Anyone done a split where the B string has a third section level with the D+G strings' section, rather than being an extension of the the E+A strings' section?
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5 string P basses? Are they a good choice?
- Thread starter Sicknick42069
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- p bass 5 string
I wish I hate better insight. This use to be my dream bass. I finally got a hold of one to try and the set up was so bad. I couldn’t really tell.
Yesssssss!!!!!!! Spector made me leave being a primarily fender guy for years… they so dang fun
I have several 5 strings of various makes and models, but they are all pretty much J style or Soap Bar. I have a deluxe J Squire that you wouldn't be able to tell is a squire. I wanted to step up and buy a real Fender P, but this is a good suggestion if I want to just mod one of my existing 5 strings.
Edit: I should also add that I'm particularly interested in the simplicity of it as well as its tone. A tone knob and a volume knob. I primarily play in a punk/thrash band so that tone and set up are ideal.
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Okay, we're on the same page. Suggestion: pick out one of your favorite, potential starting line players that needs that something extra to put it over the top. Do a little research and find a split-coil in a matching drop-in shell. Appears you're staying passive so make sure you're using the correct harness which will probably include the volume, tone, and blend...you can do some neat things along those lines, too.
BTW, welcome to TB. Be sure to complete your profile and spring for a supporting membership.
Riis
That would be my choice too.
That would allow me to better adjust PU heights individually for the more difficult B & E strings. Even flatter fundamentals with reverse P IMO.
My theory FWIW is that the source of my sound ie the string-PU interaction, has the biggest outcome on my final sound. I try to avoid fixing problems further down the chain by fixing them at source.
I can't speak to their longevity, as I've only had mines around a year but so far from what I can see I have absolutely no concerns about this thing lasting. It's built like a tank and has required exactly no further adjustment after an initial set-up and even then, that was just me being picky and wanting as low an action as possible. This thing could have been pulled from the box and put straight on stage as it was, and I wouldn't have had anything to grumble about.
I thought I struck a winner with my Squier CV P, it's the first P I really understood and liked, but man this Sire blew it out of the water and I'd put it against any good P worth 4 or 5 times the price. Supremely excellent piece of kit.
Nice looking bass. I like the color combo, and that maple fretboard.
To me, no. The P-pickup is by definition too middy sounding. The BEA segment is too far upstream. The bass loses definition. The "traditional" headstock puts the B-string tuner too close to the nut so just about every make, model, and gauge of B-string binds at the nut or has the wrong angle over the nut for smooth tuning.
In my almost fifty years of playing bass, a 5-string bass needs specifically designed pickups and pickup placement to get definition and tone. The tuners need to be in a 2+3 arrangement to get the B-string post as far up on the headstock as possible so there is enough leader so the string doesn't bind or have the wrong angle over the nut.
With the extra tuner adding about four ounces of additional weight (for Fender old-style tuners), using lightweight tuners is a must to help tame neck dive. I use Hipshots; there are also other good lightweight brands available.
These are my observations from experience. I have put these observations into my own instrument, with EMG active clean pickups, with the neck pickup placed just a tad closer to the bridge, soapbars, so each string is sampled at the same point for consistent tone. My bass even has a custom neck that is an inch shorter in scale to fit my hands that are developing arthritis so I can't play the standard 34-inch scale anymore. Notice the 2+3 tuner arrangement so I can continue to use regular long scale strings without binding.
Design elements such as scale length, color, controls, nut width, bridge spacing, etc., are all to the player's preference. I have mentioned the structural and electronic elements I deem critical to the success of a 5-string bass.
Two pix attached: one of the entire bass, and one of the headstock to show @ 37 1/2 inches to the center of the B tuner post to show just about any strings will fit, both medium and regular long scale, of whatever company.
To sum up, a 5-string bass is its own instrument and must be approached from that perspective. Any 5-string bass derived from any design originally optimized for a 4-string bass is destined to eventually fail.
In my almost fifty years of playing bass, a 5-string bass needs specifically designed pickups and pickup placement to get definition and tone. The tuners need to be in a 2+3 arrangement to get the B-string post as far up on the headstock as possible so there is enough leader so the string doesn't bind or have the wrong angle over the nut.
With the extra tuner adding about four ounces of additional weight (for Fender old-style tuners), using lightweight tuners is a must to help tame neck dive. I use Hipshots; there are also other good lightweight brands available.
These are my observations from experience. I have put these observations into my own instrument, with EMG active clean pickups, with the neck pickup placed just a tad closer to the bridge, soapbars, so each string is sampled at the same point for consistent tone. My bass even has a custom neck that is an inch shorter in scale to fit my hands that are developing arthritis so I can't play the standard 34-inch scale anymore. Notice the 2+3 tuner arrangement so I can continue to use regular long scale strings without binding.
Design elements such as scale length, color, controls, nut width, bridge spacing, etc., are all to the player's preference. I have mentioned the structural and electronic elements I deem critical to the success of a 5-string bass.
Two pix attached: one of the entire bass, and one of the headstock to show @ 37 1/2 inches to the center of the B tuner post to show just about any strings will fit, both medium and regular long scale, of whatever company.
To sum up, a 5-string bass is its own instrument and must be approached from that perspective. Any 5-string bass derived from any design originally optimized for a 4-string bass is destined to eventually fail.
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Passive ? No. Why? It will tend to be a little muddy. A 5 string needs a little punch on top so active eq is the way to go. It will just sound low and get lost in the mix
I have a Wilkins P5 with roasted neck. It sounds perfect. The Low B is tight. The pickup is from aero instrument.
I used to own a BBP35. It had an excellent B string
