Five-string PJ suggestions

[Danuman]

Hi all,

I’ve been thinking about getting a five-string PJ, but I’ve not come across very many. Is there any reason for that?

Budget would be less than 1000 (even better if used) and generally I’d prefer it to look like a P. Any good suggestions?

Thanks!

Dan

[jrixn1]

.

Edited June 17 by jrixn1

[Machines]

https://www.thomann.de/gb/5_string_p_basses.html?sw=Marcus Miller P7&smuuid=5cc176ca-1550-46f7-8469-80728489e326

[Cuzzie]

Sandberg VT model is the beans - can Be had for under a grand second hand

Edited January 24, 2019 by Cuzzie

[Beedster]

FCS Reggie Hamilton 5 was one of the best instruments I’ve ever played ever. Why did I sell it .....?

[mingsta]

Sire P7 Gen2 will be awesome and leave you plenty of change off a grand 

[therealting]

My Yamaha BB435 ticks all those boxes for much less than £1k

[Danuman]

Cheers all!

I had checked the online retailers, but most of what they offer is either too expensive, or too cheap!

The Sire stuff seems like it would fit somewhere in the middle, but I’m just not fond of the way they look.

The Sandberg looks like a nice riff on the old Fender design, but I’ve never played one. The BB’s seem nice too!

[CameronJ]

The BBs are glorious. I’ve owned one of the older ones (a 1025x, passive) and currently one of the new ones (735a - active) both are fantastic basses which you’ll be very hard pressed to beat for the money they go for.

I also own a Sandberg VM5, which is actually a P pickup with a MM humbucker in the bridge. Really lovely bass, rock solid and the bridge pickup is a nice change of flavour from the usual J in that position. A meatier tone that I use soloed more often than pure Js.

If you want a wild card suggestion, I’d suggest looking at a Schecter Model T Session. If you like the 51 Precision aesthetic you’ll love it. @mcnach has the 4 string version!

[therealting]

4 hours ago, Danuman said:

Cheers all!

I had checked the online retailers, but most of what they offer is either too expensive, or too cheap!

The Sire stuff seems like it would fit somewhere in the middle, but I’m just not fond of the way they look.

The Sandberg looks like a nice riff on the old Fender design, but I’ve never played one. The BB’s seem nice too!

Don’t be fooled by the low price of the BBs. My 435 gets more playtime than my Dingwall Super P...

[CameronJ]

15 minutes ago, therealting said:

Don’t be fooled by the low price of the BBs. My 435 gets more playtime than my Dingwall Super P...

I have to +1 this. I played a 434 in GuitarGuitar Glasgow a few months back and it played better than almost everything else on the wall. The only thing matching it for quality and sound was a Lakland PJ which was nearly 3 times the price!

[grenadillabama]

Schecter Model T 5 string looks like a natural FenderTele (with black parts). Active EMG PJ pickups with 18 volt 2-band e.q. It looks good with 5 tuning machines on one side. 35"scale so the B string won't be floppy. 

[CameronJ]

14 minutes ago, grenadillabama said:

Schecter Model T 5 string looks like a natural FenderTele (with black parts). Active EMG PJ pickups with 18 volt 2-band e.q. It looks good with 5 tuning machines on one side. 35"scale so the B string won't be floppy. 

I’ve been trying my hardest not to click “buy now” on one for quite some time now...

[Al Krow]

18 minutes ago, grenadillabama said:

Schecter Model T 5 string looks like a natural FenderTele (with black parts). Active EMG PJ pickups with 18 volt 2-band e.q. It looks good with 5 tuning machines on one side. 35"scale so the B string won't be floppy. 

 

3 minutes ago, CameronJ said:

I’ve been trying my hardest not to click “buy now” on one for quite some time now...

Agreed and if the Schecter Model T had a 3 band EQ it would be very tempting. The Yammy BB735A does have that feature, which is partly why I guess you did hit "buy now" on that one

[Al Krow]

PS none of the low B's on my 34" scale basses (Yammys and Ibbys) feel floppy. 

[CameronJ]

12 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Agreed and if the Schecter Model T had a 3 band EQ it would be very tempting. The Yammy BB735A does have that feature, which is partly why I guess you did hit "buy now" on that one

Well...that and the fact I was able to try the 735a in person whereas nowhere seems to physically stock the Model T 

12 hours ago, Al Krow said:

PS none of the low B's on my 34" scale basses (Yammys and Ibbys) feel floppy. 

Agreed 100%. Scale length isn’t the only factor in determining the feel of a B string, yet so many out there seem to subscribe to the myth that it is. There are boutique luthiers all over the world making basses with Low Bs at all kinds of scale lengths. Alan Cringean (ACG) being one who immediately springs to mind. He’s made many a 30” scale bass with a Low B that feels and sounds great. Andy Brown at Wingbass also makes 30” scalers with similar results.

Edited January 26, 2019 by CameronJ

[eude]

1 hour ago, CameronJ said:

Well...that and the fact I was able to try the 735a in person whereas nowhere seems to physically stock the Model T 

Agreed 100%. Scale length isn’t the only factor in determining the feel of a B string, yet so many out there seem to subscribe to the myth that it is. There are boutique luthiers all over the world making basses with Low Bs at all kinds of scale lengths. Alan Cringean (ACG) being one who immediately springs to mind. He’s made manny a 30” scale bass with a Low B that feels and sounds great. Andy Brown at Wingbass also makes 30” scalers with similar results.

I'll second that!

I've been playing ACG's for a very long time now, 4s, 5s and 6s and I've never had them any longer than 33", and now all my ACGs are 31.5" scale, including 3 6s.

I've played many 34", 35" basses and even a 36" bass that all had crappy B strings. The scale length is only a part of the equation, and if you over compensate for the other bits you can achieve a great low B at a shorter scale.

Don't let anyone tell you that you have to have a 35" scale bass to have a good B, play the bass first, then make up your mind 😎

Eude

[lee650]

I've just taken delivery of a Yamaha BB1025X! And it's an absolutely fantastic bass. I've owned lots of really expensive boutique 5 strings over the years costing three/four times what I paid for the Yammy,and it's on par with  most of them! Fantastic neck.

Luckily there's one for sale on the Facebook bass forums! (I think the guy may have it up on here too)

[Danuman]

Ooh, now we’re talking. I’m not at all keen on headstocks with opaque colours on them - and I was thinking of a maple neck - but that coffee-burst BB reeeeeally hits the spot... I’ll go and see if I can try one!

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, lee650 said:

I've just taken delivery of a Yamaha BB1025X! And it's an absolutely fantastic bass. I've owned lots of really expensive boutique 5 strings over the years costing three/four times what I paid for the Yammy,and it's on par with  most of them! Fantastic neck.

Luckily there's one for sale on the Facebook bass forums! (I think the guy may have it up on here too)

Another +1 for the BB1025. Been in my herd for a year now (I think I managed to get myself the very last end of line one in white from the Yammy store in London, egged on by young Cameron... ). It's an excellent bass.

There's a black used BB1025X (X => with pic guard, that's the only difference) in the FS on at half your budget.

[Danuman]

Cheers! I would give that one a go, but it’s a bit of a swim from Amsterdam. 😅

[CameronJ]

2 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Another +1 for the BB1025. Been in my herd for a year now (I think I managed to get myself the very last end of line one in white from the Yammy store in London, egged on by young Cameron... ). It's an excellent bass.

There's a black used BB1025X (X => with pic guard, that's the only difference) in the FS on at half your budget.

I’m happy to take the blame for this one 

[mcnach]

19 hours ago, Al Krow said:

 

Agreed and if the Schecter Model T had a 3 band EQ it would be very tempting. The Yammy BB735A does have that feature, which is partly why I guess you did hit "buy now" on that one

 

My (4-string) Model T will be modified very very soon. I never really liked the 2 band EQ on this one, so I'm about to order a few components from EMG to rewire it like this:

1) stacked volume + PASSIVE tone control

2) blend, like the original

3) VMC module: semiparametric mids.

 

I really don't need an active bass control on the bass, and the active treble is a bit meh, I much rather have a passive tone control. The mids cover 100-1000Hz... Can't wait!

[redbandit599]

On 26/01/2019 at 10:51, Danuman said:

Cheers! I would give that one a go, but it’s a bit of a swim from Amsterdam. 😅

Hi there, it's my black BB1025x that's listed on here. Happy to look at shipping if you are interested? Good luck in your search! 😁

[chris_b]

The best PJ5 I've played is my Mike Lull. I guess that's over budget. Maybe still worth saving for, though.

I've heard several very good players using Sire basses. Not sure if they were playing PJ's or not but check them out.

Every Sire I've tried has been too heavy for my bad back, but if I could find a light one it would be mine!