CameronJ

My MTD Kingston Super 5 - and all MTD Kingston 5ers - has 19mm string spacing. So does my Dingwall. Special mention goes out to my Yamaha BB735a with 18mm which is very comfortable. Lakland 5ers are 19mm too. As are Ibanez BTBs. Sandbergs have adjustable string spacing from between 18mm - 19.5mm I think. Sire basses are 18mm. These are all off the top of my head so I’m happy to be corrected, but the point I’m trying to make is that basses with wider string spacing aren’t uncommon. Also, and this isn’t necessarily aimed at you @itu but more for those who may be new to 5 stringers: I’d strongly argue that the shape of the neck, fingerboard radius and string spacing at the nut are just as important as spacing at the bridge. For example, playing an MTD and an Ibanez BTB side by side feels very different despite them both having 19mm spacing at the bridge. The MTD tapers to a narrower nut width than the Ibanez, plus the MTD has an asymmetric neck profile with a bit more meat to it whereas the Ibanez has a wider nut and a flatter neck profile. These things create a huge difference in playability between the two instruments. Bridge string spacing really isn’t everything.

Agreed. They’re both top notch in terms of feel. As a 735 owner I’d happily own a 435.

Both basses feel very nice to play. I would happily own both of them! The neck finishes are a bit different - 735 is a kind of painted satin finish, whereas the 435 is more like bare wood. Both feel great but the 735 is a little bit smoother.

Yeah I have to agree. It is utterly glorious in every way.

Indeed. And it’s a matte finish on the 734/5 whereas the black front face of the P34/5 headstock is glossy, which actually matches the gloss finish of the sunburst P34/5 basses better than the matte equivalent on the sunburst 734/5

This is curious. The headstock on my 735 is black all over. Front, back and sides. It’s definitely the same on both the matte black 734/5s which it obviously matches, and the sunburst ones. But since neither of the P34/5 colours is black, it seems odd that the front of the headstocks would be black? I’d never actually noticed it before but it looks great on the sunburst P34/5 IMO as it seems to be an extension of the black edges of the burst. See below But on the Midnight Blue version it just seems like a poor match - though again I have to say I hadn’t noticed it before. I think the Midnight Blue version would look much better with a natural finished headstock.

Sounds great I must say

And now I’m thinking it’s a shame they don’t do a 5 string set...

They’re great strings I agree. Was surprised how much I liked them on the JMJ. Weird that they don’t sell them in a short scale set despite clearly fitting a short scale set to their own short scale bass!

Bingo.

That is a bummer. I was gonna suggest a nice green metallic Maruszczyk PJ for sale at The Gallery.. super light and plays beautifully...but it’s on for £900 which isn’t much better than the one I linked above.

Go for it. I’m not in the market for a 4 string these days!

*ahem* Allow me to direct you to this beast which I’ve been eyeing up. Crazy light and tone to die for: https://bassfreaks.net/collections/current-stock-coll/products/maruszczyk-instruments-jake-l4p-vintage-white

Bloody hell. 5 string sets as well!

I hear you there. I’ve spent much of the evening playing mine and, like you, I only get buzz when I’m actively digging in for that sound. Doesn’t take much effort as it just responds so well. I just bought a set of Maruszczyk Nickels as I really loved the feel of them on a bass I played a couple of days ago. I may need to get some EXLs and compare them on the Dingwall when I get it back from The Gallery. They’re both reasonably priced string sets but I could see this becoming an expensive rabbit hole if I keep digging...

Hm. Just looked up the gauges on a 5 string set of EXL-170s and apparently the B is indeed a .130 it definitely doesn’t feel like it! Unless the sets which ship with the new BBs are custom gauges? Not impossible...

I was anchored to my mother’s womb by a .130 gauge B string.

I’ve recently started coming round to the joys of lighter gauge strings myself. Definitely learned that I have zero love for a .130 B string. It’s like tugging on an umbilical cord.

I visited the web address a few weeks ago and there was a holding page with a nice graphic saying “We’ll be back up and running soon - website under construction” or words to that effect. Then checked it again a few days ago and it’s gone. Not sure what’s going on but I do hope Bass Gear makes a return. We need more outlets for our GAS!!

So true

Hmm. Curious. And the annoying part is how difficult it’ll be to work out what strings they are