What 34” 5 string under £500

[Guest]

3 hours ago, mojobu said:

apples and oranges a bit but it would be very hard to beat a BB435 for the $$$ . out shines any fender at twice the price or any Sire in the $1000 range , I have them all . It has a funky bridge and tuners but the neck is a killer and the headstock angle insures a fairly tight B . 

Having had both a 425 and a 435, I beg to differ. The electronics and the B string on both Yamahas was nothing to write home about. Both were bought before playing (one was dirt cheap) but I moved them on because they were a bit anonymous and lacked that feeling of being “alive”. Nothing like some older 80s BBs I’ve played. I also tried the 735 and didn’t believe it was worth the extra money (painted neck seemed odd and didn’t sound or feel better to me). As always, everyone has their own views. IMHO the Sire V7 5 that I bought (fully expecting to send back as not good enough) is a much better all-round bass - although maybe not all are, not sure about their consistency.

Edited April 7, 2021 by FDC484950

[Nighttrain1127]

I would add that My Sire V3 gen2  5 string IMHO has a good B string and my V7 5 string has an even better B string. The only 5's I have with Better B are my Multi Scale's and my BTB1825 also my Yamaha TRB 1005. My 35"scale Harley Benton has a decent  B string for a very inexpensive 5er, But the hardware is pretty much crap.

[Davebassics]

I'm in a similar situation but specifically after Jazz bass. I've narrowed it down to the Squier CV 70s Jazz or the Sire v5 .... or the Sire v7. The flamed maple necks on the v5s are gorgeous! Next v5 delivery into Thomann is due at the end of may, Andertons quoted November. I'm pretty torn to be honest! Any body have any wise words between those specific models?

[mojobu]

16 hours ago, FDC484950 said:

Having had both a 425 and a 435, I beg to differ. The electronics and the B string on both Yamahas was nothing to write home about. Both were bought before playing (one was dirt cheap) but I moved them on because they were a bit anonymous and lacked that feeling of being “alive”. Nothing like some older 80s BBs I’ve played. I also tried the 735 and didn’t believe it was worth the extra money (painted neck seemed odd and didn’t sound or feel better to me). As always, everyone has their own views. IMHO the Sire V7 5 that I bought (fully expecting to send back as not good enough) is a much better all-round bass - although maybe not all are, not sure about their consistency.

I have the Sire M7 5string ash , 2nd generation . it sings sweet but the bb435 is much more user friendly . the B on the Sire is more lively but the 435 runs tighter with the same strings , go figure , angle of headstock is my guess . Again the M7 sounds great but ergonomically it is not that user friendly . AND , I just cannot get used to the looks of the damn bass , ugly as sin

[TheGreek]

I don't get the "ugly" comments about the Sires. IMO there are much worse looking headstocks - nobody remember the "Pointy era" circa 1970/80s?

[furym]

Recent production Squiers are great. Guy at Church plays one. 

[Nighttrain1127]

If you are looking for a Jazz type Then The Sire V3 V5 or V7 depending on how much you want to spend. IMHO the difference in level of what you get between the V5 and the V7 is not worth it . I have a V3 5 string that for what they cost is an amazing instrument although they can run heavy but I found one around 9 pounds. The V5 and V7 can be somewhat lighter. And the B string on All of my Sire 5 strings V3 V5 and V7 is very good. Also the Pickups are head and shoulders above any bass in their price range including Fender.  I have a Squier CV 70's jazz it is about as heavy as my Sire V3 but the Sire is much better overall.

[lonestar]

On 28/03/2021 at 22:53, kodiakblair said:

With a £500 budget I'd be looking for a Peavey TL-5.

 

It's the model they had Tim Landers help design and their first dedicated 5'er.

Here's the 6'er flanked by both versions of the 5'er.

I have one of these. It was an EBay bargain. Heavy but a great bass. 
 

[OliverBlackman]

6 hours ago, lonestar said:

I have one of these. It was an EBay bargain. Heavy but a great bass. 
 

That looks a beaut

[lonestar]

2 hours ago, OliverBlackman said:

That looks a beaut

Love it 

it was a bit of a punt on EBay about ten years ago. It had been stripped of the lurid blue sunburst colour and oil finished so could potentially have been a a bit rough but was nicely done. It was a bargain as there were no other bidders.The only issues I had  are the stacked pots were a bit knackered and hard to find to replace. I managed to change 1 of them. Peavey US sent me the last one on the planet I think but one of the tags had snapped off. It all works ok though. Have been think of swapping out the preamp for a while but I like the sound as is , despite the dodgy pots.

[kodiakblair]

@lonestar

If you do swap the preamp, I'd be interested in the old one.

 

Handy to have if I need spares for mine.