First 5 string recommendations?

[horrorshowbass]

Any of these Ibby lads, what's your budget?

I have an Ibanez 6er I'm thinking of selling if you really want to jump in with both feet😄

https://www.andertons.co.uk/bass-dept/bass-guitars/5-string-basses

 

[garyt]

My son bought the Musicman SUB 5 for £399 new, and for the money it is incredible.  Obviously there are minor build quality differences with a real Stingray, but this is obviously a sweet spot where diminishing returns kick in.   

[horrorshowbass]

9 hours ago, garyt said:

My son bought the Musicman SUB 5 for £399 new, and for the money it is incredible.  Obviously there are minor build quality differences with a real Stingray, but this is obviously a sweet spot where diminishing returns kick in.   

Yeah I had the SUB Ray 4, hard to believe its a fraction of the price of the "real" thing!! The HB MM clone as a 5 string would be a good shout too.

[MNY]

This is a seriously good 5 string jazz bass for the money. 
 

https://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Cort_GB75_JJ_SFGP.html

[benh]

2 hours ago, MNY said:

This is a seriously good 5 string jazz bass for the money. 
 

https://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Cort_GB75_JJ_SFGP.html

Was just about to post that exact link! +1 for Cort.

[PsyBean]

I can highly recommend the Musicman Sterling 5 which I think has the same neck but a slightly lighter and smaller body than the Stingray 5 (and looks nicer). Both have the same nut width of 44.5mm so are relatively compact 5 strings. I am lucky enough to have both but tend to always go for the Sterling, it's just so silky and playable. I also have a Jazz 5, which with a nut width of nearly 48mm and while having a tone to die for, feels like playing a gate post compared to the Musicman 5s. I hear the Ray basses are excellent too if the USA made MMs are over budget. That Cort bass looks great value, but I think the specs are wrong for a 5 string, quoting a nut width of 39mm, which sounds more like a 4 string, but happy to be corrected if anyone knows for sure.

Edited January 10, 2021 by PsyBean

[MJJS]

I recently picked up a Cort C5.

Narrow/flat neck, 3 band eq and very light.

Would be a good intro 5er.

Cort make a lot of the Ibanez and Squire basses I believe.

 

[dannybuoy]

On 01/12/2020 at 16:59, Reggaebass said:

My first 5 was a Yamaha 415  which I still have , i too mainly play jazzes and I was quite surprised how easy the Yamaha was to play, the nut is only 42mm I think, I can check if you want , and it’s pretty slim front to back, which I like , they are a great bass and very good value for money 🙂

I second the Yamaha recommendation - I went through a bunch of 5 strings including a Fender Precision and Jazz, but they were all too wide at the nut for me, until I found a BB415 that was 42mm, the same width as my 4-string P-Bass! I didn't get on with the Sterling Ray35 or Sandberg TT5 necks either. Ibanez would also be a good bet!

 

Edited January 10, 2021 by dannybuoy

[SumOne]

I went from a 4 string Fender Jazz to an Ibanez SRMS805 which is a great Bass and was quite an easy transition (fanned frets were no issue), only issue for me was the small (16.5mm) string spacing,  but some people prefer that. They are about £900 new but you'd probably get 2nd hand for about £500 and it'd hold that value if you didn't get on with it and sold it.

Edited January 28, 2021 by SumOne
Typo

[andruca]

Also don't discard Schecter. IDK if they make 34" 5ers but even at 35" they don't feel cumbersome and their 5er necks are SKINNY (19.5mm thick @ fret 1), super sharp C shape, with a 45mm nut. Most (if not all) have a 17mm string spacing at the bridge, OK for me (used to Stingray5's 17.5mm), but might not be your thing.

Edited January 28, 2021 by andruca

[mcnach]

On 01/12/2020 at 16:13, maidens97 said:

Hi all, been looking into buying a 5 string sometime soon as it make playing some of my bands new material a lot easier. I’ve no opportunity to try any out due to where I live and COVID. I’ve only ever really played Jazz basses so would like something with a similar neck. The obvious choice would just be a 5 string jazz but I’ve heard that they’re often very lackluster so thought I’d ask the experts here!

 

I would recommend you approach the 5-string with an open mind and try everything and anything you can, and see what feels right for you.

My personal journey towards 5-strings has been long and surprising to me. I think I bought my first 5 string back in 2007 or 2008. It was a Crafter something or another with two big MM style pickups, wide string spacing and a wide but shallow and flat fingerboard which was very comfy. But it never felt or sound better than my favourite 4-string basses and I never really persevered. 

Between then and now I've owned various others, on and off. The Squier Jazz DeLuxe was very nice but heavy and chunky. I realised I much prefer wide string spacing so I didn't get along with Stingrays (my main bass is a 4-string Stingray), the sound was there but I didn't find them comfortable enough. I owned G&L, Lakland, and various others. Nothing really stuck. Then for Xmas my girlfriend bought me one of the satin black 'stealth' finish Harley Benton MB-5 basses, Stingray style, passive. It was very cheap, but it had nice reviews, looked great, and figured it would be nice to have one even if I would not use it a lot.

Wrong. I have played nothing else since I got it. For some reason it just clicked with me. The neck is narrower than I'd go for, the string spacing is 'wrong' for me... but what do you know? I just love it. So this is the bass that finally allowed me to break through. I'm still having to work on my muting, but it's a lot better now. I occasionally hit the wrong string too, but much less often now. I'm at the point where I would happily play a gig with it... and it was only possible because for some reason this bass felt and sounded right for me, so I didn't feel I was compromising a lot, and I enjoyed it. If I have to fight a bass too much, I'll just pass.

That's why I suggest you try everything, and wait until one bass whispers sweet nothings in your ear. Hopefully it won't be a Fodera but something a bit more affordable  

Since I started playing the 5 string seriously I find it so useful to have all those notes *across* the fretboard, without changing hand position so much.  Every note I want is easier to access, and I love the ability to transpose on the spot with fewer restrictions. Once it clicks it's like "how did I manage without that B string?". I don't use the lower notes that much, ok that low D gets hit with some regularity, but I don't really use the 5 string to go lower much, however the ability to cover 2 octaves within a span of 5 frets just makes things so easy... I love it.

Sorry I am not suggesting any particular bass, because our tastes may be different, I just wanted to emphasise that personally I didn't really 'get it' until I found a bass that really spoke to me, and it wasn't one I was expecting to like as much (budget range, narrow spacing, and I really prefer maple fingerboards but this one is as dark as it gets)... you never know.

 

 

[mcnach]

On 28/01/2021 at 18:23, andruca said:

Also don't discard Schecter. IDK if they make 34" 5ers but even at 35" they don't feel cumbersome and their 5er necks are SKINNY (19.5mm thick @ fret 1), super sharp C shape, with a 45mm nut. Most (if not all) have a 17mm string spacing at the bridge, OK for me (used to Stingray5's 17.5mm), but might not be your thing.

 

+1 good point about the 35" vs 34" scale. Don't let that distract you, for the most part you might not even notice. I owned a Lakland 5502 for several months before I found out it was 35" scale. I never felt it made things harder because it was very well balanced and it's a small difference. If the horn where the strap button were a bit shorter that would have pushed the bass to the left (I'm right-handed) and then the neck would definitely feel long: it's not just the scale length but the overall design.

 

[Ltsal]

I’ve got myself the Ibanez EHB1005MS as a first 5 string Bass. I wouldn’t say it’s the cheapest option but it’s a amazing Bass and the B is amazing. 

[geoham]

On 06/02/2021 at 21:06, Ltsal said:

I’ve got myself the Ibanez EHB1005MS as a first 5 string Bass. I wouldn’t say it’s the cheapest option but it’s a amazing Bass and the B is amazing. 

I had to look that up.. very interesting looking beast!