Question on 5 String bass playing

[ChrisYoung]

I Switched from a 4 to a 5 string bass Guitar like... a couple years ago... I did it because I felt that I needed more of a challenge on creating my own music, and felt that maybe an extra string could offer me that... I went from an Ibanez GSR 200 ( a 200$ Guitar ) to a Fender Squire MB5 Show master (Which I bought for like 350$)... Ive been playing it for some time now but compared to my old Ibanez this guitar just isn't cutting it... I mean... its really loose... sound is not that great... The strings are always hitting the guitar and making anoying scratching noises if I play just a little hard, I seem to play better (and it sounds better) on my old Ibanez 4 string (that I no longer own)... now my question to you is this... am I playing better on the Ibanez because a 4 string is for me.. or because I just need a better quality 5 string? I'd much rather play a 5 string because I like that extra B string, but what I need to know is, am I just a victim of cheap ass hardware?...
Anyone here ever play an MB5 Show Master? Also.. anyone have any good advice on a good Ibanez 5 string that I might like? I play Rock/Metal (I.E. TOOL, APC, KoRn, Metallica, Lamb Of God).

I really dont want to revert back to a 4 string after playing a 5 for so long.. any advice would be great.. thank you & Rock on

[enigmabass]

First thing i would suggest is taking your fender and getting the neck adjusted or otherwise checked ou for some issues, after that if your not happy...then make your decision.

[ChrisYoung]

like what kind of issues could there be? I've never had to deal with something like this.. what should I ask about?

[The_Hat_Guy]

the neck could be warped and just needs adjusting. It's made of wood, which is going to warp over time due to atmospheric changes and the fact that there are 5 strings constantly pulling on it. Tak it to your local guitar shop and ask them about a setup. They can adjust the truss (metal rod that runs down the center of the neck if you didnt know) and adjust the intonation so that your open string and 12th fret are the exact same note. this will make sure that when you play something on the 9th fret, for instance, that note is perfectly in tune. over time the bass will lose that intonation, and the saddles need to be adjusted to bring it back.

[didier]

Originally Posted by ChrisYoung

like what kind of issues could there be? I've never had to deal with something like this.. what should I ask about?

You should ask about "a setup"

It should involve, at a minimum, checking the neck for proper relief and adjustng the truss rod as needed, and adjusting the action by raising or lowering the saddles, and the intonation by moving the saddles forward/backward.

If alot of that is gobbledygook, start with a look in the "setup and repair" forum, check the stickies and some of the links in them, test you google skills...

You can do the work on the guitar yourself, but it might be worth trying to take it somewhere that you can talk to the person that will work on it, tell them what bothers you about it, what you liked about the ibanez, etc. If they have time and will let you watch while they work on it, even better.

You have a nice guitar, it just needs a little adjustment to get it the way you want it.

[ChrisYoung]

Yeah, I think I'm going to do that. Thanks for the advice... there just happens to be a local guitar shop down the street from me where I kind of know the guy.
Appreciate the feedback, you guys are great.

[Joe P]

Originally Posted by ChrisYoung

Yeah, I think I'm going to do that. Thanks for the advice... there just happens to be a local guitar shop down the street from me where I kind of know the guy.
Appreciate the feedback, you guys are great.

Yup - That's definately your first step.

Setup makes a huge difference! That's probably it - but if it isn't, a decent setup-guy will tell you what the problem IS!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I play fiver too. Wouldn't want to go back (..might go to SIX, though)!

Joe

[MeYHymN]

Five fingers, five strings, coincidence? I think not..........


Read the book.

(Only those middle aged and older will probably get that reference)