I properly stumbled across 5 strings back in 2004 ish , in a strange Gas incident .
I obviously knew all about them , and saw the various special editions in Bass Player Magazine etc explaining everything about them in a very informative way . .
What happened was that a close friend of mine said we should checkout this new basement shop under Virgin Records in Tottenham Court Road one Saturday . ( sound control ) It was there I saw this nice shiny bass hanging on the wall . Times were not too sad then , so I plugged in and had a look at it . " Are you going to buy this ?" I was asked by a senior member of staff. I got a price reduction , so I said yes.
It was a Schecter Stilletto Elite 5 string in cherry / black . Looked similar to my Washburn status in colour .
In the shop , due to my limited abilities I was playing the B note as a thumb rest .
Within weeks however, I ' got it ' , and it was no big deal . I could find songs by ear without as much effort as on a 4 for some sings.
The feel and action of the Schecter was great . ( BTW you don't really see any bad reviews or experiences on that particular model)
However, being in 2 bands and having to up my playing so to speak ( and financial difficulties) I had to let it go .
My playing in cover bands improved , and I had to up my game if I wanted to gig etc.
The trouble with playing live for me was I tended to ' showboat ' as I was told by an old band member . Not being arrogant , but because of nerves on stage and I wanted people ( and me ) to enjoy our set . Thankfully I never got criticised by crowd or bands.
I couldn't do that on a 5 string , as too many Les Dawson moments would have got me sacked . 😬
I don't gig anymore and am more into synths / amateur soundcloud recording etc. I have a Bass Whammy, and have a fretless set to B-E-A-D . I don't know if it's worth me getting another 5 er or not . If I did, I'd have to trim the herd.
one of my friends who's a bass player, said it's easier to sell a 4 string and that if you have a 5 I'd have a hard chance selling it should I want to in the future .
This is Basschat though 🤔