New bass... £1400.00... best out there??

[bubinga5]

Hey people, some money has come my way, so im in the market for a new 5 string, my budget is £1400.00. I was thinking maybe Lakland??

What are the best instruments with the best B string out there. Im hoping for a long list so i can salivate over them!!

Thanks in advance...

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='bubinga5' post='222833' date='Jun 20 2008, 12:30 PM']Hey people, some money has come my way, so im in the market for a new 5 string, my budget is £1400.00. I was thinking maybe Lakland??

What are the best instruments with the best B string out there. Im hoping for a long list so i can salivate over them!!

Thanks in advance...[/quote]

It all depends what you are looking for - something jazz-esque? precision-esque? or something completely different?

Lakland would be a great starting point. You would be able to get a very nice Skyline series for that. 55-02/55-02 Dlx, Daryl Jones 5,

Roscoe Century Standard would definately be worth considering. Talk to poptart/Mark at BassDirect for more information about those. Roscoes really are one of the true modern greats.

Both have great Bs, mostly due to their 35" scales. Both can be set up to have awesome actions. It really is a toss up between the two and what style/pup configuration you want.

These would be the first two I would look at... but that's just me. There are loads of instruments out there - I would suggest you try as many as you can before you buy! The trouble is, everybody has their favourites so everybody will just tell you what they like. If you want a stunning B, I would always look at 35" scale as a starting point... although some people will argue that.

Edited June 20, 2008 by EBS_freak

[jakenewmanbass]

[quote name='bubinga5' post='222833' date='Jun 20 2008, 12:30 PM']Hey people, some money has come my way, so im in the market for a new 5 string, my budget is £1400.00. I was thinking maybe Lakland??

What are the best instruments with the best B string out there. Im hoping for a long list so i can salivate over them!!

Thanks in advance...[/quote]
I would look out for a second hand Alembic. (I am an owner)
apart from that I think Warwick SS11s are lovely.
I suppose a fender shape custom of some sort, Don't know about the B with those though as I've only had 4 stringers of that type.
My Alembic has the best B I have ever come across.

Edited June 20, 2008 by jakesbass

[jamesf]

I would recommend trying a Dingwall Afterburner if you can, the B string is 37" scale and the best I've played - I'm 90% sure that a 5-string Afterburner will be my next bass, but check them out and see what you think - I'm sure everybody else here will give you loads of great suggestions as well!!

[BigRedX]

Thought about a custom?

I'm sure all the usual suspects recommended here could do you something tasty for that kind of money.

[rjb]

Well if that's you in the pic with the Jazz, then the Jazz-shaped Lakland Darryl Jones 5 would be a great place to start.

Fooking beautiful bass.

[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/lakland_skyline_darryl_jones_5_rw_wp.htm?partner_id=25293"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/lakland_skyline_d...artner_id=25293[/url]

Also in blue....!


For a custom-made option Shuker basses seem to get some good press around here....

[url="http://www.shukerguitars.co.uk/jbassgal.htm"]http://www.shukerguitars.co.uk/jbassgal.htm[/url]

Edited June 20, 2008 by rjb

[andyonbass]

[quote name='bubinga5' post='222833' date='Jun 20 2008, 12:30 PM']Hey people, some money has come my way, so im in the market for a new 5 string, my budget is £1400.00. I was thinking maybe Lakland??

What are the best instruments with the best B string out there. Im hoping for a long list so i can salivate over them!!

Thanks in advance...[/quote]

Have you thought about having a custom instrument built? You could do a lot worse than give Alan at [url="http://www.acguitars.co.uk/pa_index.php"]AC Guitars[/url] a call, you might be surprised at what you can get within your budget. And if you fancy popping over to Swindon, sometime, you're welcome to have a go on my two. I'm completely GAS free these days

[Chris2112]

Perhaps a Spector Euro NT XL? Either that or a Status would be my first choice!

[chris_b]

Everyone has a different opinion and mine is that Laklands are great and should be tried out at least once.
Does it have to be a 5 string? There are a couple of very interesting 6 stringers here on BC, an MTD Z6 and a Modulus Q6. You get better value by buying second-hand but a custom build can get you a very interesting bass. With a £1400 budget you are spoilt for choice.

[Bilbo]

This one is at the GAllery in Camden for £1400 (no, its not mine). Real looker.

[url="http://www.thebassgallery.com/seijazz5quilt.html"]http://www.thebassgallery.com/seijazz5quilt.html[/url]

[The Burpster]

Clover.....

[url="http://www.cloverbasses.com/"]http://www.cloverbasses.com/[/url]

[XB26354]

Sadowsky Metro should be on anyone's list - and the Gallery has 3 5-strings at the moment, Plus a Lakland DJ5 and the above-mentioned Sei.

[jakenewmanbass]

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='222989' date='Jun 20 2008, 03:07 PM']This one is at the GAllery in Camden for £1400 (no, its not mine). Real looker.

[url="http://www.thebassgallery.com/seijazz5quilt.html"]http://www.thebassgallery.com/seijazz5quilt.html[/url][/quote]
thats fooking loovely

[cheddatom]

[quote name='jamesf' post='222842' date='Jun 20 2008, 12:45 PM']I would recommend trying a Dingwall Afterburner if you can, the B string is 37" scale and the best I've played - I'm 90% sure that a 5-string Afterburner will be my next bass, but check them out and see what you think - I'm sure everybody else here will give you loads of great suggestions as well!![/quote]

What's the deal with the fanned frets? Are they weird to play?

[bubinga5]

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='222989' date='Jun 20 2008, 03:07 PM']This one is at the GAllery in Camden for £1400 (no, its not mine). Real looker.

[url="http://www.thebassgallery.com/seijazz5quilt.html"]http://www.thebassgallery.com/seijazz5quilt.html[/url][/quote]WOW, that bloody nice!!! thanks for the suggestions. Keep em coming..

[Merton]

[quote name='cheddatom' post='223061' date='Jun 20 2008, 04:22 PM']What's the deal with the fanned frets? Are they weird to play?[/quote]
The idea is they follow your natural hand position a bit better as well as allowing more even tension across the strings thanks to the multi scale.

That said, I've never played one so I could be talking out of my @rse

[JimH]

[url="http://www.status-graphite.com"]Status[/url]...... every time.....

[Merton]

[quote name='JimH' post='223076' date='Jun 20 2008, 04:37 PM'][url="http://www.status-graphite.com"]Status[/url]...... every time.....[/quote]
Yes, wholeheartedly agree. I should've put that in my previous post really

[jamesf]

[quote name='cheddatom' post='223061' date='Jun 20 2008, 04:22 PM']What's the deal with the fanned frets? Are they weird to play?[/quote]

The fanned frets were my only reservation about the dingwall as I thought I'd never figure it out. They look much scarier from the front than they do from the playing position, so shouldn't be too hard to adapt to - the string tension is very even and every string sounds very 'in-tune' - I guess I won't have any excuses if I buy one then!!

That Sei Jazz looks gorgeous as well!!

[BigRedX]

Fanned frets only look weird from the front. Once the bass is in the playing position, it becomes irrelevant. What you do notice is a more even tension/feel between the strings and plenty of length on the low B. The only time you might have an issue would be if you played lots of chords high up the neck on the lower strings.

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

How about something completely different like an NS-Design electric upright? There's a secondhand CR5M listed on the "for sale" section within your budget. I will never part with mine as its so much fun to play and the 42" (I think) B string sounds tight AND huge.

[AREA]

If you like them, I would take a Look on a LeFay "Herr Schwarz 5"

[molan]

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='222989' date='Jun 20 2008, 03:07 PM']This one is at the GAllery in Camden for £1400 (no, its not mine). Real looker.

[url="http://www.thebassgallery.com/seijazz5quilt.html"]http://www.thebassgallery.com/seijazz5quilt.html[/url][/quote]

I have to agree that you'd struggle to find a better made bass than a Martin Petersen. There's been a few lovely 5 string Sei Jazzes up for sale recently and £1,400 would have bought any one of them.

Definitely worth having a look for the quality of craftsmanship alone.

You're right on the cusp of a used NYC Sadowsky like this one as well:

Edited June 20, 2008 by molan

[ped]

[quote name='AREA' post='223248' date='Jun 20 2008, 09:08 PM']If you like them, I would take a Look on a LeFay "Herr Schwarz 5"

[/quote]


Gorgeous sounding basses, good call. There was a Herr Schwarz for sale in the US a few months ago, I was severely tempted.

If it was my dosh, I would be saving up a bit more and getting a series 4 bass of manufacture you can probably guess... (vigier!) or looking for a second hand one.

[7string]

[quote name='molan' post='223254' date='Jun 20 2008, 09:22 PM']I have to agree that you'd struggle to find a better made bass than a Martin Petersen. There's been a few lovely 5 string Sei Jazzes up for sale recently and £1,400 would have bought any one of them.

Definitely worth having a look for the quality of craftsmanship alone.[/quote]

Blimey, spoilt for choice at £1400

Being a Sei fan, I would say that a Sei jazz is worth very careful consideration!! I might have stretched for the Sei jazz a week or so ago, but the rare-as-rocking-horse-poop Tyler bass was too much to resist.

Edited June 20, 2008 by 7string