5 string advice desired

[xfretlessx]

Ive had 2 schecters and LOVED them.

I had a Stiletto Custom 5...If id didnt get stolen...I would have NEVER got rid of it.

Also had a Stiletto Studio 6 and LOVED that. I was tight for cash and jonesing for a fretless and sold it to get my dean edge 6 fretless. (love my fretless so no regrets)

I know alot of guys use deans for metal...but ive never played a 5er from them. All I can say is that I love my fretless 6.

 

[AtomicPunk]

My Bongo 5HH is my #1, I would recommend that if you like closer string spacing. Quickly gaining is my new Lakland 55-01.

 

[sethlow3]

I love Bongos, but I'm not down with used instruments. I've had nothing but bad experiences with used down through the years.

My experience has been the exact opposite. Most stores have a 30 day exchange period, and most sellers on TB are more than willing to accommodate. Plus we have a sellers rating system here.

 

[dspellman]

The Carvin LB75 is right at your price limit, and it's a neck-through guitar...

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Specs for the base model:

• Alder body and maple neck, neck-through
• 34" scale ebony fingerboard with white dot inlays
• 24 medium-jumbo frets
• J99A Alnico single coils
• Hipshot™ A-style bridge with strings-through-body
• Chrome hardware
• 18V active/passive electronics with volume, pickup blend, stacked concentric bass and high frequency, stacked concentric mid frequency and sweep

Too bad you're eliminating used, however. I recently found a nearly perfect '89 LB75 in Ferrari Red (with the old Jackson-style headstock and an active-only electronics suite) for a song. The previous owner was a jazz player and was afraid this was much too bright (visually) and much too "rock star" for what he was doing. This was Whitesnake's James Lomenzo's bass back in the day. No dings, awesome sound.

 

[Wrilley]

Chiming in with a nod to Ibanez. Fast necks, light weight, the 500 series on up is great. And well under budget for most of them.

 

[CrewsControl]

Peavey has some nice 5 string imports. The Grind 5 has passive humbuckers with a 35" scale, while the Millenium has the same active VFL pickups as a Cirrus, but with a 34" scale. They both have slim necks and narrow string spacing. The Grind 5 is neck-through and string-through bridge, while the Millenium is bolt-on neck with a drop-in bridge. They have small headstocks and small tuners, so no neck dive at all. Very comfortable.

You don't want used, so I won't mention a used Cirrus 5, which is in your price range. Oops.

 

[SRFSterling5]

I have a Music Man Sterling 5 HS. Traditional looking with a smaller body
than the Stingray. Great sound for a lot of stuff, including rock/metal.

 

[Lo-E]

It's a shame you've been burned buying used. By ruling out used, you're blocking yourself from some really great instruments.

The new basses people have mentioned here are all excellent options, so it's not like you're out in the cold on choices, but you could get in on some other - quite probably better - instruments if you opened that curtain marked 'used' and peeked inside.

I've owned literally dozens of basses and I bought maybe 90% of them used. My advice for buying used without aggravation? The trick is not to shop for the right bass, but to shop for the right seller. If you really scrutinize who you're buying from, you'll get a pretty good idea of how the instrument was treated. Likewise, if you're buying from a music store, scrutinizing the shop will probably give you a pretty good idea of how YOU'll be treated if you have a problem.

Best of luck in your search, and enjoy your new fiver!
-E

 

[Charlzm]

I should probably explain a little... it needs to be a bass sold new at Guitar Center or Musician's Friend. I worked there for years and still got the hook-up; roughly half of list price. So my "real" budget is closer to $500.00.

 

[mmbongo]

I should probably explain a little... it needs to be a bass sold new at Guitar Center or Musician's Friend. I worked there for years and still got the hook-up; roughly half of list price. So my "real" budget is closer to $500.00.

Easy then. Try a Lakland 55-01 and a G&L L2500 and pick the one you like the best. No real reason to try anything else.

 

[icecycle66]

I do have and ESP 5 string. I have and ESP Ltd F-205, it has since been taken out of production and the entire F series is developed around it.

The B series basses are mostly 34” and the F series are mostly 35” scale.
First, I have played on a B5E and really liked it. I only subbed on it for about 20 minutes, so I can’t give you a super detailed review of it. It felt very similar to my F205. The action was nice and low. The B string was a little bouncy, and less taught than on my bass, but only just noticeably so. It felt just the least bit looser. I doubt that it was do to a heavier string gauge than I am used to, I run a .125 B string. Still there was no detriment to the instrument. If I didn’t already have the perfect bass, I would have probably bought a b5E by now.

I love my ESP Ltd F-205. It is the most perfect bass, and I will vouch for any F-series bass because of it until I am proven wrong. When I designed my $6000 custom build I based everything from the nut to the bridge on the ESP neck. If my house was being fire bombed, my ESP is in one hand and my dog in the other (my wife has legs, she can get herself out.)

I still remember when the bass was delivered. It had perfect action straight from the factory. I’ve owned it for over a decade and have never had to get it set up. It still holds tune perfectly and has been intonated from the start. I don’t know what to say about the bass. It would take millions of dollars to buy off me. Okay, let me try to be objective.
.
.
.
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I can’t. It’s damn fantastic.
The string spacing is perfect. I don’t slap often, but the strings are spaced just far enough for my sloppy slap playing. They are close enough to rip through fast finger flutters and pick sweeps. The string tension is perfect. I run 125, 110, 80, 50, and 40 gauge strings. They are all tight but still have a comfortable soft feel to them.

All my electronics are stock EMG’s, and ESP uses their own on a lot of stuff now. With that in mind, the EMG-HZ pickups and 3 band on board eq are fantastic. I can go from glassy bright (with a little roundness to it, not so sharp), to woody and percussive, to deep dark and heavy.
The F-series is all pointy and ****, but it’s not that big of a deal. I like the way it looks. Other than that, it is still comfortable. When standing the points don’t do anything but look awesome. Don’t worry if you sit while you play. The angles are so that they aren’t digging into your thigh.

The body is also contoured on the edges, beveled (?). You don’t have any hard body corners digging into your forearm, when standing, or ribs, when slouching.

I love it.

 

[Munjibunga]

Bass San Diego has this G&L L2500. Monster tone. Narrow spacing. Beautiful bass, more than $1K but less than $2K.

 

[darkstorm]

Those are both very good choices. Though I'm partial to the 5string spalt maple paulo 5 string warlock and Ibanez BTB series. The ESp Ltd F415FM is also nice in the price range. But I found the esp ltd shallower neck profile (top of fretboard to back of neck) more fatigueing to me for a fiver.

 

[SoVeryTired]

Just to throw a lesser-mentioned brand (unsurprisingly what I play): MTD Kingston. 35" scale, 19mm spacing and a really comfortable asymmetric neck.

 

[georgestrings]

I wouldn't be so closed minded about used basses. Ernie ball music man stingray 5 strings are always around 1k used and they beat anything in their price range. If you must go new, a Fender American standard may be your best bet, but you said you didn't want Fender.

I agree...


- georgestrings

 

[georgestrings]

My experience has been the exact opposite. Most stores have a 30 day exchange period, and most sellers on TB are more than willing to accommodate. Plus we have a sellers rating system here.

Again, agreed - I currently have 11 basses, only one of them was bought new... I bought several from GC's used gear pages - granted, I also returned a few during the shopping process - but I ended up with some really nice basses for substantial savings... You can buy a bass from any GC in the country, yet return it you your local GC within 30 days if it doesn't work out...


- georgestrings

 

[Kraken]

MM Stingray is what you want.

that said, I must point out that a Jazz of somekind (not necessarilly a Fender one) would do what you are after.

I own a MIM Fender Jazz 5 that was so Good I got a second one, which is easilly as good.

but the best advice is play as many as you can find in your price range and buy the one you like.

 

[mcglyph]

You might want to take a look at Carvin. You can get a SB5000 for under $1000 and they are Sweeeet!

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GC? Congratulations on the hook up. Would probably step foot in there again for half price...maybe.

 

[Slapstyle]

Ibanez SR505 (5-String Brown Mahogany) | Sweetwater.com

There's an Ibanez sr505. Really decent bass for the money, and I love the woods used. Coming in at about $600, you can afford to upgrade the low end barts that come on it, to some nicer ones, some duncans, or some emg's, depending on your preference. I took an old K5 (basically the same bass) and hotrodded it with EMG's, making it an extremely versitile and nice sounding instrument. I used a DC dual coil in the neck position for beefy p-bass tones, and vintage slap, and a TW dual/single coil in the bridge position which lets me get more of a jazzy, burpy jaco tone. I can blend them and get anything in between. Now one of my favorite basses. I still wouldnt discount used though, my first thought was a used Warwick Thumb BO. Nice bass.

 

[Thumper828]

+ 1 on the Sr505. I have the Sr500 and it is an awsome bass. I decided to dive into the 5 string world and aquired a sr1205e. The sound and quality of this bass for what I paid is unreal. I don't think you'll be dissapoinjted at all in an Ibanez model. Here is a pic of my new Ibby.