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1st 5 string guidance needed


Booga13
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After a LONG break from playing I have rediscovered the joy of bass and, having settled on my 4 string offerings (Stringray 2EQ and an RMI Boomslang) I want to test the waters on my first 5er. Looking to spend in the 250-350 range, more than happy to go the 2nd hand route. Musically I am rock based but covering from Chilli Peppers to Sepultura so something versatile, don't really care about looks, it's all about the sound and probably more so the playability.

Currently on my watchlist are:

Ibanez SR505

Bass Collection SB315

Spector Q5 or Performer

Warwick Rockbass

MTD Kingston Artist

Obviously I can't try them all and I have tried youtubing but that is far too dependent on the the recording quality/method and is just taking me in circles.

My gut is saying MTD but I'm a research fiend and classic overthinker so figured a quick post here might help, I know no one will have played them all but if I can trim the list down based on user experience that would definatly help.

If you have any others that fit the bill please suggest or, if you think I'll have a better first experience for a little more +100ish (G&L M2500,  higer end Spector or other)

Cheers

 

 

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36 minutes ago, MikanHannille said:

Yamaha's are good too with that budget.

+1 for Yamaha. You should be able to pick a vgc S/H BB425 within your budget (pic of my old one below). It has a versatile P/J set up and its PUPs carry real punch. Purely passive. 

I personally preferred it to the Warwick Rockbass I had, which had underpowered pots and I found the bass to be generally a bit meh. 

Ibbys SR Premiums are just fantastic: immensely playable neck and the single Nordstrand PUPs deliver a wonderful meaty growl, but likely to be a little bit above your budget - however, I'd recommend stretching to one of those rather than the Standard if you can (purely down to the Nord PUPs). Has both passive and a very flexible active EQ on board. 

Yamaha BB425.JPG

Edited by Al Krow
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1 hour ago, Booga13 said:

If you have any others that fit the bill please suggest

I'd suggest you also take a look at Sire, Lakland Skylines and Fender Squire basses.

If you can't get to a shop can you see what other bass players are using in bands playing locally. Ask them about their choices.

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Having had lengthy personal experience of Ibanez, Yamaha and MTD I can safely say that you cannot go wrong with any of them. Fantastic instruments at every price point. I would strongly recommend playing as many basses as you can - finding that first 5 string can be tough. I spent almost a year trying different basses out before settling on one.

The neck profile and string spacing at both the bridge and the nut are all things to consider, however numbers only tell half the story. There is no substitute for physically getting the instrument in your hands.

My main advice though would be to save a little longer and add about £200 to your existing budget. Once you get above the £500 mark you start coming across some really excellent basses.

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Wow, thanks for the quick responses, liking the Yamaha a lot. I hadn't entertained Cort as a brand, don't think they existed when I last shopped and I think I was assuming they were a low quality budget brand (not sure why), will give them a look.

The Sire V7/P7  are ones I had looked at the top end of my budget, not sure why they weren't on the list.

Unfortunately, despite knowing lots of local bands NONE of them play a 5, might have to spend a day in Andertons seeing what works best for me and go from there, I'm in no huge rush.

Might have to sell some bits and pieces and expand the price range in the meantime.

 

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5 minutes ago, Booga13 said:

I'm just outside Kingston-upon-Thames

 

If you have a free day some time, pay @thebassgallery in Camden a visit. Plenty of tasty 5 stringers in stock and you’ll be able to get a good feel for various brands.

If you’re prepared to travel a bit further afield, I can also highly recommend Bass Direct - have a look at their current selection of used basses: http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Second_hand_Ex_demo_Bass_Guitars.html

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The Low B string is, in some ways, not like the others. Expect to notice a difference in how flobbadob the Low B is depending on string choice and on scale length.

Personally (and YMMV of course) I won't bother with any 5-string bass unless it has a 35" scale length.

 

Edited by Happy Jack
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Hmm, looks like I could spend weeks at the Bass Gallery😂

I was thinking of making the journey to Bass Direct anyway, I've got a couple of OLD items that Andertons wouldn't take in PX (preamp too old and they couldn't find a guide price for the bass!) so was thinking of using their sell on commission option.

So the scale length makes a huge difference to the B string?

Tks DH, decidedly average won't give me a good first experience, Q5 off the list.

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I agree with Happy Jack about checking out the B to make sure it’s not floppy. However I have both 34 & 35 which are both fine. Spector are great and 5’s are generally 35”. Look for a Legend rather than  Performer, should be within budget. You get the curved body which is Spector’s speciality. 

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Never tried a fan fretted, I may have to explore them, I think they just seemed too much of a leap, 5 strings AND fanned frets!  Will see if I can find one to try.

I think I could probably squeeze the budget to a Legend so Performer off the list, cheers. 

 

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15 minutes ago, Grahambythesea said:

I agree with Happy Jack about checking out the B to make sure it’s not floppy. However I have both 34 & 35 which are both fine. Spector are great and 5’s are generally 35”. Look for a Legend rather than  Performer, should be within budget. You get the curved body which is Spector’s speciality. 

Totally agree with this - B strings can be terrible on badly-made basses, but that doesn't mean that Bs on all scale lengths other than super long (over 34'') are bad, in fact far from it - I've heard 32'' fivers that sound stellar. IMO of course.

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I wouldn’t get too caught up in the folklore regarding scale lengths and quality of the low B. There are many luthiers out there making 5s and 6es at shorter scale lengths (30”/32”/33”) which sound and feel fantastic. Admittedly these tend to be quite high end instruments but it is proof that there are more factors than simply scale to worry about. The kind of strings on the bass makes a HUGE difference, for a start. 

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It's worth being fussy about the tension on the B string. On my GMR it's as tight as the others. On my Jazz+V - otherwise a top spec bass - it's so floppy it's unplayable. On my Warwick Thumb 6 it's useable, but nowhere near the GMR. 

Changing string gauge might help - and I'm thinking of re-stringing the J+V EADGC to see if that helps. But for your first 5 you really want something that plays well straight away without messing around. 

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3 minutes ago, josie said:

 But for your first 5 you really want something that plays well straight away without messing around. 

That's my real worry, that I'll buy something that suffers from flobby B and it'll put me off 5s for good. 

 

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