ForestPoetry Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 Greetings! I'm in the market for a new 5-string (fretted) to replace my SR305E. The other day I sat down very briefly with a Warwick GPS Thumb in Andertons. My god. Safe to say the only thing stopping me was the £1500 price tag. Little out of my range at the moment. But that tone!!! I'm really feeling the Sire Marcus Miller M7 5 string (Ash version). Any owners here care to persuade me? Never played a 35" scale before but that thing is sending me tidal GAS waves. Looks and sounds very versatile. What looks like immense bang for the buck. I know these things have been taking the bass scene by storm the last couple of years. I'm on a mission to demo one myself. The sheer amount of controls is mildly intimidating. Failing that it'd be another Ibby, probably the SR655 as I've had the Bart equipped SRs before and I want something different. The P/J Norstrands in that look really nice. I swear by SRs and I know if I pick one up it'd work for me right off the bat, but I'm very open to trying something different. Anything else I should be aware of? I'd love an MTD but a lot of them are a little on the pricey side for me right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoneFurrow Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 I don't know if this is within your budget, but there's a very nice MTD Kingston KZ5 in the For Sale section right now - here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulhauser Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 Spector Euro5 LX, made in the Czech Republic. You can score one used around 1000GBP. They sound great, very well built, great B string and has some great ergonomical features that you will like (based on the SR305) Also korean Spectors, called the Legend series has some very high price/value basses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisheth Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 The Lakland J-Sonic's are really cool if you're looking at a 35 scale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len_derby Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 If you want to buy new and have a budget I can recommend looking at yamahas. I've been very happy with my TRB5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 13 hours ago, ForestPoetry said: Greetings! I'm in the market for a new 5-string (fretted) to replace my SR305E. The other day I sat down very briefly with a Warwick GPS Thumb in Andertons. My god. Safe to say the only thing stopping me was the £1500 price tag. Little out of my range at the moment. But that tone!!! Get a used one. You can find virtually unplayed basses in the classifieds for a lot less than the new price. For your budget you could be in Shuker/ACG/Lakland etc territory. If you can save a little longer and get up to the £1500 level the basses get much more interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 (edited) I have a Lakland 55-01 and it really punches above it's price IMO. The J-Sonics also look very cool! Both are 35" scale and will probably set you back about £400-£600 used. Si Edited February 1, 2018 by Sibob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TorturedSaints Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 There are a couple of ACG five strings for sale on the forums here. I have 2 ACGs and they are amazing basses. This one is amazing value for a hand-built instrument (nothing to do with me by the way): Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 (edited) 14 hours ago, ForestPoetry said: I'm really feeling the Sire Marcus Miller M7 5 string (Ash version). Any owners here care to persuade me? Never played a 35" scale before but that thing is sending me tidal GAS waves. Looks and sounds very versatile. What looks like immense bang for the buck. I know these things have been taking the bass scene by storm the last couple of years. I'm on a mission to demo one myself. The sheer amount of controls is mildly intimidating. Failing that it'd be another Ibby, probably the SR655 as I've had the Bart equipped SRs before and I want something different. The P/J Norstrands in that look really nice. I swear by SRs and I know if I pick one up it'd work for me right off the bat, but I'm very open to trying something different. Anything else I should be aware of? I'd love an MTD but a lot of them are a little on the pricey side for me right now. First off, I would wholeheartedly agree with everyone who has said "buy secondhand". Your money will go a long way and would easily get you that Warwick if you found one. You'd definitely be in Shuker/ACG/etc territory. As far as the Sire V7 is concerned, I will gladly try to persuade you. I adore mine, and as you say the VFM is unbelievable. I have tried a lot of 5 string Jazz basses and the only one I've played that was better than the Sire was a £3000 Celinder. The Fender Marcus Miller sig 5-string costs nearly 2 grand and was blown into the weeds by the Sire. And please don't be intimidated by the controls, it's really not much more complex than the EQ on the SR655. The only differences are a} a sweepable mid (without the sweep a mid control is a bit pointless IMHO), b} an active/passive EQ bypass switch and c} passive tone control. It's tremendously flexible and dead easy once you get past the initial OMG-there's-so-many-knobs shock Edited February 1, 2018 by Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 I switched from a 34" 5 string (G&L L2500) to a 35" 5 (Lakland DJ5) last year and found the transition very easy; however, now I find 34" 5 strings feel weird, which is a shame as there are fewer 35" models on the market. What is your budget? Lower than £1500 obviously, but what sort of money are you talking about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Steve Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 2 hours ago, chris_b said: Get a used one. You can find virtually unplayed basses in the classifieds for a lot less than the new price. For your budget you could be in Shuker/ACG/Lakland etc territory. If you can save a little longer and get up to the £1500 level the basses get much more interesting. This The second hand prices for top of the range Warwicks are insultingly cheap (as I know to my cost from selling a couple) so if you fancy a Thumb, have a browse https://www.ebay.co.uk/b/Warwick-Bass-Guitars/4713/bn_25711263 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CameronJ Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 @ForestPoetry, what’s your budget? Sire make great excellent instruments, no doubt. There are a few lovely MTD Kingstons currently for sale here on the forum. A tobacco burst KZ5, a very nice red gloss KZ5 and the AG5 Signature Kingston. You really can’t go wrong with any of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huge Hands Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 I'll second Rich's comments on the V7. I bought mine after a couple of pro mates of mine bought theirs and raved about them. I love mine, and actually like the headstock, which seems to be the main bone of contention about them on here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubinga5 Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 I just bought a Sire V7 5. Alder/ rosewood. One of the best Jazz basses I've ever played. The preamp just sounds epic.. Watch the ash ones though. I had an ash 5ver and it was heavy. It' the reason I went for the alder. It's hard to get your head around the price. Mine was £426. Delivered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForestPoetry Posted February 1, 2018 Author Share Posted February 1, 2018 Thanks for the input so far guys. Can anyone vouch for this? The M7, that's the one I'm specifically GASSing for. Not so much interested in the Fender type. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubinga5 Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 (edited) Haven't played one. But like the V7 they get great reviews. Andertons have them on there All about the Bass reviews. Edited February 1, 2018 by bubinga5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 4 hours ago, ForestPoetry said: Thanks for the input so far guys. Can anyone vouch for this? The M7, that's the one I'm specifically GASSing for. Not so much interested in the Fender type. Never played one, but just from the photo, the upper fret access looks.....uncomfortable at best. Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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