Sibob

I wouldn't say they're that expensive, they seen comparative with other custom built basses. Si

Taking a 5er from B-G to E-C is easy, the most amount of work is changing the nut, and that's not always completely necessary. It's not a 'delicate' job, and if a luthier can't do it.....they're not a luthier. However if you want a bass that comes in that configuration to start with, try the Ibanez Volo: http://www.ibanez.com/products/u_eb_detail.php?year=2016&cat_id=2&series_id=53&data_id=70&color=CL01 Si

Finished my Guma Antique. Fair warning....the enclosure contains swears, but are quotes from the South Park film.....so morally we're cool. Sounds good! Happy with it [url=https://postimg.org/image/h9eedwmr3/][/url] [url=https://postimg.org/image/uetwk0gmn/][/url] Si

[quote name='Deedee' timestamp='1482952439' post='3203737'] With this in mind, I'm obviously very happy with the Squier/Fender P string spacing, but what about the Stingray 5? Am I correct in thinking that the string spacing on that is far narrower than the Stingray 4? If so, is the spacing on a US Sub 5 any wider? [/quote] 99% of 4 strings (be it a Stingray or whatever) have a 19mm spacing at the bridge. Most Fender/Squier 5s (if not all?!) will also be 19mm. ALL Musicman 5 strings are 17.5mm spacing at the bridge, meaning they'll feel quite different. Si

Mike Newell on here bought a Fodera copy from Ali Express and it was a heap of junk, so will be interesting to see how this pans out. It's a little difficult, as many people want to 'try a 5 string' (or whatever feature it is you're exploring), but understandably not spend a lot of money to do so. However, judging it on a £170 plank thrown together may not give you the best experience......so consider something else before giving up on 5s if this experience fails Si

I play the bass that is best for that given gig/session. Ultimately, 4 is home for me, but I've been going between 4s & 5s since the early 2000s, so am perfectly happy playing a 5 if the situation calls for it. Because I can easily get low Ds, Cs & Bs etc on a 4 using an octave pedal, 9 times out of 10, I'm only playing a 5 for one reason, if I'm unsure what singer is on a gig, and therefore what keys the songs are in that night. Changing positions on a 5 is infinitely easier to me than transposing on the fly on a 4 (a good exercise, but on a paid gig is often not the place to 'try it out' with tunes you might not know 100%). If I was going to own one bass, it would likely be a 5 string Precision (or a Fodera with a split coil in that position ), but luckily I'm able to own a nice vintage Precision, because let's face it, works in 99% situations, and have a great 5er for the situations that call for it Even on a gig that I usually use a 5er on, I recorded the album on my '71 Precision, and for the couple of low Eb & D notes dotted around, I simply tuned it down and dropped in single notes But whatever feels best to you, and suits the gigs/situations you're in! Completely take the point that for a lot of pit/sight-reading work, 5s & 6s are often best for easier positional playing! Si

[quote name='progben' timestamp='1482418800' post='3200410'] Those Focusrite interfaces look great. Are they compatible with Windows PCs or is it Apple only? [/quote] Our Clarett range of interfaces are compatible with Windows PC & Mac, as are our Scarlett range. Cheers Si

My yearly update. This is how I'm finishing 2016, and I anticipate the whole of 2017. L-R: 2016 Lakland Skyline 55-01 - The 5 String 1971 Fender Precision - The One 1983 Squire JV Jazz - The YOB Jazz Again, sorry for horrible lighting. 2017 is going to be fun Si

DiMarzio Model P + UltraJazz Si

[quote name='Tuco' timestamp='1482254863' post='3198964'] I fancy trying my luck with one of these... I'd say I was intermediate (at a push lol) So the drive kit is the B3k? What's the pumpernickel ?? I think the prices are fair tbh [/quote] Not sure about the Pumpernickel without looking, compressor I think?! Drive is B3K Antique is Vintage Si

Just purchased a Skyline 55-01 which I'm very happy with so far, great neck. Electronics are early days, might swap everything out, we'll see. A couple of tiny finish defects that I imagine wouldn't ever be present on the USA models, but for the price, its a helluva bass. Si

[quote name='Japhet' timestamp='1482252296' post='3198912'] Excellent choice. Lakland punch way above their weight on their cheaper ranges and the 55 01 has probably the best 5 string neck I've ever played. Love mine and it's such a versatile instrument too. [/quote] Yes already I can tell the neck is very comfortable. There's a couple of little touches I like too: - Always liked Laklands oversized neck dots - The dots on this are made from what looks like maple (or similar, Ash etc) Si

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1482251418' post='3198898'] What is the spacing on these.? [/quote] 17.5mm......same as all MM5s Si

Still hoping for Bona/Palladino/Spalding/Pastorius (Felix obviously) Barenaked Ladies' Jim Creeggan would also be a great call, fantastic player and writer! Obviously budget is restrictive for american players, but still, I can hope Si

[quote name='scrumpymike' timestamp='1482234587' post='3198636'] Trouble is if they come back with full order books we could be waiting til summer [/quote] I simply mean for people who are going to email and then possibly have an issue if there's a little delay in reply etc . Si

For all of you 'I'll email after the New Year' guys & gals......bear in mind that NAMM is in January (19th-22nd) and so Adrian and the crew may be slow to respond through the month. I imagine it's a massive undertaking to get them and their stock from Germany/Poland to LA and back again. If you're waiting, I'd probably wait until start of Feb Si

[quote name='pete.young' timestamp='1482230295' post='3198578'] Not having this thread as a sticky is a right pain! Allt his talk of soldering surface mount components for the B3K/Vintage clones has me wondering if it's possible to socket the ICs for these designs. Anyone tried this? [/quote] There's no sockets for SMC to my knowledge, however some will have them on a daughter board and then (using header pins) insert the daughter board into a standard through-hole IC socket. Still means you have to solder the SMC, but allows you to use either through-hole or SMC with your board depending on what's available. Si

Owned a few 5 strings, here are my thoughts: Bass Collection 355: First 5 string about 15 years ago probably. Great bass, probably wouldn't go for the aesthetics/body size now, but the neck was fantastic, sound was good too. Fender Jazz USA Standard: I was playing a 4 string USA Standard Jazz, and I wanted a 5 string which was basically the same....which this was. Nice neck, lovely bass, although I'm not convinced about passive 5 strings, despite there being some of my heroes who play passive low Bs (Richard Bona, Anthony Jackson etc). Sounded good though. Yamaha 615: Sold the Fender and simply wanted a cheaper 5 as I had fewer gigs on it. Got hold of this for £180 I think. Helluva lot of bass for the money. Really good stuff, although didn't like the preamp, easily changed though. Fodera Matt Garrison Standard: Sold most of my non-essential bits and pieces to buy this, best 5 string I've ever owned, ridiculous quality, feel, workmanship, sound....everything. Would absolutely own another. Simply sold it as I had a baby on the way and wanted to be proactive rather than need to sell it at a later date and struggle. Xotic XJ-1T: This replaced the Fodera as a cheaper 5 essentially. Really really nice 5, the best Low B 5 I had owned (the Fodera was a High C). Really good quality/finish, sounded great, nice weight, Xotic are really helpful as a company. Would own another. Lakland 55-01: Buying a house and so wanted to free up some cash from the Xotic, sold that and bought this, again as a cheaper 5. I've owned this for about 3 days, so very early days obviously. Already I can say that it's neck feels fantastic, the fit/finish is very good (although not quite on par with the Xotic, £1500 price difference though). May change the electronics for something more up-market seeing as it came in way under budget, but we'll see after a few gigs. In conclusion, the best 5er was the Fodera, hands down. Beautiful to play, listen to, look at etc. Financially restrictive though obviously. Best value has to be the Lakland and the Yamaha......so I would check them out as your first point of call! Si

These have been discussed in the DIY Effects thread quite a bit. I have an Antique (Vintage clone) on my 'bench' at the moment. Intermediate/advanced kits due to some surface mount components & angled board mounted jacks (due to enclosure angled sides). Reckon it will sound good though Si

I feel like I'd want to buy a U-Bass instead of this. Different animals I understand, but still... Si

Cheers Pete, appreciate it Si

[color=#000000][font=Calibri, sans-serif]Just had this through and sounds pretty decent all things considered (see below), so thought I’d share.[/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Calibri, sans-serif]When I’m not playing silly math-rock instrumental music with Corybantic (new single soon), I play for a soul type singer called JoCee. We did a Sofar Sounds session in London a little while ago. I hadn’t heard of these guys before, but it seems they put on ‘secret' pop-up gigs all over the world. People don’t know where the venue is until the day, or who’s playing…….and the place was packed. People were sat on the floor, and were silent the whole way through the set. Amazing.[/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Calibri, sans-serif]Anyway, the gig was vocally acoustic, in that there was no PA, the singers were simply singing acoustically to the room, the mics were just present to record. As such the band, drums & backline had to play incredibly sensitively (read quietly) to that, a good exercise in volume if ever there was one:[/font][/color] [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_XyTkynOrI"]https://www.youtube....h?v=q_XyTkynOrI[/url] Cheers Si

[quote name='eude' timestamp='1482144735' post='3197917'] Very classy looking bass Si! I reckon a MM Sterling 5er would be a nicer bass, but this will be a lot more versatile for sure. Looking forward to hearing how you get on with it! I had totally forgotten, but I had a shot on a Skyline 44-02 many many moons ago and was very impressed with it. Eude [/quote] Yeah I would have loved a Sterling 5er, but you just don't see them 2nd hand, and the couple I've seen previously were snapped up, but had maple fingerboards (ugh). But with this coming in cheaper than a used MM ever would, i'm very happy with the amount of bass I have for the money. Yeah I had a 44-02 Deluxe in a past life, nice bass, but just wasn't very 'me' (cherryburst quilted maple top, super plain maple fingerboard (can you tell I don't like maple f/bs?)). [quote name='Marc S' timestamp='1482146397' post='3197942'] Looks a nice bass - I like simple design and controls too Having a now grown up son, I also agree with the finance and family / work / music / gigging life balance thing It's tricky, packing all those things in to life, but you've gone about things the best way, I feel, and got yourself a good quality, good value bass there ...... your offspring can always buy you a brand new MM 5er when they are rich [/quote] Absolutely, don't get me wrong, I like owning nice basses.....I wouldn't buy a POS that didn't do or feel the way I wanted it to, but at the same time, they're tools, it's me who hopefully makes them sound ok! Si

2016 has been fun! Started with a love affair with my Fodera Matt Garrison, amazing bass, would quite happily own another Imperial one day. But our little boy came along in April and so moved it on simply to be proactive/prepared. Still wanted a 5er, so bought a very cool Xotic XJ-1T. Again, amazing bass, would own another, but currently buying a house and with my '71 Precision doing 70% of my gigs, having £2k wrapped up in a 5er seemed excessive for now. So that week a few weeks ago. Giving myself a £1K max limit for a new 5er, I was intent on a MM Sterling or Stingray 5, albeit used due to my budget. However due to little man, buying said house, gigging, work etc....I quickly tired of the trawling of used sites looking for an MM with the right spec, right price and right condition. In the back of my mind, as I know a couple of great players who use them, was the Lakland 55-01. Simple, understated, very well priced (even new). I'm waffling, basically, because I simply needed a good solid 5er to get on with, I plumped for a 55-01 from The Gallery yesterday. I was real lucky that it was the spec I wanted, and had come into stock the day before. Finish is their 'vintage cream' (or aged Olympic White) & Rosewood: It weighs 9.12lbs (4.14kg) on a set of digital parcel scales, perfectly fine for a 5string I think. First gig will be Thursday, very much looking forward to it Everyone at The Gallery were brilliant, lovely chat with Martin. Si