5 String advice Please...

[Boy Thunder]

Ok.. so here's the thing...

I've played bass for quite some time... a purist at heart... 4 strings, 1 lead and an amp... no fuss... setup in seconds...

I am now of the opinion that I would like to have a go with a 5 string bass... Just to see what I think of it.

What I'm after is a little advice from you guys... A cheap(ish) yet relatively good quality bass...

What should I look at and how much should I budget? I appreciate there will be plenty of views and I'm open to all of them..

Cheers in advance....

[bremen]

[quote name='Boy Thunder' post='96725' date='Nov 30 2007, 03:10 PM']Ok.. so here's the thing...

I've played bass for quite some time... a purist at heart... 4 strings, 1 lead and an amp... no fuss... setup in seconds...[/quote]

That's how I've always thought of myself.


[quote]I am now of the opinion that I would like to have a go with a 5 string bass... Just to see what I think of it.

What I'm after is a little advice from you guys... A cheap(ish) yet relatively good quality bass...

What should I look at and how much should I budget? I appreciate there will be plenty of views and I'm open to all of them..

Cheers in advance....[/quote]

I got my first 5 string a couple of months ago and the first thing I noticed is that I'm no longer a purist, I need to carry 2 basses to rehearsals and gigs, I'm not set up in seconds and the one killer setting on the amp has to either be changed between songs or suffer a compromise...in other words it's a big load of extra hassle where once things were pure&easy.

BUT there's no going back once you've had that extra string! It's going to take a lot of practice and I don't know if I'll ever be able to spank it like I can the 4 string but maybe I should consider it to be a different instrument.

Problem is if you buy a 5 string that isn't as good as your 4 string you'll never like it as much as the 4 string. Maybe you could borrow one to see if it grabs you?

good luck!

[Merton]

[quote name='Boy Thunder' post='96725' date='Nov 30 2007, 03:10 PM']Ok.. so here's the thing...

I've played bass for quite some time... a purist at heart... 4 strings, 1 lead and an amp... no fuss... setup in seconds...

I am now of the opinion that I would like to have a go with a 5 string bass... Just to see what I think of it.

What I'm after is a little advice from you guys... A cheap(ish) yet relatively good quality bass...

What should I look at and how much should I budget? I appreciate there will be plenty of views and I'm open to all of them..

Cheers in advance....[/quote]
Have a look [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=9176"]HERE[/url] coz these are great!

[MB1]

[quote name='Boy Thunder' date='Nov 30 2007, 03:10 PM' post='96725']
Ok.. so here's the thing...

I've played bass for quite some time... a purist at heart... 4 strings, 1 lead and an amp... no fuss... setup in seconds...

I am now of the opinion that I would like to have a go with a 5 string bass... Just to see what I think of it.

What I'm after is a little advice from you guys... A cheap(ish) yet relatively good quality bass...

What should I look at and how much should I budget? I appreciate there will be plenty of views and I'm open to all of them..

Cheers in advance....

MB1.
Get your mum! something rather nice.... for Christmas instead!

[chris_b]

I bet I was playing a 4 string longer than you! I went 5 string with a Stingray which I thought was the cheapest "pro" quality bass and I struggled! That extra string really shows up poor technique, or exclusively 4 string technique. But I stuck with it and now won't go back. I don't know why you would want to take 2 basses to a gig. A 5 string does everything for me.

[MB1]

[quote name='chris_b' post='96793' date='Nov 30 2007, 04:30 PM']I bet I was playing a 4 string longer than you! I went 5 string with a Stingray which I thought was the cheapest "pro" quality bass and I struggled! That extra string really shows up poor technique, or exclusively 4 string technique. But I stuck with it and now won't go back. I don't know why you would want to take 2 basses to a gig. A 5 string does everything for me.[/quote]

MB1.

Take Two Basses to a Gig?....No Way!.....I prefer to..... Wash And Go!.

[Rich]

+1 on the Status Groove, they are excellent. The red one's starting at 220 quid, that's absurdly cheap for such a good bass.
Have a look at Yamahas too, great VFM.

I agree with Chris B, I only ever take a 5 out with me these days. My 4s are almost redundant.

[Ba55me15ter]

You won't go wrong with the Yammy TRB5 that's on the classifieds at the mo. (not mine!)
As has been reported recently - it's a buyer's market!

[EdwardHimself]

[quote name='bremen' post='96735' date='Nov 30 2007, 03:25 PM']BUT there's no going back once you've had that extra string! It's going to take a lot of practice and I don't know if I'll ever be able to spank it like I can the 4 string but maybe I should consider it to be a different instrument.[/quote]

i agree.

My bass is a 5 string peavey millenium BXP. Only like £200 and very good quality. It's my only electric bass and quite frankly the only one i need since i'm not in a band, although i would like a 4 string for drop tunings. But that's just 'cos i'm lazy. To be honest the great thing about a 5 is if you are any good with your left hand in theory it's the only bass you'll need from E standard to drop B or even A tuning without any need to retune.

[mic mac moe]

I only have one bass-StingRay 5. No more 4s!!! +1 the Peavey comment.I once had a Peavey Fury V with flame top,double humbuckers and active circuit.I think I paid 200 or thereabouts.Bass Guitar Magazine did a budget 5 string roundup a few issues ago,might be worth traking down a back issue

[BassBunny]

[quote name='mic mac moe' post='97093' date='Dec 1 2007, 08:52 AM'] I only have one bass-StingRay 5. No more 4s!!! +1 the Peavey comment.I once had a Peavey Fury V with flame top,double humbuckers and active circuit.I think I paid 200 or thereabouts.Bass Guitar Magazine did a budget 5 string roundup a few issues ago,might be worth traking down a back issue[/quote]
Issue 28 of BGM had the "5 String Shootout".
Fender MIM Jazz 5 came first, then Yamaha BB615, Ibanez BTB555MP, Washburn Force 5 and then Vintage Advance.
There is a thread around somewhere about SX basses. They apparently offer unrivaled VFM and even importing from US they are only just over £100 and can be "pimped up".
As someone who has been in the same situation as BT, I got hold of BassJamm's defretted Peavey 5 String. Decided to see if I could get on with a fiver and fretless. Fretless IS an issue at the moment, but I am not comfortable with a 4 string anymore. Took my Jazz to a recent rehearsal and was lost without the B string.
My only bit of advice would be to try and get a 35" scale 5 String. I had an Ibanez SR905 for a while and as stunning a bass as it was, the Low B was a bit "floppy".
Have now got an MTD and the difference is amazing. Just shows what an extra inch can do (Ooo Errr missis)

[Blink]

My vote would be for a second hand Yamaha RBX. I had one for a number of years and it played and recorded very well. After that it's practice, practice and more practice.

I use 4's 5's and now a 6. Just take a different bass to each rehearsal to force yourself to get used to each one. Once you feel the force of the low B and can play in D with down tuning your E string, and can play in Eb with a horn section, it will all make sense.

N

[Faithless]

How much's Ibazy ATK? It ain't expensive, as far as i remember.

Last night I've heard a band, whose bassist used that thing( in fact, at the beggining I thought- damn, I see the very first MusicMan in Lithuania but I realised the "truth" after some time) - and that was great! Tone's good, slap's good.

[bremen]

[quote name='BeLow' post='97150' date='Dec 1 2007, 11:27 AM']Personally the only disadvantages I find with the 5 is that they take a little while to adjust to after a 4, weigh a little more, can be a little harder to slap, and you occasionally come across some anti 5 string prejudice (yawn).[/quote]

I'll stick with it. I don't expect the 'right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing' effect to last forever, but I do like to spank my 4 string hard and don't know if I'll ever be able to do that with all those strings so close together! And yes, my 4 string is so light, like a violin.

anti 5 string prejudice? Yawn indeed.

:-)

[Phaedrus]

Every 4 I had played had 19.5mm (or similar) string spacing at the bridge. Some 5s have 16mm spacing - I tried a couple like that and while I would have gotten used to it, I'm glad I chose a 5 with 19.5mm spacing. Changing from 4 to 5 and back was less of a change, though I don't play 4 anymore.

My main 5 is my Tune TWB53FM. My second is a Yamaha BB605 and I'm aquiring a Yamaha RBX375 from a cousin who no longer wants to play 5. All 3 have 19.5mm spacing.

The RBX is pretty good for the money (€300-ish), but the BB605 (also €300-ish, but no longer in production) is one of those basses that really is way better than any €300 bass has a right to be.

Because I love the look of my Tune so much, I've been using that as my back up and the BB605 as my main bass. I'm guessing the BB615 will also be a great bass.

FWIW, I also find it practically impossible to slap on a 5. In fairness, I'm no great shakes on a 4 either, but at least that doesn't have the low B that just keeps rinnging away - just can't damp it properly.


Mark

[Faithless]

[quote name='Phaedrus' post='98594' date='Dec 4 2007, 10:32 AM']FWIW, I also find it practically impossible to slap on a 5. In fairness, I'm no great shakes on a 4 either, but at least that doesn't have the low B that just keeps rinnging away - just can't damp it properly.


Mark[/quote]

That's the thing that interests me now. I'm slapping on my 5 string, and I'm interested if the B string is really necessary - ringing is "mutable" question, but won't it be a fifth leg for a dog?


So how do you do with it, guys?? Use it or mute it?

In fact, solution on B still exists - there's sort of "seal" on string, I think, which prevents it from ringing.

[TPJ]

You might consider a Hipshot D Tuner as an alternative to 5 strings as well.

[Paul Cooke]

I've just bagged a cheap 5 string bass on ebay... probably regret it, but I need a cheap 5 stringer asap and the only ones in the shops are outside my immediate budget...

It's this one...

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330194343949"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=330194343949[/url]

Never heard of the make before... but it came in my range and I (well my proxy) was the only bidder at £69.50 + £16.85p&p

well, we'll see how good it is when it arrives...

[ARGH]

Old Git hit the nail on the head in a PM to me,when it comes to playing 5s.

Lock the 4s away and just do it,I gigged on my fretless 5, 3 days after purchase,and a week after getting the fretted,I did take a 4 to the gig in case of panic,but now I just take the 5 on its own,the band wont let me onstage without it (Drummers words "You aint playing without it") and keys players have always asked if I play a 5.

Hipshots are a good alternative,if you are a total dyed to the bone 4er,but they do throw the tuning out on the string ,usually flat,so even if its an idea,its not as good as a string tuned to pitch.

Mines a cheapy Chinese passive Washburn,actions high so's I can dig in like I used to on a 4.

[john_the_bass]

i'm borrowing a 5 at the minute, a tanglewood something. it's [i]alright[/i] really although i can't see a reason to have one for 27brigade stuff with the possible exception of better positioning for a couple of songs and changing the bassline to take into play some notes an octave below.

i may have changed my mind with a different or better bass - i thought the string spacing on this one was a bit narrow and an open b is too low and too mushy sounding for some of the stuff we did last night. i played 4 songs (after spending a couple of hours at home with it) and then switched back to my four.
not for me.....right now

[Rich]

I can't stand narrow spaced 5s... got so used to 18/19mm over years of playing 4s that anything less is just weird. My Status and Shuker are both 19, the Yamaha RBX is actually closer to 20.

[P-T-P]

No mention of budgets so it's a bit hard to be specific, but I reckon second hand is gonna be the way to go. Get the best you can afford at as keen a price you can (should be easy at the moment 'cause loads of selling and not a lot of buying), that way if you hate the whole concept you can sell it on without losing the chunk of cash you would lose if you were to buy a new bass.

You'll always be able to sell a Fender V string, though I have to sa that personally I've never got on with them because there's not enough taper in the neck and the strings are too close together.

Best transition from 4 to 5 bass is, I think, any of the Lakland 5's out there. Look hard enough and you'll find a 55-01 for somewhere between £350 and £450 and they are a cracking bass which will sell on relatively easily if you don't take to it.

Also can't really go wrong with a Yamaha TRB5 pr indeed some of their other 5s. I seem to recall the G5 being a particularly nice bass that often crops up on eBay for £250 or less.

I haven't played one, but I've heard good things about the Ibanez BTB basses and I think I'm right in saying that the neck on OldGit's Shuker P5 was actual modelled on the neck of a BTB5 (though I could have got that entirely wrong, there was curious infusing occuring in the "teapot" my cup was replenished from during my visit).

[Boy Thunder]

Thanks guys.. all good and please, keep it coming..

i looked at a Squire Jazz in a local shop today but due to aesthetic reasons I didn't even pick it up.. It was ticketed at £199... That's in my budget area but I'd rather let someone else pay the depreciation.. if you know what I mean...

What are your thoughts on them?

A few of you have mentioned the Yammie... I may just look into that.... !

[Happy Jack]

Don't forget the original SGC Nanyo Bass Collections from the late-80's / early-90's.

The SB325 remains a seriously good active 5-string, high-quality components, well made, and they sell for silly (i.e. cheap) money on eBay when they turn up.

Bass Collections are also lighter than Fenders and their clones. An SB325 weighs slightly less than most 4-string Fenders.

[spinynorman]

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='101405' date='Dec 8 2007, 04:14 PM']Don't forget the original SGC Nanyo Bass Collections from the late-80's / early-90's.

The SB325 remains a seriously good active 5-string, high-quality components, well made, and they sell for silly (i.e. cheap) money on eBay when they turn up.

Bass Collections are also lighter than Fenders and their clones. An SB325 weighs slightly less than most 4-string Fenders.[/quote]

I never had any use for more than 4 strings, till we did Black Velvet and the singer wanted it in D. I've been getting round it using drop D tuning, but that made me wonder if I could work with a 5-string and I saw a Vester OPR 1135 going for £100 on eBay, so I bought it. Good news is it's a nice bass, especially at that price, bad news is 16mm string spacing at the bridge and a narrow neck. It's ok for blues, but I find with anything too quick I just miss the strings. Definitely has potential though, so I'll be back on eBay looking for something wider.