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5 string passive bass?
- Thread starter gordonfreemanjr
- Start date
Martin Keith is your man to make it happen. Not sure about your budget, but no matter talk to Martin. In the end you will have a wonderful bass and whatever the cost ends up being, so be it.Really. 
Squier VM P5 - Fully passive 5 string P bass.
They’re out of production now so you’ll have to get one on the used market. Can generally find them for around $300-$400 and worth every penny.
I'm a Stingray5 guy who likes to have some kind of Fender killer 5er around (not much into Fender's pricing and QC really, love the tones, don't like the 5ers' neck profiles). Currently I have a Schecter CV-5 and it's been good to me for a solid 3 years, way more than most other attempts I've had (several Yamaha BBs, 2 pickup Ibby ATK, Maruszczyk Jake 5a+, Fender Am Dlx P5). It's 35" scale and the neck is as skinny as it gets (sharp C, less than 20mm @ fret #1. Does several flavors of P and J impersonation. It's passive and has 2 humbuckers that can be individually switched parallel-single-series. This is just the neck pickup in single coil mode.
A lot of people are recommending a lot of not very P-bass like instruments. 
I agree with what some others said: I have personal experience with the Reverend Mercalli 5 and it definitely can do the P Bass thing.
With that being said, I’m surprised that people have recommended some obscure Schecters, but no one has suggested this:
Invalid Link Removed
It’s basically just a 5-String Schecter P bass. I’ve played a couple and was very impressed.
I agree with what some others said: I have personal experience with the Reverend Mercalli 5 and it definitely can do the P Bass thing.
With that being said, I’m surprised that people have recommended some obscure Schecters, but no one has suggested this:
Invalid Link Removed
It’s basically just a 5-String Schecter P bass. I’ve played a couple and was very impressed.
Now, if Precision Bass is the goal, then others are good to know about. But, not going to cut it like a Fender P5 by definition.
If buying in the US (new or used) is not going to happen due to "I don't have the money" or "a dealer cannot sell outside the US" then just looking locally or regionally in whatever your undisclosed EU area is would be best. If you know a P with 5 strings is what you want, then you need no advise on other things you have no access or means to purchase.
Now, if you have the means and are not afraid to spend the money on something that you may well not be able to return if exported outside the US based on specific return policies. I did an "off the top search" and found a 2019 USA Fender American Standard P5 for $999 @ Guitar Center in Sherman Oaks, CA. (You could talk to any G.C. about it. I'd try NYC.)
POS #:117137902
3-Tone Sunburst - "GREAT" condition
Upfront, you could fill volumes with what I don't know about low-end Bass guitars. I don't deal with them.
It can be done, if you can make it happen...
Good luck!
If buying in the US (new or used) is not going to happen due to "I don't have the money" or "a dealer cannot sell outside the US" then just looking locally or regionally in whatever your undisclosed EU area is would be best. If you know a P with 5 strings is what you want, then you need no advise on other things you have no access or means to purchase.
Now, if you have the means and are not afraid to spend the money on something that you may well not be able to return if exported outside the US based on specific return policies. I did an "off the top search" and found a 2019 USA Fender American Standard P5 for $999 @ Guitar Center in Sherman Oaks, CA. (You could talk to any G.C. about it. I'd try NYC.)
POS #:117137902
3-Tone Sunburst - "GREAT" condition
Upfront, you could fill volumes with what I don't know about low-end Bass guitars. I don't deal with them.
It can be done, if you can make it happen...
Good luck!
You read my mind.
I went through 95% of the suggestions in this topic and so far I only liked two:
1/ @BurningSkies ’s Dingwall Super P
2/ Reverend Mercalli 5
The rest, judging by the demos and reviews, I found more or less meh.
The thing is, both Dingwall and Reverend seem rather unavailable in my region (I live in Poland - so far, at least). That’s one, and two - like you said: I do want a 5 string P-bass, so I should probably get one instead of splashing cash at something else and disliking it secretly for not being the original.
999 sounds awesome.
I have found DHL to be a reasonable and very reliable shipping service coming from Germany (Warwick) to the US. Having information that makes it easy for someone not used to overseas business is always best!
Paying for something and ironing out details has worked for me when dealing with a retail establishments and banking methods.
I figure, your not in a huge rush considering it will take a few days just to make its way to East of Germany.
You can check out the Dean Edge-1 five string. Light weight at 7.3 lbs, smooth well dressed frets and a great passive sound. At $229 USD it is a lot of bass for the money.
skyline_01
Endorsing artist: Nordstrand Audio, Tsunami Cables
If you want a killer value, and you can actually find one, do the Squier VM P5. I found one NOS last year online and did some heavy mods to my liking - it outplays basses 3-4x its value. They're great stock too!
Many other good ones have been mentioned already, but:
Reverend Mercalli 5
Yamaha BB235/435
Sire P5
Lakland Skyline P5
Many other good ones have been mentioned already, but:
Reverend Mercalli 5
Yamaha BB235/435
Sire P5
Lakland Skyline P5
skyline_01
Endorsing artist: Nordstrand Audio, Tsunami Cables
They really are about the best damn value under the sun. I lucked out and somehow found one NOS online last year for $340 shipped - warranty and all.
Even though they're killer when stock, I proceeded to heavy-mod it with a Fender humbucker (from the older US P Deluxe basses), OEM tort guard, new pot/jack/cap kit, and Kickass bridge. It absolutely murders, and it's quite unique.
Look for a used one. I picked up an AmStd P5 in fantastic condition for about $700 some years back, sold it to a TBer here for about the same and it was resold to another TBer for about the same. They're out there.
Currently playing an AmStd J with the pickups wired in series so it sounds like a P not a J. That's a trick you can do on any J-like 5 string.
Good luck.
I had one a few years ago, I'm kicking myself for selling it.
There seems to be a lot more 5 string J basses than 5 string P basses. Since a J is passive, if you experiment with rolling down the tone you can get close to a P bass sound while having something a bit more versatile. But then you might only be wanting that P bass look and a J won’t check that box.
All my fivers have a high C. If I were playing a lot of slap (where I lack in proficiency in my 50th year on the instrument), I’d want a bass with easy access to the G string.
So there are many reasons to play a five.
