5-String Advice

[jay42]

Hi folks

 

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good quality active 5-string with 19mm string spacing? No Jazz-styles as sadly I don't get on with them...

 

Any thoughts would be very welcome!

 

Jay

Edited October 16, 2023 by jay42

[itu]

MTD

Modulus wide necks

Modulus Genesis

Warwick wide necks

Do some search, we have been talking about this earlier.

[chris_b]

Hi Jay, currently in the classifieds there are 5 string Lakland, MTD, Zoot, Sandberg and Roscoe basses.

 

I've owned a Lakland for most of the last 20 years and would recommend them to anyone.

[lemmywinks]

Ibanez BTB and Yamaha TRB have 19mm I think.

 

[BlueMoon]

The necks on Lakland 5 string basses I find to be superb. The most comfortable ones out there for me.

[fretmeister]

Sandberg California VT/VM/Central/Basic are all adjustable for 18-19.5mm at the bridge.

[LeftyJ]

10 hours ago, lemmywinks said:

Ibanez BTB and Yamaha TRB have 19mm I think.

 

I don't know about the BTB, but the two Yamaha TRB5II's I owned were 19mm at the bridge. Their 35" scale won't be for everyone, but I loved them.

[pete.young]

A used SGC Nanyo Bass Collection would fit the bill and would be a cost-effective option. There's one in the classifieds here:

 

 

[Henrythe8]

As it has has been said earlier by the fine memebers of this parish... 
the BTB Series are nice, and have the required 19mm. 
Warwick Broadnecks, too, but the neck profiles greatly vary, and the pricepoint is quite different, too. 

The "best" choice for me lately if the Sandberg, adjstabel width up to 19,5mm, the California series with the bypass-able preamp are very versatile and comfortable. I'd say a VM5 if you're not into Jazz. 

But you should definetely go out there and try some different instruments to make sure you get everything you need. 

[Happy Jack]

I agree with the 19mm string spacing but I also find a 35" scale length improves things generally on a fiver. YMMV

 

The Lakland Skyline series are decent value (the huge premium for the USA models I think is unjustified) but you should also check out Mike Lull basses, which have the benefit of being quite lightweight.

 

IME converting a successful 4-string design into a fiver doesn't always work. I've been known on Basschat for 16+ years as a champion of SGC Nanyo Bass Collection basses, but every fiver I've had from them (and that's three at the last count) had a rubbish flobadob B-string. Sometimes it does of course ... my frontline bass in my covers band is a Rickenbacker 4003s5 and the B on that is lovely, despite being 'only' a 33" scale.

 

[pete.young]

2 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

II've been known on Basschat for 16+ years as a champion of SGC Nanyo Bass Collection basses, but every fiver I've had from them (and that's three at the last count) had a rubbish flobadob B-string.

 

My 465 seems OK, maybe the ebony board adds a bit of density or stiffness? I don't know.

[Happy Jack]

5 minutes ago, pete.young said:

My 465 seems OK, maybe the ebony board adds a bit of density or stiffness? I don't know.

AFAIK the 465 was a significant upgrade on the 315 & 325, which are the only SGC fivers I've owned.

 

I imagine that fed through into a better neck too.

[BigRedX]

Some general observations from someone who has been playing 5-string basses since 1989...

 

The most important feature IME is a stiff neck and excellent neck joint. This normally means through neck or set neck construction. That's not to say that there aren't any decent 5-string basses with bolt-on necks, but all the ones I have owned have been poor.

 

Also IME 35" scale length doesn't make enough difference on its own. For scale length to trump overall construction you need to go to 36" or longer. Any luthier capable of making a decent 35" scale 5-string bass can also make an excellent one with a 34" scale length. However if you like the feel of the extra inch then go for it, but don't expect it to automatically make the B-string better because it won't.

[chris_b]

I've never understood how players have a preference for one or the other. . . . I have had 34" and 35" basses for the last 20 years and I can't tell which is which by just playing them. The differences per fret are miniscule. I am more bothered by 17mm spacing by the bridge. 18-19mm for me, and I can't tell the difference between those when playing, either.

 

I don't claim to have a great technique but what I have got seems to get me around all the "issues" others have with different measurements on basses.

[Happy Jack]

5 minutes ago, chris_b said:

I have had 34" and 35" basses for the last 20 years and I can't tell which is which by just playing them.

 

Nor me, Chris, but IME (which of course is nowhere near as extensive as yours) then, all else being equal, a 35" scale low B tends to feel and sound better (for a given value of "better") than a 34" or a 33".

 

When I had a Dingwall, I adored the feel of the 37" low B ... it was the 'hi-fi' modern sound of the bass that I couldn't get along with.

 

[Dazed]

You can’t go wrong with Yamaha TRB 5er, as Henry mentioned various Warwick Broadnecks are adjustable width at the bridge upto 20mm ish. 

[Owen]

1 hour ago, Happy Jack said:

 

When I had a Dingwall, I adored the feel of the 37" low B ... it was the 'hi-fi' modern sound of the bass that I couldn't get along with.

 

Don't try one of those lush sparkly green D-Roc thangs then.

[BigRedX]

1 hour ago, chris_b said:

I've never understood how players have a preference for one or the other. . . . I have had 34" and 35" basses for the last 20 years and I can't tell which is which by just playing them.

 

But a number of manufacturers in the mid-price 5-string market think that by adding one inch to the overall scale length of the string it will overcome the other shortcomings of the instrument when it comes to getting a decent sounding and feeling low B string. It doesn't.

[lemmywinks]

3 hours ago, LeftyJ said:

I don't know about the BTB, but the two Yamaha TRB5II's I owned were 19mm at the bridge. Their 35" scale won't be for everyone, but I loved them.

 

A mate of mine had one of the high end Japanese TRBs many years ago, that was a 35" 6er with 19mm spacing and a pretty much flat radius. Was just a phenomenal instrument and surprisingly easy to play, looked really daunting though as the fretboard was huge!

 

[NickA]

I think my 5 string is 18mm at the bridge..same as two of my 4s ....and feels pretty huge.  And then my Warwick has the same string spacing as the Wal, but feels much narrower due to the thinner neck, and a jazz bassy fretless I have is 20mm at the bridge but only 10mm at the nut...that one feels really narrow.  Can people really tell the difference?  Doesn't spacing at the nut and the neck profile also matter? 

 

Just interested as to why 19mm at the bridge  is so critical compared to eg how the bass sounds ...And all the other dimensions.

[Dazed]

Personally I can’t get along with narrower than 18mm. I have a Warwick non broadneck 5 thats 17.5 and as much as I’ve tried, I love the bass, but can’t get comfortable with the spacing. 

The nut end doesn’t seem to bother me so much, I’ve got a Dolphin Pro1 and I think the nut on that is 44mm and compared to other basses I have with 38mm it isn’t a problem. 
 

For me it isn’t the fretting hand but the plucking one that I have a problem with. 

Edited October 17, 2023 by Dazed

[TheGreek]

16 minutes ago, NickA said:

I think my 5 string is 18mm at the bridge..same as two of my 4s ....and feels pretty huge.  And then my Warwick has the same string spacing as the Wal, but feels much narrower due to the thinner neck, and a jazz bassy fretless I have is 20mm at the bridge but only 10mm at the nut...that one feels really narrow.  Can people really tell the difference?  Doesn't spacing at the nut and the neck profile also matter? 

 

Just interested as to why 19mm at the bridge  is so critical compared to eg how the bass sounds ...And all the other dimensions.

 

As Seven of Nine would say..."we will adapt "

[NickA]

2 hours ago, TheGreek said:

.."we will adapt "

Absobloodylootely.  If you like the sound you just have to.

[Happy Jack]

13 hours ago, NickA said:

Just interested as to why 19mm at the bridge  is so critical compared to eg how the bass sounds

 

I have big, clumsy fingers and an agricutural playing style. I can cope with 18mm, I find 17.5mm right on the edge, and anything narrower than that is a problem.

 

Can I still play? Yes, of course, but I can't play like me.

 

String spacing at the nut is far less important, especially when I'm playing a fiver, because I'm usually playing around 5th/7th fret interspersed with open strings and runs. If I was playing fancy riffs using the first couple of frets (why would I want to do that?) then I imagine I'd feel differently about it.

[songofthewind]

Personally I need 19mm spacing so I can slap comfortably, although Happy Jack tells me I am not a gentleman because I slap.