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5-string bass with wider string spacing


ReeV0

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Hi all,

 

I currently play an Ibanez ATK810 and love it. It has 19mm string spacing. Before that I played an Ibanez SR500 and loved it, that also had 19mm string spacing.

 

My band has started playing a lot of stuff in drop D, drop C, drop C# etc, so figured it was time to get a 5-string. I bought an Ibanez SR1205 but cannot get on with the 16.5mm string spacing. It's too tight.

 

It seems most of the Ibanez 5-string basses are 16.5mm with the exception of the ATK series which are very hard to find (I would love an ATK815). Does anyone have any other suggestions?

 

Thanks!

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What is your budget? 

Also, if you are playing drop D/C etc, you can generally set up a four string to achieve those tunings. My main band plays in drop C. I have a five string and four string set to drop C. I generally gig more with the four string as I generally don't need the extra string but I do more writing and rehearsing with the the five. You could of course play a five string tuned BEAD but if you are in a band playing a lot of open string riffs (as a lot of rock bands tend to do) trying to transpose riffs can be more problematic than simply setting up the bass to a different tuning. 

It might be worth getting to a shop and trying a few different five strings. String spacing at the bridge is one end, shape of the neck near the nut is another thing. It is generally just worth trying out different makes. You might be surprised at what you prefer. 

In terms of the sub £1,000 market, a Squier/Fender/Sire might be worth a try as they will definitely have wider string spacing than the Ibanez, as will something like a Sterling by Musicman (though I think that is narrower than a Fender design). There are loads of good five strings at every budget, including used ones on the BC marketplace.

 

Edited by thodrik
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37 minutes ago, MichaelDean said:

Do you need the highest string of a fiver strung in drop C? I'm currently doing the same and I haven't found I've ventured that high with what we're playing. If I didn't love my Dingwall so much, I'd be cracking out one of my fours with strings to match. 

I'd like to leave it in standard but have the added B-string. We have a lot of tunes in standard tuning, some in drop-D and now some in drop-C. I don't really want to bring 2 basses to gigs so would rather just get a 5-string

 

I'd like to keep the budget under £1000 (would ideally be looking used) and also the weight is another important factor. Would need it to be under 4kg

Edited by ReeV0
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I'm with you. I started my 5-string journey being really afraid of the wider spacings, but once I took the plunge I can no longer play the tighter spacings like on the Ibanez SR basses. These days I'm sticking with 18-19mm on all my fivers (and I don't currently own any 4-strings)

 

If you want to stick with Ibanez, the BTB and EHB series have 18-19mm spacing.

 

Other than that, most Fender-ish five-string will have 19mm spacing (Fender, Lakland, Sire, G&L, etc)

 

It's probably actually quicker to list the basses that have 16-17mm spacings:

 

Off the top of my head:

 

Under 16mm:

- Gibson Thunderbird V

- Rickenbacker 5-string

 

16-17mm brands/models:

- Ibanez ATK and SR series (except the SRMD, which is medium scale and 18mm for some reason)

- Music Man Stingray

- Warwick (except the wide neck varieties)

- Spector

- Schecter (at least their original models, like the Omen, CV, Demon, etc - Not sure about their P-basses)

- Peavey

- Jackson Spectra

 

18mm brands/models:

- Ibanez EHB and RD

- Sandberg

- Yamaha (at least the RB series - Not sure about the BB)

 

19mm brands/models:

- Ibanez BTB

- MTD

- Fender

- Lakland

- Reverend

- Cort JB

Edited by Naigewron
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5 hours ago, Naigewron said:

IOff the top of my head:

 

Under 16mm:

- Rickenbacker 5-string

 

Only if it's a 4-string converted to a 5-string (i.e. one extra string squeezed into the existing size).

 

With 'proper' 5-string Ricks being readily available, that's another reason not to buy a conversion jobbie.

 

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