Yet another "which 5-string" question...

[squeezer]

Apologies for asking what seems like the same question yet again. but having read through all the forum posts on the subject it's obvious that the answer depends heavily on who's asking the question and what they're looking for -- so here goes...

Triggered by a major band reorganisation I'm switching to bass from acoustic guitar and squeezebox, and having borrowed an old 5-string Maison (45mm nut, 18mm spacing) from our ex-bass player it's becoming obvious that I'll need to replace it soon -- apart from anything else I know it's prone to noise pickup which has proved impossible to fix.

We play for dances (ceilidhs in the English sense of the word), and I'm looking for a bass to give a solid foundation to the sound, especially on the B string which I use quite a lot -- I'm a bit of a bass-head and built our PA to be flat down to low B. I play using fingers (not slap), mostly fairly straight walking bass lines rather than anything funky 'cos the bass needs to set a solid rhythm for dancing.

The sound I'm looking for is a solid bottom end with plenty of fundamental, but without the boomy sound in the 80-100Hz region that you often get just by using bass boost to obtain this. I think this means an active bass, maybe with 3-band EQ instead of just bass and treble, so I can bring the bottom end up and then cut the mid-bass to remove the boominess? I'm not sure I need 2 pickups, I never use the bridge one on the Maison 'cos it sounds too thin.

From reading the forums I'm expecting to pay something in the £300-£500 region (I'm in the UK) to get something rather better than a beginners instrument, and I'd prefer to buy new rather than second-hand, if only so I can guarantee that I can get the instrument I want when I want it.

I don't mind a wide neck (long thin fingers) but I'd prefer a fairly thin one -- our bass player replaced the Maison with an Ibanez SR305 which feels nice to play to me -- which isn't too heavy, but I'd prefer wider string spacing rather than narrow, and would like a bass which is not too heavy (some I've tried have been like having a millstone round your neck). Long scale is fine, especially if this helps the B string sound.

Basses I've been looking at so far are as follows, but I'd value any comments you have on them and any suggestions for better alternatives -- I'm based in London, once I've got a list I'll find a shop and go and try them out, but I need to narrow down the choice first.

1. Washburn Force 5 (£300) -- not so popular and very little info, but some people think it's an excellent bass for the money. Through neck is a plus point, but only has 2 band EQ

2. Ibanez SR305 (£260) -- played this and quite liked the feel and weight but not sure about the EQ, also only 16.5mm spacing

3. Ibanez SR505 (£470) -- bigger brother with better pickups and 3-band EQ, is it worth the extra money?

Any other ideas?

Any London shop suggestions (for trying and buying) would be helpful too :-)

Cheers

Ian

[megallica]

[quote name='squeezer' post='641793' date='Oct 31 2009, 11:50 AM']Apologies for asking what seems like the same question yet again. but having read through all the forum posts on the subject it's obvious that the answer depends heavily on who's asking the question and what they're looking for -- so here goes...

Triggered by a major band reorganisation I'm switching to bass from acoustic guitar and squeezebox, and having borrowed an old 5-string Maison (45mm nut, 18mm spacing) from our ex-bass player it's becoming obvious that I'll need to replace it soon -- apart from anything else I know it's prone to noise pickup which has proved impossible to fix.

We play for dances (ceilidhs in the English sense of the word), and I'm looking for a bass to give a solid foundation to the sound, especially on the B string which I use quite a lot -- I'm a bit of a bass-head and built our PA to be flat down to low B. I play using fingers (not slap), mostly fairly straight walking bass lines rather than anything funky 'cos the bass needs to set a solid rhythm for dancing.

The sound I'm looking for is a solid bottom end with plenty of fundamental, but without the boomy sound in the 80-100Hz region that you often get just by using bass boost to obtain this. I think this means an active bass, maybe with 3-band EQ instead of just bass and treble, so I can bring the bottom end up and then cut the mid-bass to remove the boominess? I'm not sure I need 2 pickups, I never use the bridge one on the Maison 'cos it sounds too thin.

From reading the forums I'm expecting to pay something in the £300-£500 region (I'm in the UK) to get something rather better than a beginners instrument, and I'd prefer to buy new rather than second-hand, if only so I can guarantee that I can get the instrument I want when I want it.

I don't mind a wide neck (long thin fingers) but I'd prefer a fairly thin one -- our bass player replaced the Maison with an Ibanez SR305 which feels nice to play to me -- which isn't too heavy, but I'd prefer wider string spacing rather than narrow, and would like a bass which is not too heavy (some I've tried have been like having a millstone round your neck). Long scale is fine, especially if this helps the B string sound.

Basses I've been looking at so far are as follows, but I'd value any comments you have on them and any suggestions for better alternatives -- I'm based in London, once I've got a list I'll find a shop and go and try them out, but I need to narrow down the choice first.

1. Washburn Force 5 (£300) -- not so popular and very little info, but some people think it's an excellent bass for the money. Through neck is a plus point, but only has 2 band EQ

2. Ibanez SR305 (£260) -- played this and quite liked the feel and weight but not sure about the EQ, also only 16.5mm spacing

3. Ibanez SR505 (£470) -- bigger brother with better pickups and 3-band EQ, is it worth the extra money?

Any other ideas?

Any London shop suggestions (for trying and buying) would be helpful too :-)

Cheers

Ian[/quote]


Hiya mate - I'd try as many five strings as I could if I was in your position to find one that's right for you.
If it was me I'd pop down Denmark Street on a weekday afternoon and try as many different basses as possible,
the shop assistants might give you a hard sell but you could always find the same bass cheaper elsewhere.

I've always got on with Schecter five strings - they're well built, light weight and some models are available with EMG active pickups which give your bass much more tonal capability.

I've also used and abused Yamaha, Ibanez and Warwick 5 strings which all have their own individual sound
If you were open to second hand basses you could pick up a bargain in the basses for sale forum on this board

Good luck

Andy

[kevbass]

Spector 5 string legend series are always good bang for your buck, or a Rockbass corvette 5 string.