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 yesterday at 08:06 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 23 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 20 hours ago by redbandit599

[Norris]

My Sire P7-5 was very nice straight out of the box. Nice B string, sounds like a P, didn't break the bank. Even the tort scratch plate looks good.

 

However I'm leaning slightly more towards my Sterling Sub5 now that I've fitted a Retrovibe Stinger preamp. It's a bit lighter  with closer string spacing and again very affordable.

 

I do gig both of them though.

[snorkie635]

I have a Fender USA P5 and the 'B' string sounds very good to my ears. It's also around 9lbs, so not a back-breaker. Here it is on the right.

 

 

[Terry M.]

43 minutes ago, snorkie635 said:

I have a Fender USA P5 and the 'B' string sounds very good to my ears. It's also around 9lbs, so not a back-breaker. Here it is on the right.

 

 

By any chance do you like white basses with tort pickguards and rosewood boards? Nice collection mate I'm just being silly 😂

[TheGhostofJaco]

Agree that you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a good one. Years ago I was certain that I wanted to add a 5 string Fender P, went and played it and was let down. The B string was not great. Fender 5 ztrings in general have not done it for me, but in the case of the Pbass, it's difficult to make that barky pickup sound right on a low B. 

 

That said, the Moollon 5 string P classic is apparently incredible. I have never played one, but I find it interesting that a builder who strives to make the most authentic old school P's and J's out there, went in a different direction with the pickup for this model. I did own his J Classic 5, and thats an amazing 5 string bass if you want the feel and vibe of a mid 60's fender with a low B. So I have to imagine his 5 string P may be worth looking into, if you can track one down.

[M@23]

I like a Fender P5, and IME, they’ve been great. Rather than a super clear, solid low B, I’d say the B is uniform with the rest of the bass. It sounds like a P bass. It’s not a Lakland, and won’t have that B. 
I also have a 5 string PJ that I play with P pickup solo’d, it sounds great. But it’s not a P bass, in feel or sound.

[M@23]

On 18/06/2025 at 08:25, Grassie said:

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. 😊

Also, you’re on the IOW. Message me if you wanna try my Fender P5/Yamaha PJ5!

Edited 6 hours ago by M@23

[Grassie]

1 hour ago, M@23 said:

Also, you’re on the IOW. Message me if you wanna try my Fender P5/Yamaha PJ5!

Ahh mate you’re a star! I will definitely be in touch (after this weekend…. 😎)

Really kind of you Matt. 😁

[Terry M.]

1 hour ago, M@23 said:

I also have a 5 string PJ that I play with P pickup solo’d, it sounds great. But it’s not a P bass, in feel or sound.

Curious as to which one? I found the P pickup soloed on the Yamaha BB series (PJ) to sound more P than an actual P. Especially the passive ones.

[M@23]

14 minutes ago, Terry M. said:

Curious as to which one? I found the P pickup soloed on the Yamaha BB series (PJ) to sound more P than an actual P. Especially the passive ones.

Guess it depends which P bass tone you’re after, and I should have qualified my post by saying I think of the looser, low mid P bass tone. 

I have a BBP35 and Am Pro PV. They’re in the same ballpark, but the Yamaha is more ‘modern’ sounding. The BB has deeper/tigher lows and more aggressive upper mids. Both are brilliant, just different variations on a theme. 

Edited 4 hours ago by M@23

[Terry M.]

5 minutes ago, M@23 said:

Guess it depends which P bass tone you’re after, I have a BBP35 and Am Pro PV. They’re in the same ballpark, but the Yamaha is more ‘modern’ sounding. The BB has deeper/tigher lows and more aggressive upper mids. Both are brilliant, just different variations on a theme. 

Oh nice. In a mix can you still make a distinction between the two? 

[M@23]

19 minutes ago, Terry M. said:

Oh nice. In a mix can you still make a distinction between the two? 

I doubt it out front. It is probably one of those things we notice, solo, in a studio environment. I really like the way the P bass sits in my current project, but nobody else would/does or cares 😂

Similarly, for functions stuff I’d pick the BB because I prefer the slap sound… but as above, non-bassists wouldn’t notice. 

[Lozz196]

I find the difference between my Fender Precision and my Yamaha BB1100s is that the P pickup soloed on the Yam sounds like the Fender after it`s had a bit of eq or compression applied, a bit crisper on the highs and less in the low mids/tighter in the lows. This at home practice levels playing along to YouTube, I doubt I`d notice at band volumes.

[Terry M.]

6 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

I find the difference between my Fender Precision and my Yamaha BB1100s is that the P pickup soloed on the Yam sounds like the Fender after it`s had a bit of eq or compression applied, a bit crisper on the highs and less in the low mids/tighter in the lows. This at home practice levels playing along to YouTube, I doubt I`d notice at band volumes.

So do you have a preference between the natural sound of the two? I understand the Fender will probably be the more familiar sounding of the two but if you could only pick one based on personal preference?

[Lozz196]

Def the Fender. Even though the general sound of the Yam is what I aim for I prefer to sculpt/remove from the warmer more rounded Fender sound, figuring I can remove what is there to whatever degree needed, but can’t add what isn’t there in the first place. When I have the Fender as I want it it still retains an overall warmth which the Yam lacks. 
 

Sorry, re-reading this I’d say completely unaltered then the Yam is my preferred type of sound, though I do find it can feel a bit “sterile” if that makes any sense? 

Edited 3 hours ago by Lozz196

[Terry M.]

1 hour ago, Lozz196 said:

Def the Fender. Even though the general sound of the Yam is what I aim for I prefer to sculpt/remove from the warmer more rounded Fender sound, figuring I can remove what is there to whatever degree needed, but can’t add what isn’t there in the first place. When I have the Fender as I want it it still retains an overall warmth which the Yam lacks. 
 

Sorry, re-reading this I’d say completely unaltered then the Yam is my preferred type of sound, though I do find it can feel a bit “sterile” if that makes any sense? 

I get you. It's interesting because I tried a used Yamaha BB1025x last Saturday in The Bass Gallery and switched off the bridge pickup and went P bass mode-warmth and punch for days I thought. Obviously not by you but I feel the Yamaha BB range doesn't get the credit I feel they deserve.

[Lozz196]

Oh I think they`re great Terry, I bought the BB1100s this year as a nostalgia move because my first proper bass back in 1987 was one of these. It really is so versatile, not much it can`t do, and super-reliable too, did hundreds of gigs on my one back then, and with no back-up. If I were a session musician and could only take one "does it all" instrument then this would be the bass I`d take. The only change/improvement I could think of is having volume controls for each pickup rather than just the P/PJ/J switch.