“Sleeper” 5 strings in the $800-$1,500 range?

[biguglyman]

Gonna be hard to beat a Kiesel in the 'under $1500 new' category. USA made, customizeable to order.

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Sonar concurs...

 

[Silthis89]

Yamaha's are always great value for money, My first 5 string was a yamaha rbx375 and i regret selling it. I'm looking to pick up one of their BB series to add to my musicman.

 

[Lesfunk]

Reverend Mercalli

 

[Jeff Scott]

Just had to say that when I saw the thread title the first thing I thought of was that Woody Allen came out with another film!

 

[Ian McLaughlin]

If we told you about them, they wouldn't be sleepers anymore, now, would they?

Why is everyone crowing about their favorite sleepers?

 

[Maxdusty]

Hadn't tried a G&L bass before until relatively recently and I have to say the my Tribute L2000 far exceeded my expectations and is one of my favorite basses to date. The L2000 is of course the 4 string version of the L2500. Extremely versatile bass with a very sweet neck on it, however if you can find one within your budget, a US G&L2500 in Empress wood (rather than the Tribute version) might be a very good option to consider if you're trying to get the lightest possible version- if you haven't tried one yet, the G&L L2500 is at the very least worth checking one out - might be tricky as they're often hard to find at stores.
Quite a number of other good recommendations listed by others as well.

 

[57pbass]

I occasionally see Mike Lull 5 string basses in the low 2K range. Out of your budget but tremendous value

 

[Rashad]

I can't believe nobody has mentioned Bacchus. I also can't believe they aren't more popular here. I guess everyone is sleeping on them.

 

[Yahboy]

Yamaha TRBX605
- both Ti JF346 and EB cobalt 45-130 sound great on it, low B are clear and tight.

Squier Dimension Deluxe V.
- focus low B with stock string.

Squier VM P5
- Good low B tone , but hard to get balance tone on E string with B and A.

 

[Mexicelt]

I recently expanded into the 5-string realm because my band started expanding the setlist to include 5-string friendly songs. There are a few on our current setlist that seem to live on the 1st & 3rd fret of the E string, and that was wearing on the thumb portion of my palm. I figured a 5-string would allow me to play the same notes in a more comfortable position, so I acquired a Warwick RockBass Corvette $$ 5-string. Holy hell... it is AMAZING!

The weight clocks in at 4 kg (8.8 pounds), but the longer horn gives it a nice balance and I hardly feel the weight difference. I picked it up as "B-Stock" on Reverb for around $425. The electronics are ballsy (I had to adjust the pickup height because switching between that and my Warwick Streamer 4 was a world of difference in volume and boom), it has push/pull serial/parallel knobs for the bridge and neck pickups (both passive, despite the amazing sound), and a separate tone knob. All in all, I am BEYOND happy with this bass; it's an amazing Warwick that doesn't break the bank, and I can play it comfortably, with little to no adjustment in playing style between it and my 4-string.

Good luck, and let us know where you land!

 

[bordinco90]

The Carvin/Kiesel stuff is really nice.

 

[Deleted member 271037]

I agree with everyone saying Yamaha. The current version of the BB-series is insanely good!!!

 

[Timmy-Watts]

Yamaha.
Hammersmith. Excellent for the money.
Marusczcyk if not decked out can be had for the upper end of that range.
Used Clement.
Used Valenti.
Sire (you are aware. I hear the V2 models are guaranteed to be under a certain weight).

Not in that order, necessarily.

 

[cv115505]

Yamaha is a great bass for the money. That said, I think the name of the game is playability. Pickups and electronics are easily swapped, and you can get something that lets you do that without breaking your budget. I love my 55-60, but I did swap the pickups. If you like the way they play, you can easily mod them to get the desired tone.

 

[RolandMHall]

Sandberg California TM5. Wonderful basses especially that you don't see a lot in the US. They compare favorably to Sadowski music man and lakland. Love mine

 

[jw23mind]

This one...
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Having tried a Schecter Stiletto Extreme 5 and blown away by the quality, I bet this one is fantastic! Would be seeking one out myself, if not for the Dingwall ABZ I've got on order.

 

[Nighttrain1127]

Ibanez SR30TH5PII Semi hollow body and Nordstrand Big singles Pickups with a case included. Als if you want a wider neck Ibanez BTB-845SC

 

[nilorius]

Ibanez

 

[jongor]

Has anyone played a Invalid Link Removed or Rithimic? They look interesting and are not that expensive.

 

[Sml175]

Curious if I am missing anything while I look at getting a 5 string. I simply need one as it's been over a year since I had my last one and I can use that low B on certain projects. A major bonus would be lighter weight. I have mainly been using a sub 8 pound Sadowksy so strapping on something that's 9.5+ is kind of a bummer.


To save a little time, I am very aware of Sire, plus here is what I have had in the past:

Moollon 5 string J - Should never have sold it. Amazing bass. A little out of my range right now. I wish their necks were made a bit better, I had to get some fretwork done on it, but it was not a huge problem.

Lakland Skyline 5560- Really nice, a bit sterile pickups, but I may consider a revisit on this one. Used one for 3 years that I got for basically nothing - $700.

Lakland Skyline 5502 - Didn't like it. The recording tone was not for me, and I was not a fan of the preamp even after getting inside and tweaking the mids.

Peavey Cirrus (original American) - love this bass. It was on loan to me from a studio and it is super awesome. The main issue with it as a studio bass is the tone is a little too specific and it does not fit into as many mixes as I would like. I also prefer the look of something more classic like a P/J/Ray. That said, this bass is fantastic and one of my favorites in this price range.


Just seeing if there are some sleepers out there that people have been enjoying (passive or active is fine). If I go up in range, I will probably be looking at the new Stingray Classic 5, which is on my short list, and of course so is a Sadowsky Metro. For now, I am not using a 5 so much that I want to invest at that level.

I am selling on here a beautiful new Ibanez 5 string in the classifieds. Also selling on CL: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]