Alternative to YAMAHA TRB5 PII

[gilmour]

Hi,

I've recently purchased a warwick dirty blonde, and it's a great bass, just not what I'm after. I've been playing a Yamaha TRB 5 for years now, and should probably have stuck with that, but was seduced by the rarity and kudos of the Warwick.

Anyway I decided to get rid of the Warick and try to get hold of a Yamaha TRB5PII (the really nice one with the thru neck and piezos).

However I can't find one for sale anywhere, except imports at silly money. I really like the punchy and versatile sound.

Can anyone suggest any alternatives to the TRB 5PII ? I'm worried that if i go of fbass shopping again I'll be seduced by another bass that isn't right for me. I reckon I'd be prepared to spend around £1300

Thanks in advance.

[silverfoxnik]

[quote name='gilmour' post='44404' date='Aug 12 2007, 12:27 PM']Hi,

I've recently purchased a warwick dirty blonde, and it's a great bass, just not what I'm after. I've been playing a Yamaha TRB 5 for years now, and should probably have stuck with that, but was seduced by the rarity and kudos of the Warwick.

Anyway I decided to get rid of the Warick and try to get hold of a Yamaha TRB5PII (the really nice one with the thru neck and piezos).

However I can't find one for sale anywhere, except imports at silly money. I really like the punchy and versatile sound.

Can anyone suggest any alternatives to the TRB 5PII ? I'm worried that if i go of fbass shopping again I'll be seduced by another bass that isn't right for me. I reckon I'd be prepared to spend around £1300

Thanks in advance.[/quote]
Hi and welcome to Basschat!

With £1300 to spend you've got a pretty wide choice for a 5 string, including new or s/h. Here's a few off the top of my head:

MM5 (if you could find one s/h with piezo and twin p/ups)
Sandberg (choice of different style 5 string basses..)
Shuker (great custom built UK basses)
Overwater (another great UK make)
Sei
Sadowsky (there's a nice on for sale here on this forum)
Bacchus (again, a nice one for sale here)
Atelier Jazz 5 (as above)
Lakland
Mike Tobias Designs (MTD)
Ken Smith Designs (KSD)
Fender Marcus Miller 5

I'm sure there's lots of others people here will recommend.. Only advice I can give you is to try out as many as you can before buying, something that could save a lot of time and money in the long run.

Good luck !

Nik

[ped]

Hello mate, and welcome! I am a big fan of the Yamaha TRB basses. Have you thought about a TRB6p?

[url="http://www.ishibashi.co.jp/u_box/ubox.cgi?T=syosai&sline=2805&print=1&keys2=machida%40ishibashi%2Eco%2Ejp&tid=list3"]http://www.ishibashi.co.jp/u_box/ubox.cgi?...p&tid=list3[/url]

Very nice! The spacing is quite wide though but the low radius fingerboard is really comfy.

[King of Loss]

At £1300, I would forget about Yamaha/Ibanez/Warwick etc, and get yourself a custom bass.

[Kiwi]

[quote name='King of Loss' post='44443' date='Aug 12 2007, 02:43 PM']At £1300, I would forget about Yamaha/Ibanez/Warwick etc, and get yourself a custom bass. [/quote]
A good idea but you need to know what you want when you go custom. If there's an off-the-shelf bass which supplies a sound which is just as desirable, the chances are it will have a better resale value also.

[gilmour]

Hi,

Yeah I thought about a TRB 6 - they seem a lot easier to get hold of (there's one on e bay cheap at the moment) but agin I don;t really dig the idea of a 6 string

Theres a TRB 6 on e bay pretty cheap in case anyones interested - £695 on buy it now

lol

Thanks

Edited August 12, 2007 by gilmour

[gilmour]

yeah,

I agree - the idea of a custom bass is a nice one - but i'm not to sure what I want, and I'm not really willing to tkae that financial risk.

Actually I do know what i want - a bass that plays and looks like the warwick - but has the sound, punch and versatility of the yamaha - sadly i'm not sure if it exists.

Thanks

[OutToPlayJazz]

[quote name='gilmour' post='44498' date='Aug 12 2007, 04:45 PM']yeah,

I agree - the idea of a custom bass is a nice one - but i'm not to sure what I want, and I'm not really willing to tkae that financial risk.

Actually I do know what i want - a bass that plays and looks like the warwick - but has the sound, punch and versatility of the yamaha - sadly i'm not sure if it exists.

Thanks[/quote]

Actually, there is one... A Warwick Corvette $$ 5-stringer. I have the 4-string version & I still can't believe it's become my main bass. I even play it in preference to my Status KingBass these days, and it's literally a third of the cost. It's fast like no other Warwick & the output/sound variations from the switchable humbuckers/preamp is awsome. I believe someone on here has the new thru neck version... That should be within reach of your budget as well...

[Gwilym]

[quote name='gilmour' post='44404' date='Aug 12 2007, 12:27 PM']Hi,

I've recently purchased a warwick dirty blonde, and it's a great bass, just not what I'm after. I've been playing a Yamaha TRB 5 for years now, and should probably have stuck with that, but was seduced by the rarity and kudos of the Warwick.

Anyway I decided to get rid of the Warick and try to get hold of a Yamaha TRB5PII (the really nice one with the thru neck and piezos).

However I can't find one for sale anywhere, except imports at silly money. I really like the punchy and versatile sound.

Can anyone suggest any alternatives to the TRB 5PII ? I'm worried that if i go of fbass shopping again I'll be seduced by another bass that isn't right for me. I reckon I'd be prepared to spend around £1300

Thanks in advance.[/quote]

hey Gilmour
if your heart is set on the TRB5, get the original TRB5P - I've played both and the TRB5P is a much nicer bass than the TRB5PII (IMHO). It was just more playable somehow. I sold my TRB5P as I decided that the neck was a big big for my tastes, but sound wise it was awesome, and I'd recommend it to anyone. They crop up on ebay quite regularly, and you could possibly get one relatively cheap ~£600 if you're lucky.

Or as Nik suggests, there's a whole world of other basses to try

cheers
G