Inexpensive 5 string bass

[LeftyP]

For some time now I have been thinking of getting a 5 string bass. I play in church and some of our worship songs drop down to an Eb and even to lower D.  I usually play them up the octave (Eb on the A string) and can get away with it but I then have to go to an F and then G by which time I am venturing into six string guitar territory!  I didn't want to spend a lot of money in case I couldn't get the hang of the extra string and my 75 year old back won't take a lot of weight to I hunted around the internet and eventually found a likely candidate at Gear4Music.

 

 

They do a "Chicago 5 string Bass" for £129.99 plus 99p postage!  This includes a lightweight carry case, audio lead and strap! How could I refuse?  When DPD delivered it the next day my wife joked that they must have sent me a toy plastic bass because the box was so light!  The bass was well packed inside a stout cardboard box that was inside another stout cardboard box.  When I eventually uncovered the bass I was impressed - it really looked good in a deep transparent red colour.  Using my luggage scales it weighed in at only 6.5lb (2.9kg).  That's about 1lb lighter than my 4 string semi-hollow Italia short scale and just a few ounces more than my Tanglewood violin (Beatle) bass!  On the strap there is very little neck dive and its contoured shape is kind to my aging body.

 

I changed the strings to LaBella lightweight flat wounds and the instrument sounds very good through my home system.  Getting used to the extra string is a challenge!  I'm either hitting the wrong string with my fretting hand or my plucking hand or both at the same time!  It's starting to come together and for £130.00 plus new strings this is one very capable bass guitar.  If you are thinking of venturing over to the dark side of 5 string but don't want to break your bank give this one a go.  I shall be playing in church this coming Sunday so there'll be plenty of practice to do between now and then.