picture. I thought that I was very tolerant of different string spacings, as I had a lot of different 5-string basses with different bridge string spacings. However on measuring the string spacing at the point where I actually pluck the strings, I found that they were all with .25mm of each other, due to differences in taper between the bridge and the nut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumple Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 For me I think the spacing at the nut is crucial to, as this in combination with the spacing at the bridge effects how far apart the strings are when fretting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 [quote name='Rumple' timestamp='1355589687' post='1900300'] For me I think the spacing at the nut is crucial to, as this in combination with the spacing at the bridge effects how far apart the strings are when fretting. [/quote] Exactly! The bass I have with the widest spacing at the bridge also has the narrowest at the nut. Anyone looking at it purely from a bridge spacing PoV might be in for a bit of a shock when they actually played it. Therefore unless I'm supplying specifications for having a bass built I've stopped looking at the numbers and just go with how the bass feels when I play it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 The olp ray5s are narrower than the usa ones , the tony levin edition one is a nice bass in general. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieG Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 My Ken Smith Burner Custom 5 is 16mm, very comfortable indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellyfish Posted December 15, 2012 Author Share Posted December 15, 2012 [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1355589914' post='1900305'] Exactly! The bass I have with the widest spacing at the bridge also has the narrowest at the nut. Anyone looking at it purely from a bridge spacing PoV might be in for a bit of a shock when they actually played it. Therefore unless I'm supplying specifications for having a bass built I've stopped looking at the numbers and just go with how the bass feels when I play it. [/quote] Well that's certainly what I've done in the past. However, the basses that I'm really looking to try (5 string Spector's and 5 string Musicman's) aren't really stocked in any shops near me which is unfortunate. So I thought I'd turn to facts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 One mm won't make any difference imo just get an mm sr5 you say nowhere near stocks ebmm but your avatar thing says birmingham? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbyrne Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 I think my old Hohner B Bass V had 16.5mm spacing - or something near it. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 It's an option on all Status-Gaphite basses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil-osopher10 Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 warwick thumb 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhysP Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 Spector Euro 5LX basses have a bridge string spacing of 0.66", which converts to 16.7mm, which is pretty damn close. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kongo Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 (edited) [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1355589914' post='1900305'] Exactly! The bass I have with the widest spacing at the bridge also has the narrowest at the nut. Anyone looking at it purely from a bridge spacing PoV might be in for a bit of a shock when they actually played it. Therefore unless I'm supplying specifications for having a bass built I've stopped looking at the numbers and just go with how the bass feels when I play it. [/quote] Ibanez BTB 6-string comes to mind. Generous spacing at the bridge...Almost the same at the nut, neck has almost no taper. X-D Riffing anywhere before the 5th fret becomes tiring. As for brands, if you're using an Ibanez, LTD also has very similar spacing. I bought an F-series purely for the narrower spacing for when I'm playing stuff that's pretty much finger style and my left hand has to flail all over the shop to keep up. Helps keep fatigue down when unnecessary mass of bass is just that. Failing that, Spector? Peavey? Warwick? Edited December 16, 2012 by Kongo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellyfish Posted December 16, 2012 Author Share Posted December 16, 2012 [quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1355600166' post='1900527'] One mm won't make any difference imo just get an mm sr5 you say nowhere near stocks ebmm but your avatar thing says birmingham? [/quote] Well I say that, but what I really mean is 'I've not seen any in the shops that I regularly visit'. If anyone knows of any stockists of Musicman basses in Birmingham then please let me know. [quote name='Kongo' timestamp='1355618555' post='1900737'] Failing that, Spector? Peavey? Warwick? [/quote] Spector 5 strings are hard to find to give them a try. And unfortunately the same case with Peavey and Warwick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 [quote name='Jellyfish' timestamp='1355659737' post='1900973'] Well I say that, but what I really mean is 'I've not seen any in the shops that I regularly visit'. If anyone knows of any stockists of Musicman basses in Birmingham then please let me know. [/quote] Just had a look and they are not as easily available as they were are they? PMT have none at all in any stores and Guitar Guitar have one black one but I can't see which store it is at? I'm not far away (25 miles from B'ham) if you wanted to try mine, as you can see I have both a ceramic 2007 and an Alnico new spec one 2010 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.young Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 G&L Tribute is 17mm, which is pretty close to what you're looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellyfish Posted December 16, 2012 Author Share Posted December 16, 2012 [quote name='pete.young' timestamp='1355665326' post='1901063'] G&L Tribute is 17mm, which is pretty close to what you're looking for. [/quote] Owned one of those and I loved the neck on them but the string spacing was definitely a factor in my decision to eventually sell it. I realise it's only small but I can definitely notice it. [quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1355660349' post='1900986'] Just had a look and they are not as easily available as they were are they? PMT have none at all in any stores and Guitar Guitar have one black one but I can't see which store it is at? I'm not far away (25 miles from B'ham) if you wanted to try mine, as you can see I have both a ceramic 2007 and an Alnico new spec one 2010 [/quote] Shame I don't drive really.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 Well that could be tricky then keep an eye on pmt's stock, that's where my blue one came from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glefty Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 Any Warwick 5 standard is 16.5, except the broad neck option ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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