mcnach

That's nice! I have a soft spot for natural/maple (like my SR4)...

I don't think the cost of wood or any of the basic materials is a significant factor.

I thought the same, but even placed over the nut where it barely affects sustain it does affect the sound (which you can easily test by removing it), and of course you can adjust how tightly it sits. Is it necessary? For the most part no, but you may like what it does. Or not. I wouldn't say, 'though, that people buy this under some kind of delusion, just because it's not for me. Personally, I don't think I need one, but I liked the effect it had when I tried them. The effect, as far as I could tell, is much more substantial than... rosewood vs maple fingerboards, or high mass bidges vs BBOT, or a few other things that people consider when buying an instrument. Is it an improvement? That's for you to decide.

Yup. I think when I'm ready for a SR5 I'll probably end up with Sandberg (or even Maruszczyk) if I can't find the right one used. And that way I'll be sure the G string doesn't fall off the edge too

Oh I see! I'm sure @TheGreek was careful and no kittens or basses were harmed in the process 'though.

Ouch, £3000? That's my wish for a new SR5 gone, used market for me then. I thought £2000-2300 was already pushing it but I could go for it knowing I'd specify colour etc, but £3000? that's quite a mark-up in so little time. It makes me like my stealth Harley Benton MB-5 a lot more suddenly.

Eh?

What differences do you find, in sound or feel, between top or strung-through-body? I've owned a number of basses and guitars that give me the option but I never bothered with it, except many many many years ago on a Telecaster guitar, and I could not be sure I noticed anything... but that was my only experience, and zero with basses. Curious whether I should try some time.

+1 good point about the 35" vs 34" scale. Don't let that distract you, for the most part you might not even notice. I owned a Lakland 5502 for several months before I found out it was 35" scale. I never felt it made things harder because it was very well balanced and it's a small difference. If the horn where the strap button were a bit shorter that would have pushed the bass to the left (I'm right-handed) and then the neck would definitely feel long: it's not just the scale length but the overall design.

I would recommend you approach the 5-string with an open mind and try everything and anything you can, and see what feels right for you. My personal journey towards 5-strings has been long and surprising to me. I think I bought my first 5 string back in 2007 or 2008. It was a Crafter something or another with two big MM style pickups, wide string spacing and a wide but shallow and flat fingerboard which was very comfy. But it never felt or sound better than my favourite 4-string basses and I never really persevered. Between then and now I've owned various others, on and off. The Squier Jazz DeLuxe was very nice but heavy and chunky. I realised I much prefer wide string spacing so I didn't get along with Stingrays (my main bass is a 4-string Stingray), the sound was there but I didn't find them comfortable enough. I owned G&L, Lakland, and various others. Nothing really stuck. Then for Xmas my girlfriend bought me one of the satin black 'stealth' finish Harley Benton MB-5 basses, Stingray style, passive. It was very cheap, but it had nice reviews, looked great, and figured it would be nice to have one even if I would not use it a lot. Wrong. I have played nothing else since I got it. For some reason it just clicked with me. The neck is narrower than I'd go for, the string spacing is 'wrong' for me... but what do you know? I just love it. So this is the bass that finally allowed me to break through. I'm still having to work on my muting, but it's a lot better now. I occasionally hit the wrong string too, but much less often now. I'm at the point where I would happily play a gig with it... and it was only possible because for some reason this bass felt and sounded right for me, so I didn't feel I was compromising a lot, and I enjoyed it. If I have to fight a bass too much, I'll just pass. That's why I suggest you try everything, and wait until one bass whispers sweet nothings in your ear. Hopefully it won't be a Fodera but something a bit more affordable Since I started playing the 5 string seriously I find it so useful to have all those notes *across* the fretboard, without changing hand position so much. Every note I want is easier to access, and I love the ability to transpose on the spot with fewer restrictions. Once it clicks it's like "how did I manage without that B string?". I don't use the lower notes that much, ok that low D gets hit with some regularity, but I don't really use the 5 string to go lower much, however the ability to cover 2 octaves within a span of 5 frets just makes things so easy... I love it. Sorry I am not suggesting any particular bass, because our tastes may be different, I just wanted to emphasise that personally I didn't really 'get it' until I found a bass that really spoke to me, and it wasn't one I was expecting to like as much (budget range, narrow spacing, and I really prefer maple fingerboards but this one is as dark as it gets)... you never know.

I actually see myself going that way too. For some reason this Harley Benton allowed me to really get into 5-strings, and the more I play it the less I want to go to 4-strings. As a long time Stingray fan, I would love something that sounds as good as my 2002 Stingray, with an additional string. The thing with the SR5 for me is that I find the B and G strings a little too close to the edge. Did you get used to that easily? As soon as stores open again I need to go and try SR5s and see how it feels. Don't get me wrong, I really love the Harley Benton... but it doesn't ooze the 'quality' my EBMM SR4 does, so if 5-string is the new me, I'm bound to get an SR5 at some point in the future. Something like this maybe:

As far as I understood it's not just Brexit, Brexit is an added problem with the UK, like the cherry on top. It seems they're working on a solution but at the moment it's not clear if it's two weeks or two months. They suggested buying from their partner in the US, Gear Hero, who will ship to the UK. I was looking into buying one and getting it shipped to Poland, to my girlfriend's mum, and she'd pick it up next time she visits (as soon as we can fly again)... but in the end I just went with the US store. It'll cost more, tax etc, but hopefully it will not take too long to arrive. Here's the link to the store with the page link for Becos: https://gearhero.com/collections/exclusives

Fine!!! I'll buy one and find out then! (I did, I really did... coming from the US because it's a mess for BecosFX to send anything to the UK.)

That's if you find a UK seller who has what you want. For the most part it's probably ok, but I was looking to buy a Becos Stella compressor (small company in Romania) and they won't ship to the UK now, and I can't find it anywhere else that would ship here. It reminds me of times long long ago when we just bought what we could find in our local shop.

I'm intrigued by this control, it sounds on paper like something I would enjoy playing with. Does anybody have (or can make) any clips demonstrating the effect the Tape Sat control has?

I'll remember this

Yeah, I have to think what note is where on that B string, not long but it's not automatic yet like it is on other strings. However, I am used to recognising certain intervals and that just comes naturally which is nice. I always like it when I realise I already know something, like the day I discovered my fingers knew where each letter was on a computer keyboard: ask me where H is, and I'll have to think a while but ask me to type 'while' blindfolded and I'll just do it. Crazy.

Over the years I've owned a bunch of 5 string basses, not out of necessity but because I wanted to have the option. I have owned Squiers, Peaveys, EBMM, G&L, Lakland... Some were really sweet, like the Lakland 5502, some had the sound I wanted (EBMM SUB5), but I never really gelled with any. My girlfriend bought me a Harley Benton MB-5 SBK (the Stingray style one in satin black finish) for Xmas... and I haven't played anything else since. At first I made lots of mistakes, and my muting left a lot to be desired. But the bass felt great, it's light (8.6 lbs, which for a 5 string is pretty good), and it sounds good too. Because it felt and sounded 'just right', it didn't feel like homework... so I made the point of using this one exclusively so that I get used to the 5th string, and within 2-3 weeks I have improved a lot. I still make a mistake here and there, and occasionally I get the wrong string(s) ringing, still lots to do, but I'll get there. Ok, so that's the bit about getting used to the ergonomics of a 5-string. What about the advantages? I didn't really care that much for having a few additional lower notes available to me, although sometimes it's nice (very nice), but I really like covering so much ground *across* the strings. It's actually easier to play without looking at the fingerboard because I have to move a lot less up and down the neck and when I do it's typically one position (3-4 frets) higher or lower, which is easy to shift without looking. That is nice. It also gives me more note options easily, as the octave (higher or lower, depending) is just there at your fingertips much more frequently than on a 4-string... I seem to be able to break from my usual patterns more easily too. I played one of my 4-string basses yesterday and it was familiar territory and comfortable and all, but I missed that low B string, and the ability to choose say between an F on the low E 1st fret, or on the low B 6th fret: one sounds tighter and the other sounds fatter, so you can pick one or the other depending on what you're playing. I can't believe it took me this long to 'get it'. I knew, of course, that the extended range available 'sideways' across the strings was one of the selling points of a 5 string, but because I never gelled with any 5-string bass I never played them long enough to really absorb it into my playing. Now I feel like I'be been missing out a lot

I never found a good solution for neck dive. Non-slip strap? it pulls on my shirt and eventually it still dives and takes my shirt with it (I don't wear a thick jacket on stage). Repositioning strap buttons in some cases it can help, but when I tried it I didn't quite like the new position either. Lighter tuners can be a good solution but only when the dive is not too serious. In the end if a bass has neck dive, it's got to go: I'd rather look for another bass that is better balanced. Neck dive is a deal breaker for me, even more so than the weight, although fortunately there are so many options that one can probably find the 'Goldilocks' bass if you look around a bit.

+1 on installing a switch. The parallel mode gives you the classic Stingray sound, but the series mode is very good too in my opinion: fatter, stronger low mids... it's good to have the option.

I had the GFS on an OLP too, and while it was a bit better than the original I personally didn't rate it highly. After trying some cheaper pickups, I was only happy after I went with Seymour Duncan SMB-4A. It's perhaps twice the price but money well spent. You can spend a lot more (Aguilar and Nordstrand make pickups very close to the Stingray originals, the Nordstrand MM4.2 in particular was very close) but the SMB-4A is really good. I wouldn't waste time/money with unknown quantities. I have come across some really nice sounding MM pickups on cheap basses sometimes, so you can get good stuff cheap, the problem is you can't tell until you try them.

wow, the RFE sold out within hours it seems. I guess I looked at the right time.

My '96 Olympic White Stratocaster was a slightly creamy type of white when I bought it (new), and over the years it has become a bit darker, more cream, and now it's almost the same colour as the cream Matt Freeman Squier Precision. I've seen 'Olympic White' in various shades of cream, but Arctic White is always snow white-ish as far as I can tell.

Very true. Nothing more disappointing than grabbing a bass "oh, it's light, nice" and then have it neck-dive. (No such problem on the MB-5 edit: did I mention it's 8.6 lbs? )

If you're looking for a 5-string Stingray alternative, especially light weight, I cannot recommend the Harley Benton MB-5 SBK enough (it's important that it is the SBK model, the satin black one). They seem consistently low weight (mine is 8.6 lbs) and they're superb. Yes, they're passive, but also they only cost £125 or thereabouts, so if you *must* put a preamp in it the total cost won't be high, which is nice. It is the first 5-string I really gelled with (the closest before this was the Lakland 5502, and a USA EBMM SUB, but one didn't have the sound I wanted and the other was very heavy, the G&L L2500 was a beast, but never felt comfortable enough and was also very heavy...) and I have been playing it exclusively since I got it. EBMM Stingray and Sandberg be damned, as nice as they are... I just gravitate towards the MB-5 every time. The only problem is they seem out of stock now, but they'll come back. If you're willing to wait, I cannot recommend it enough.