Active 5 string workhorse - share your opinions!

[Cosmo Valdemar]

15 hours ago, Sean said:

 

5. Yamaha BBs have incredible B strings for 34" scale basses, even the lower end ones. The BB735A, BB2025, BBP35 are monsters.

 

Totally agree. I rarely play 5 strings, but have owned several. The only one that felt and played like a totally coherent instrument was an old Warwick Thumb NT. Just incredible. 

On every other 5 string I've played, even some very expensive, luxury instruments, the B string has felt like an additional and slightly lame set of extra notes - except for a friend's entry-level Yamaha BB. Just astoundingly clear and authoritative B string, regardless of the price.

Admittedly it wasn't active, but it was a total workhorse.

Edited February 12 by Cosmo Valdemar

[Jonrh98]

58 minutes ago, kuetsum said:

This 55-02 is a winner

 

3 hours ago, Bassman666 said:

I'd definitely be checking out the lakland 5502. Can be had for less than £1k, sounds great, plays great and very flexible due to the pickup layout

 

22 hours ago, dub_junkie said:

Another vote for the Lakland Skylines. I've played and owned Musicman, G&L, Fender, Warwick amongst others but I never owned a Skyline until 2021. I've owned five since then and they've all been really great basses. I sold on the four strings but kept the fives as they are now my 'go to' brand for band work now. 

 

I have a quilt top 55-02 Deluxe, a 55-60 with East J Retro preamp and a flame top 55-AJ. I want to pick a winner but I can't. 

 

 

55-AJ (Active Jazz?)

 

55-60

55-02

 

 

Given the praises of the 55-02, I've been checking them out, and they sound killer. Can't find anywhere near me to try one at the moment though, will have to scour.

 

What is the neck profile like? I know people love them, but any chance of some description? I love shallow necks front to back, so would be eager to see if it fits this. Also, are the edges heavily rolled?

[Bassman666]

I would say the necks are shallow front to back compared to say a fender jazz 5 string neck. The edges don't feel rolled to me but all the fret work is very good. They use 19mm spacing so are very comfy and give plenty of space for slap etc. They are a 35 inch scale though so bear that in mind 

[Bassman68]

I’m surprised nobody has mentioned a Stingray 5 yet?
I have owned various 5 string basses, Status,Warwick,Alembic

but I consider my ‘go-to’ 5 string my Stingray….It’s just so versatile 

It just sits in any mix, I have travelled,toured, played function work, pubs & it’s always worked for me..

It’s not that “boutique” that I have to worry about where I take it or put it down…Half the time it doesn’t even get a second glance?
It can hide in a mix or stand out, depending on eq & also sounds great with versatile eq without backline if on an IEM gig.

All things I consider in a ‘Work horse’ if I get a call & have to grab a gigbag…

[JPJ]

With that budget you are firmly in second-hand Overwater territory. For a workhorse, a 35” scale J series should tick all of your boxes, but if you want something more modern sounding, keep a look out for a Progress series, beloved by pro studio and pit musicians. Good thing about going down this route is you are getting a premium quality hand made UK bass where someone else has already borne the painful cost of depreciation. Buy well and you might even make money should you choose to sell in future. Add to that a business that’s still run by the original owner and who is always just a phone call away for support if needed, what’s not to like?

As you might have guessed, I’m an Overwater fanboi who currently owns three of these beautiful instruments, one of which (my J series) has literally done hundreds of gigs as my workhorse go-to bass.

[Ed_S]

I had an Ibanez SR1305 the same as is featured in this video - which describes it as a workhorse bass. I only saw the video after I'd already bought it, but found that I agreed with pretty much all they said about the sound of it.

 

 

I say 'had' rather than 'have' as unfortunately I found out that I just don't seem to like the feel of particularly open-grain hardwoods on the backs of necks. I'm sure most people wouldn't give that a single thought, and I wish I could have been one of them as it really was an exceptional sounding instrument, and in a markedly different way to my other Premium SRs (1105s with smooth maple necks) which are much more aggressive sounding.

[Sean]

@Jonrh98 also be aware of the Lakland 55-01. It's exactly the same neck and body as the 55-02 except it's got 2 x soapbars. These were sold with the Bartolini MkI pups to keep the price down and to differentiate from the -02 but many owners upgraded to US Barts, Nordstrand, Aguilar etc. You don't see so many around these days but a nicely upgraded 55-01 would be a weapon at probably under a grand.

 

And...

If you want rolled edges on a bass that doesn't have them, there's at least one BC member that'll do it for the price of a coffee.

 

 

Edited February 13 by Sean
espelin

[Sean]

Just like on the annoying house-buying TV shows where they throw in a wildcard, I'm going to nominate an Ibanez SRMS805.

I've got one with US Barts and preamp and pickups that are switchable series/parallel, single. Slim neck, 33.5-35.5 scale and the gem for me, 18mm spacing.

This bass is on my A Team and is a keeper. The multiscale aspect doesn't even take any getting used to.

[tauzero]

Keep a look out for used Seis in the marketplace too - the Bass Gallery has them but they sell them at rather higher prices than you'll see here.

[kwmlondon]

39 minutes ago, Sean said:

Just like on the annoying house-buying TV shows where they throw in a wildcard, I'm going to nominate an Ibanez SRMS805.

I've got one with US Barts and preamp and pickups that are switchable series/parallel, single. Slim neck, 33.5-35.5 scale and the gem for me, 18mm spacing.

This bass is on my A Team and is a keeper. The multiscale aspect doesn't even take any getting used to.

These look tasty. I had an SR505 - it was a gateway drug to 5-string madness. It was really rich and fruity. I'd love to try one of the higher-end ones.

[kuetsum]

With that budget 

I would go for used fender ultra if weight is not a problem

 

There is a nice one in sell group

 

 

 

Edited February 15 by kuetsum

[joel406]

On 11/02/2025 at 17:33, Jonrh98 said:

I'm currently putting some money aside to get a new bass and would appreciate some input from you guys.

 

I currently use a Sire P5 with usa ultralites and a 63 pure vintage pup, and a Mexi Jazz bass with xtender and hi mass bridge. I'd like to get myself a nice 5 string, active, double humbucker bass to use as a workhorse on my function gigs, for more modern sounding stuff and for the solo stuff with my jazz fusion trio. This may replace the Jazz Bass.

 

Budget is between £1,000 and £2,000.

 

Of course, there's tons of options. Used USA musicman, Premium/Prestige Ibanez SR or BTB, MTD Kingston Z5, used Sandberg California, an older used Japanese Yamaha, the list goes on!

 

I enjoy thinner necks (front to back) but am not overly fussy on neck width. Passive mode is great but not a must.

 

Ultimately, I just want to find a really solid instrument that sounds and plays great as is.

 

What do you guys reckon I should be thinking about? Used/new? Japanese/American/Indonesian? Lots of nordstrand equipped basses out there (more than barts nowadays), do you like them? Just eager to hear opinions to help narrow my search or find other options.

 

Check out the G&L M-2500 (if you can find one). Those necks and electronics are crazy good. So good I ended up with 3 of em. The L-2500 is good. Easier to find. I have one. But the M-2500 is so much better.

[Sean]

44 minutes ago, joel406 said:

Check out the G&L M-2500 (if you can find one). Those necks and electronics are crazy good. So good I ended up with 3 of em. The L-2500 is good. Easier to find. I have one. But the M-2500 is so much better.

He's not into them.

[ezbass]

6 hours ago, Sean said:

@Jonrh98 also be aware of the Lakland 55-01. It's exactly the same neck and body as the 55-02 except it's got 2 x soapbars. These were sold with the Bartolini MkI pups to keep the price down and to differentiate from the -02 but many owners upgraded to US Barts, Nordstrand, Aguilar etc. You don't see so many around these days but a nicely upgraded 55-01 would be a weapon at probably under a grand.

 

And...

If you want rolled edges on a bass that doesn't have them, there's at least one BC member that'll do it for the price of a coffee.

 

 

Ooh, a 55-01 with Nordy Big Singles or Splits would be awesome.

[Sean]

53 minutes ago, ezbass said:

Ooh, a 55-01 with Nordy Big Singles or Splits would be awesome.

A modded 01 kicks the butt of an 02 IMO. I always found that the MM is too close to the bridge to get the 'Ray thing. Saying that, the J MM configuration is the Lakland thing.

[ezbass]

8 minutes ago, Sean said:

A modded 01 kicks the butt of an 02 IMO. I always found that the MM is too close to the bridge to get the 'Ray thing. Saying that, the J MM configuration is the Lakland thing.

I had a 55-02 and the MM pickup was more like a beefy J pickup, same with the Sandberg VM I had.

[Terry M.]

On 11/02/2025 at 23:22, kwmlondon said:

 

 

The Lakland Darryl Jones I played may be one of the nicest modern J- type basses with a 70s pickup layout. 
 

 

Not quite 70s,more 60s. I have a DJ5. That's if you're referring to the distance between the pickups. 

[Treb]

The Darryl Jones has 60's spacing (my DJ4 has that), not much of a 70's vibe going on there. If you fancy 70's J-bass tone take a look at Xotic XJ-1T's. New they're over your budget but a decent used one may fall in your price bracket. Very nice J-bass tone with 70's vibe, a very good preamp (I prefer it over the Sadowsky one), active/passive switch, series/parallel switch, wood pickup covers, excellent fit & finish. I have two 4 string XJ-1T's (alder+rosewood and ash+maple).

 

Just thought of a more budget friendly option: the Xotic XJ-Pro Vintage basses. Available only in 5 string versions. Made in Indonesia. Has been discontinued but perhaps a used one can be found.

Edited February 13 by Treb

[Terry M.]

Also consider a used Mayones Jabba Classic 5. Great axes those.

[kwmlondon]

5 hours ago, Terry M. said:

Not quite 70s,more 60s. I have a DJ5. That's if you're referring to the distance between the pickups. 

I must have misunderstood the person in the store then. My bad.

[TrevorR]

You’d get a really nice Sandberg for your budget. That would be my pick!

[Terry M.]

5 hours ago, kwmlondon said:

I must have misunderstood the person in the store then. My bad.

Oh not at all. It definitely,especially in the natural finish,implies 70s. 

Edited February 14 by Terry M.

[Terry M.]

12 hours ago, Treb said:

Just thought of a more budget friendly option: the Xotic XJ-Pro Vintage basses. Available only in 5 string versions. Made in Indonesia. Has been discontinued but perhaps a used one can be found.

Really good suggestion this. I tried one when they were new in Bass Direct. The only thing is I've seen these (admittedly not many) in classified ads being priced a bit close to the XJ-1T's.But still one to look out for.

[Schnozzalee]

Carvin (Kiesel) SB5000 (JB5)

[andyonbass]

On 11/02/2025 at 22:47, Merton said:

I reckon you should buy my ACG Finn 

 

 

 

Or you could buy My ACG which would enable me to buy Mertons  ACG 😉(see my thread!)

Edited February 15 by andyonbass