5 string passive bass?

[gordonfreemanjr]

Hi. I’m after a unicorn here:

*5 string
*passive
*soundwise as close to the P-bass as possible.

The obvious answer would be: a 5 string P-bass, however these things are too expensive for my current reach.

Any recommendations?

Thanks!

 

[BurningSkies]

Hard to answer without a budget listed.

I'm always happy to suggest this...but I'm in love with it these days.

 

[Jazz Ad]

When Fender is too spendy the typical answer is a Squier.

 

[mmbongo]

Yamaha BB435

Yamaha Broadbass BB435 - Sunburst | Garrett Park Guitars | Reverb

 

[fretlessbass]

Reverend Mercalli 5: I use it on all my P bass type gigs where I need a B string; it gets lots of compliments from the FOH folks

 

[Clark Westfield]

I second the Yamaha BB435

 

[James Collins]

Most active basses will have a switch to turn off the active preamp. So you could always find an active one and just leave the batteries out unless it has EMG or other brand of active pickups.

 

[gordonfreemanjr]

View attachment 4354745 When Fender is too spendy the typical answer is a Squier.

Yamaha BB435

Yamaha Broadbass BB435 - Sunburst | Garrett Park Guitars | Reverb

Can you recommend any decent fully passive - not A/P switchable - Squier or Yamaha models?

 

[mmbongo]

Can you recommend any decent fully passive - not A/P switchable - Squier or Yamaha models?

The Yamaha BB435 I linked above is fully passive.

 

[Corto14]

Owing one I can’t recommend enough the Yamaha BBP35. Great bass with a modern p bass sound when p pickup is soloed.
B string is very good and overall is such a nice bass to play with

In general you should check out the bb line, nice bass with an excellent quality/price ratio.

 

[Blackjac97]

Can you recommend any decent fully passive - not A/P switchable - Squier or Yamaha models?

Both of these recommendations are fully passive.

 

[Bill Murray]

Reverend Mercalli 5: I use it on all my P bass type gigs where I need a B string; it gets lots of compliments from the FOH folks

^^
This is the bass you are searching for

 

[Jazz Ad]

Can you recommend any decent fully passive - not A/P switchable - Squier or Yamaha models?

The Yamaha BB435 I linked above is fully passive.

And the Squier Vintage Modified Precision Bass V I linked above also is fully passive.

 

[Blackjac97]

Any squier 5 string where the number of volume knobs match the number of pickups is passive.

 

[gordonfreemanjr]

Hard to answer without a budget listed.

I'm always happy to suggest this...but I'm in love with it these days.

View attachment 4354740

I’m happy to spend 1k-1.3k $

 

[BurningSkies]

I’m happy to spend 1k-1.3k $

That's a reasonable budget. I'd think you might be able to find a Fender at that pricepoint if you shop carefully and don't mind a decent used offering.

 

[BarfanyShart]

The Reverend and the Yamaha both sound like correct answers. I also see that Sire has a really sweet P5 available for pre-order, that I'm sure will be super sweet for the price Sire Marcus Miller P5 5-String Bass, Roasted Maple Fretboard, Mild Green

 

[MattZilla]

Woah, that Sire is checking some boxes for moi.

 

[bigthemat]

Another route would be an Ibanez Talman bass. They have a bunch of options, starting with some short scale ones for a couple hundred to more intermediate/higher end that have passive/active switch.

Example

 

[Leo Smith]

You can definitely find a used American 5 pbass for that budget. A few months ago I got one here on TB for 1100. There were/are some on sale for a little more or a little less.