trickythump

Wow - thanks so much all for the replies and ideas. New to bass chat, and taken aback by the knowledge and support folks here have offered. Just a quick response for the moment to say thanks and reading through with interest - there are some great suggestions and lots to think about and explore already! Do keep them coming if any more thoughts of course 😉

Hi all I'm looking for recommendations for a first 5 string, with a budget of around 400-600. What would folks here recommend looking at / trying to find in store to try? I currently play a 4 string Sire V7, which is great fun to play, and adeptly covers a lot of tones, but I've been inspired to give 5 strings a go. Thanks in particular to listening to too much Ezra Collective recently, which is a great example of the sound I'm after. TJ Koleoso who has been getting a fantastic sound out of a Warwick Corvette $$ 5 string - seemingly having switched from the regular (JJ style) Corvette a couple of years ago, albeit he clearly has far greater skill in one finger than I have in two hands! I'd love to get in that ballpark tonally. Playing mostly fingerstyle, rock/pop/jazz, and limited need for scooped/slap-friendly sounds as the V7 already covers that need. I'd also like to get something a bit more ergonomic to another Jazz Bass - the Sire is great and isn't going anywhere, but I'm looking for something different. A couple of basses on the radar: - WW Rockbass Corvette $$ has been going up and up in price, and sitting at £799 is not only out of budget but feels a bit too much on a Chinese-made instrument, particularly as it doesn't have the same materials (and reportedly quality seems to vary a bit depending on the year) - Yamaha TRBX505/605 (the latter currently £549 at GuitarGuitar) - Yamaha build quality, reviews suggest generally a solid option, personal goodwill to the brand (I have a Pacifica guitar that remains a joy to plays after 20 years, and my first attempts playing bass were borrowing a friend's Yamaha), but not sure tonally it will get me close enough? - Cort B5 Element £449 - nice looking, bit cheaper, pickups appear to be a standard fit so might be more readily swapped if needed, hard to tell but pickups could be closer to the bridge than the Yamaha (and thus even less Warwick-y sounding?) - Sub Ray5 HH £500(ish) - distinctive Stingray sound not the same as Warwick, but pickup position might actually get close than the other options? Downside is bigger shape, headstock, etc - so not ticking the 'more ergonomic' box I was hoping to. Quite happy to buy secondhand (in good condition) rather than new. Although even with the most optimistic thinking and creative accounting, I acknowledge that isn't going to bring me close to affording a German Warwick. Looking for a couple of ideas or any experiences with 5 string basses that might give a bit of direction to explore further. I'd prefer to try in person, but there's not always a great selection of 5 strings in store, so need a bit of focus of what to specifically seek out before embarking on any journeys to stores! Any comments on those / other suggestions for what to seek out (or anything to steer clear of or avoid?) Cheers!