5 string basses?

[Exxcell]

Cort makes incredible basses for their price point.

Check em out.

[awilkie84]

Originally Posted by Exxcell

Cort makes incredible basses for their price point.

Check em out.

Corts are nice, but I don't recommend their lower models. The 5 strings are either really floppy, or no low tone. Their neck thru models are pretty nice, though.

[kikstand454]

True.
I just like DR's. Lol. I dig rotosounds too....at times....they seem hit and miss to me.
That's the problem with 5strings though......they're too frkn expensive to experiment with. If I get a set.....they're staying on very close to a year....possibly more.
Now that I'm stringing TWO 5ers though...maybe ill be able to try a few different things out. I also have that same question about hex~core. Higher tension? That would solve my 'problem'.

Sorry to derail the OP. This convo is kinda sorta related though.....right? Lol.

[balton4]

Originally Posted by kikstand454

True.
I just like DR's. Lol. I dig rotosounds too....at times....they seem hit and miss to me.
That's the problem with 5strings though......they're too frkn expensive to experiment with. If I get a set.....they're staying on very close to a year....possibly more.
Now that I'm stringing TWO 5ers though...maybe ill be able to try a few different things out. I also have that same question about hex~core. Higher tension? That would solve my 'problem'.

Sorry to derail the OP. This convo is kinda sorta related though.....right? Lol.

Haha, i get off for a month or so, and i come back to this? Seems legit. Anywho, thanks for al the information, guys! Even if some (most) wasnt what i was looking for... Im currently thinking about investing in a Sterling SUB 5. 300 new at musiciansfriend, not too bad. Great for starting off, as i tried one and fell in love with it. Im going to have to get a better amp to handle that lower string though. My behringer probably wont be able to take it, im thinking about after getting the bass, getting a cab and head this time My parents are probably going to hate me

[KingRazor]

Originally Posted by scottfeldstein

quick plug for my chosen 5: the Ibanez SR505. No regrets whatsoever.

This. Although I recommend finding one at a store that plays good and buying that one. I wouldn't buy one sight-unseen.

[scottfeldstein]

Originally Posted by KingRazor

This. Although I recommend finding one at a store that plays good and buying that one. I wouldn't buy one sight-unseen.

Funny you should say that. Determined to buy a 5-stringer at a reasonable price, I played every bass in three different music stores. But I kept picking up the SR505 at guitar center. It was the weight, the look of the mahogany, the slender neck and it was set up correctly. Played like a dream. So I told the guy I wanted one. A new one, not this "floor model," I said. He disappeared to see if he had one "in the back." He returned and offered me $100 off the one in my hands. Sold.

[KingRazor]

Originally Posted by scottfeldstein

Funny you should say that. Determined to buy a 5-stringer at a reasonable price, I played every bass in three different music stores. But I kept picking up the SR505 at guitar center. It was the weight, the look of the mahogany, the slender neck and it was set up correctly. Played like a dream. So I told the guy I wanted one. A new one, not this "floor model," I said. He disappeared to see if he had one "in the back." He returned and offered me $100 off the one in my hands. Sold.

Yeah, I've spent the last 2 years frequenting guitar shops and have never, I mean never played a bass that out-played an Ibanez SR505. Never played one more comfortable.

But, I have played a couple of Ibanez soundgears here and there that had obvious setup issues, but I imagine in most cases that could have easily been fixed by a competent guitar tech.

In rare cases however I have run into a bass that had issues with fret buzz and string rattle that no amount of setup seemed to be able to cure. This was the case with my SR405QM. I played another (used) soundgear in one of the local shops around here and it buzzed the same way my old one did.

It is because of that that I recommend trying a bass before you buy. I personally feel this applies regardless of price point.

[ewe2]

Balton4, seek out a used Washburn XB125, very good value for a 5, versatile sound, light and easy to play. Just threw on some DR Neons on mine, got a nice bright metal sound which will mellow nicely.

[Munjibunga]

Originally Posted by balton4

I really dont want to be buying 9v batteries all the time. Price range is probably going to be in the 2-4 hundred dollar range, and open to the used market.

I just replaced the batteries in my Fodera. They were over 2 years old. At two bucks apiece, that's four bucks for two years, or two bucks a year. It ain't that bad. Active EQ is more versatile than passive, and if you want passive, just pull the volume knob up (on many active basses) and play in passive mode. Of the sixteen 5-strings I own, only one is passive - my Fender Roscoe Beck V. If you have to have a strictly passive bass, you can't do much better than an RBV.

[Kmonk]

I love my Alembic Epic 5 String!

[bassbenj]

Originally Posted by scottfeldstein

Funny you should say that. Determined to buy a 5-stringer at a reasonable price, I played every bass in three different music stores. But I kept picking up the SR505 at guitar center. It was the weight, the look of the mahogany, the slender neck and it was set up correctly. Played like a dream. So I told the guy I wanted one. A new one, not this "floor model," I said. He disappeared to see if he had one "in the back." He returned and offered me $100 off the one in my hands. Sold.

It's always best to try first and buy the one you tried. As soon as I tried my SR206 I knew I HAD to leave the store with it! Yes, it's got a couple of problems like level not equal across strings (fix with a bit of EQ) and doesn't have 24 frets like a SR506, (which I now own also) but I've never regretted buying that so-called cheap bass.

GC got in two Fender Roscoe Beck V basses. Identical except for color. One played like a dream and was gone the next day when I came back to buy it. The other hung around GC for months with nobody interested including me.

I went looking for a Fender 5er and tried every Fender 5er in any store I could drive to. Ended up (go figure) with a like-new MIM Fender from GC! And let me tell you I played some pretty hideous Fender Americans. One i remember had the neck set a such an angle the saddles were bottomed out and the action was still a mile high. They wanted $1500 for it!

I have bought a few basses without playing them, luckily mostly from TBers who's opinion and honesty I trust, or in some cases (SX) where the price was so low that if I got a dog I could flip it without a big loss.

Best is still always to try it and if it speaks to you, what more do you need to know? I do know that whenever I've found a bass like that and didn't buy it, I've been sorry forever!