$800, 5-String Bass Shoot-Out

[scourgeofgod]

If I were to suggest one bass not listed in the poll it would be the new SR655
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/bass/ibanez-sr655-5-string-electric-bass-guitar

 

[TinIndian]

You can adjust string spacing on warwick bridges...

Actually, a standard Warwick 5 string bridge, Don't know about the broadnecks, won't adjust out to 19mm.

 

[Sav'nBass]

That's exactly what I did with my 55-01, turned it into a killer.

My 55-01 came with bart Mk5s and a LH3 pre.. I put an audere PZ4 in thee and have not looked back...

I voted Lakland out of what you listed in the poll. My first thought when I saw the thread title though was a Brubaker Brute.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00PM...&dpID=41B8Tll0FYL&ref=plSrch&pi=AC_SY200_QL40

Those Brutes are great basses.. Even stock they are highly underrated.. but the build is so well done that you get one and slap in a better pre (I have heard that the stoick pre is not bad either) and you have a killer bass.. Mine came with Bart Quads.. switchable... and a Bart 5.2 pre I think it is.. but it is a fantastic bass.. between that and the 55-01 I have no need for any other bass an d am seriously thinking of just selling every other 5 I own except the fretless Cirrus.. I had heard of the Brutes in passing.. but never paid attention because my attention was focused elsewhere and you just don't see too many of them... I came across mine entirely by accident but it is hands down the best bass deal I ever made on TB for what I want in a bass...

 

[Boom762]

Interesting. I've never heard of the Brubaker brand before this thread. Looking at their website, the expensive basses look pretty.

 

[mmbongo]

Interesting. I've never heard of the Brubaker brand before this thread. Looking at their website, the expensive basses look pretty.

Brubaker is one of the top ultra high end boutique builders. They normally run $3000 and up for a new one. We're talking highest of the high end here.
http://www.brubakerguitars.com/

A few years ago Kevin Brubaker designed a line that could be mass produced so players could experience some Brubaker magic on a budget. Many features of the high end basses (like the neck joint that extends halfway into the body) are on the budget line. Each Brute is also setup in Kevin's shop before leaving. Mine had some of the best fretwork I've ever seen and you could tell it was done by hand, as the ends were snipped inside the wood and filled with wood filler....like on higher end basses. All this from a bass that costs about $700 new. Many dealers on eBay carry the Brutes:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro....Xbrubaker+brute&_nkw=brubaker+brute&_sacat=0

 

[Boom762]

Brubaker is one of the top ultra high end boutique builders. They normally run $3000 and up for a new one. We're talking highest of the high end here.
http://www.brubakerguitars.com/

A few years ago Kevin Brubaker designed a line that could be mass produced so players could experience some Brubaker magic on a budget. Many features of the high end basses (like the neck joint that extends halfway into the body) are on the budget line. Each Brute is also setup in Kevin's shop before leaving. Mine had some of the best fretwork I've ever seen and you could tell it was done by hand, as the ends were snipped inside the wood and filled with wood filler....like on higher end basses. All this from a bass that costs about $700 new. Many dealers on eBay carry the Brutes:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro....Xbrubaker+brute&_nkw=brubaker+brute&_sacat=0

Man. I wish I could play one. I'd be tempted to buy a brute if it felt nice.

 

[mmbongo]

You know, one of the features that pulls me towards the Rockbasses is Warwick's 3D Bridge. The bridge allows you to change the string spacing at will.

Only to a certain degree though, there's not much adjustability in there. I like that you can get the strings lined up perfectly with the pole pieces of the pickups, but that's about all it's good for. You might be able to go from 16mm to 17mm or so, but wider than that and the outer strings would be off the neck anyway.

 

[Session1969]

Without looking at the results or the posts, I bet it's Lakland by several lengths, or at least it should be.

 

[Session1969]

Yep, I was right.

 

[wvbass]

Interesting. I've never heard of the Brubaker brand before this thread. Looking at their website, the expensive basses look pretty.

Their cheap basses aren't too bad either. $800 can buy a lot of bass, and not just on the used market. Here's my Brute Singlecut (with a couple minor changes that push it past the $800 mark):

 

[wvbass]

I just can't stand them cheap bart pickups they put in most everything. Nice to see the new ones coming with nordstrands, but even then those wouldn't be my primary choice for "boutique" pickups. Many different companies have stock pickups that feel more musical than both of these brands.

The cheap barts are a little too smooth and polite for my tastes as well, but 1) so are expensive barts, and 2) Lakland puts those same "cheap bart pickups" in the 55-01.

Of course, Nordstrand IS my primary choice for boutique pickups. My Lakland has 'em. My Brute has 'em. And I'm sure there are more to come. I'm pretty excited about the Ibanez/Nordstrand products. It is making it hard for me to stick to my "no new basses in 2015" rule, and it is only January. Is it the 605 that is natural finish with a Nordie P/J configuration? Yikes!

 

[Doug Parent]

Well maybe a little over $800.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Skyline and then swap the electronics / pickups.

 

[BioWeapon]

I have to agree with Sav'nBass, Brubaker Brutes are wonderful for the price. I paid 450$ CAD for mine used, which (two months ago) would have been about 400$ USD, half your theoretical budget.

 

[Sav'nBass]

Interesting. I've never heard of the Brubaker brand before this thread. Looking at their website, the expensive basses look pretty.

I hadn't either until I got here.. but then again.. just abouit everything i currently know about gear I learned here over the years. The importance of TalkBass can never be overstated and every time I meet a new bass player or an aspiring one ... I send them here.

Those Brubaker imports are nice as well... Tell you what.. those Brutes are IMO just as good as any import line for any high end manufacturer from Smith to Lakland to Tobias or Warwick..

I'm telling you folks.. Those Brutes are IMO better than the Skylines in some ways depending on what you like.. I have owned a 55-01 and a 55-02.. I sold the 55-02.. and everything I was expecting in the 55-02 I found and then some in the Brute I got here.. I paid close to MSRP for that used, modded brute.. and it was worth every penny IMO. Much more bang for the buck... and if you plan to mod up front ... pfffft a no brainer. I have no idea how the stock electronics are on the Brutes but I imagine it is at least as good as the stock electronics on the Kingstons and Skylines.. but for the price they are hard to beat.. especially if you plan to mod one outright and you know what you want to put in it.

 

[Big Hoss]

Seriously tough call... I have played the BTB 5 stringer and they are nice, way nicer than my ability to play... But that Warwick is one heck of a beautiful instrument... And having heard them being played... drool worthy as well...

I know I am in the minority here, but the Lackland just doesn't do it for me, nor does the MM... Not familiar with the Spector at all...

 

[sprag]

I looked at all those in the one sitting (except the schecter and I tried a stingray rather than a ray35) when I was shopping for a 5er last year. the the only choices for me to make were 55-01 or 02 and maple or rosewood everything else was a distant second either tonally, playability or both. I went with the 55-01 deluxe rosewood and I stand by that choice.

 

[okcrum]

Lakland, of this list, but a plain Carvin B50 is $819, and also very nice. You still get to choose a solid color and fingerboard (maple or rosewood are both available at the standard price). The latter is the thing that makes Carvin different, for the money.

Need I say it is easy to double that price if you go wild with options?

 

[Stranger Danger]

Here's the right answer:
Invalid Link Removed

 

[NeonVomit]

Love the BTB, Fortress and Sterling Ray, but I'd go for the Skyline. Already own a MM 'ray and a Warwick, plus I used to own a BTB which I had to sell for financial reasons - so I'd get the Lakland for something fresh!