Best 5 String Bass for this genre...
 

Hi there,

Without being able to test a ton of basses, I'm trying to establish tone wise / low B string wise... what's the best guitar for modern sounding trippy orchestral pop. Want a smooth a low tone but with nice clarity. I see the Stingray 5 get rave reviews for its B string but from listening to demos online (I know, not ideal...) I'm not convinced it's 'the' sound we're looking for.

Any other tips or at least ideas for other such basses it'd be worth us checking out.

Thank you

Lots of options available - what's your budget?

How about this Schecter Diamond P 5? It has a very clear B string, and very playable neck. It's 35" scale.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAINOi0bS8o

Thanks for the tip :) budget is anything up to £1500 (around 2000 USD)

Maybe a decent and less expensive Jazz-type bass (maybe active) and some decent effects?

Some good B's. I'm sure there are more...

Lakland - any model (35")
Carvin - SB5000, B25, B50 (highly underrated and highly recommended)
Dingwall - any model you can afford

I'd suggest Lakland - for a modern sound, a 55-02 or for a more traditional tone either the 55-60 or DJ-5. All are 35" scale 5'ers in your price range.

This sounds like one of those "guess what sound is in my head" type of questions. If a Stingray 5 doesn't do it for you, I'm not sure what would... :eyebrow:

I personally play Carvin Icon 5s and a Carvin LB75, and think they would work excellently for "modern trippy orchestral pop", as they're very modern, clean, transparent and smooth, with a perfectly solid "B" string. But then again, many other instruments could fit that bill as well... :hmm:

MM

Do you have a preferred string spacing? What about scale length?

No real preferences really, open to all suggestions. I'm just looking to build a list of basses to check out really. Thank you everyone for your tips so far! I'm already researching

I use to own a Modulus Q5 and the B was strong and clear. Plus with the graphite neck all the notes up and down the board were clear , level, and smooth .

I remember talking to a dude from Cali, that actually had a conversation with Tim Commerford from RATM (only saw a pic of him meeting Tim and not a taped conversation...so i am going on what i can remember) on almost to same topic of conversation, and went something like this

"Im curious to know about your jazz with the neck from a lefty...why?

He said he was told for 2 reasons...1. Had something to do with the length/gauge/tension of the strings he was using 2. That he had it tuned BEAD because he hated playing a 5 string but wanted the B

So you may want to look into getting a gently used P or J and strung it BEAD for about half of your budget.

Not too sure if you have an example of "modern trippy orchestral pop" that you can share....but i hope i have given you another angle to look at!



:bassist:

not sure that's in the budget

Thanks again for the tips - certainly more food for thought. Music wise, I suppose the closest thing to what I mean is some Michael Cretu productions like his Enigma project... even though he doesn't always use real basses, it's that vibe.

Would fretless be the ticket for this genre, or am I totally off bass. ;)

Yes maybe so although I've not ventured into frettless territory before :(

I don't think basses are genre specific - so get what you like, and do indeed go try different basses out at you local GC or local music stores. One thing I would ask is do you want active or passive? ... those are the two sub catagories. Also you can really change your tone by simply changing string types.

Hi Solarmist, again either really. I'm sort of leaving the door wide open to all options. My friend is still suggesting we trial a Stingray 5 and also look at a Lakland 5502, so here's hoping we find the holy grail...

I recorded with my Ibanez ATK305 last night. Couldn't believe the tones! Strongest B string I have ever heard. Save Some money and go that route!

Pedulla rapture j2...used in mint shape $950 - $1200 ...new $3000......think that would give you what yr looking for

I realize that "Holy Grail" is merely a figure of speech, but for your sake, I hope you don't take it too seriously. There is no "best guitar" (sic) and there is no perfect solution - no matter how far & wide you look, or for how long. Unless you have a very clear, very tangible sense of the kind of tone you want - and what you don't want - you run the risk of continuing the search indefinitely, and never quite finding what you want.

Don't make the perfect the enemy of the perfectly suitable. That would be foolish. :eyebrow:

Define the characteristics you reasonably want & need, define a reasonable range of instruments to consider, along with a reasonable time frame and a reasonable budget. Make the best decision you can within those parameters...then buy the instrument - and move on.

MM