5 string P basses

[Grassie]

Morning all,

 

I’m interested in your opinions/experiences of 5er Ps, particularly Fender or Sire.

I’ve found myself drawn back to 5ers since picking up an RB Streamer last year, but I’m after something a bit more traditional looking.

My main concern with 5 string Ps is the B string - do they have a certain amount of clarity or have you found them to be a bit on the wooly side?

Fanx. 😊

[franzbassist]

I had a Sire P8 that was a terrific bass. Everything about it was top notch, and I had no concern at all with the B string.

 

But...

 

I sat in Andertons and tried six basses of the same spec when I bought it, and they were all very different. Yes they had the same core tone, but two weighed more than a small planet and two had dodgy electrics. I don't remember the B strings being particularly bad, so that's a plus.  The one I bought was a superb bass and was the perfect combination of playability, weight, tone and QC being spot on.  The others, much less so...

Edited 10 hours ago by franzbassist

[BlueMoon]

I had a Fender American Professional I 5 string P bass for a while. Not a bad bass. The string spacing suits a switch from 4 string to 5 string and the neck feels very comfortable. I added a string retainer to the B string, which seemed to tighten the sound. The pickups as supplied were a bit "meh", so I switched to a 5 string Quarter Pounder.

[HeadlessBassist]

I had a trans-white second generation Sire P7 Ash 5-string and it was a great bass. Fantastic sounding B-string. Highly recommended.

[chris_b]

Finding a 5 string P bass was a lightning bolt moment for me.

 

You've got to kiss a lot of frogs. . . . but IMO when you find the right P5 it will be a keeper. I lucked into a Mike Lull PJ5 and it's been my main bass for the last 14 years.

 

You might need to replace the pickups to get the best sound. A good set will be an investment. Also putting on a set of TI flats improved the sound of my Lull a thousand fold.

[Grassie]

Thank you guys, I should add that weight is also a consideration. I bought a full fat US stingray back in March (4 string) and apart from realising ‘rays aren’t really for me, the thing is heavy, so it will probably end up in the for sale section in order to fund something P/5/tasty. 

[Grassie]

Just spotted a Schecter P5 on Rich Tone’s website, these have a 35in scale so that’s definitely one to add to the list.

[Terry M.]

The best 5 string P bass I've personally played was neither from Fender or Squier but an Xotic XP-1t 5. It was an antique white variant that The Bass Gallery had for a while. I'm not a P bass fan in general but I'll never forget it.

Edited 2 hours ago by Terry M.

[redbandit599]

I have a Sire P5 5 ( the passive one) can't fault it. Lovely neck, sounds like a P, the B is fine.

 

I'll also throw the Reverend Mercalli into the mix. 5 string reverse P and MM - passive. I have both, the Mercalli is a bruiser and my main gigging bass. Very capable with a lot of tonal variation if required. I use the Sire as back up and pick it up first at home for practice and learning songs etc.

Edited 9 minutes ago by redbandit599