The floppy B on a 34 inch scale instrument is mostly because the stock sets are horribly imbalanced. You need a bigger B string than what comes with most sets.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
A five string P that is not a five string P
- Thread starter el murdoque
- Start date
This. All of this including get the strings I use as well.
That being said, get up with @MarkoYYZ at Hammersmith. He allows some options that can make your P bass not look exactly like a P bass. Mine is going to be matte black with black hardware and will have a Seymour Duncan Antiquity II pickup in the neck position. Mine will also have a bridge pickup but you certainly don't have to get one.
No idea what it costs, but may fit all your criteria. Scale length 34.25
Bass Review - For Bassist : Mayones Elegance Classic - 5 String Bass
Bass Review - For Bassist : Mayones Elegance Classic - 5 String Bass
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
IMO the secret to a good 5 string bass is a light set of strings ... a big thick B string can be problematic to a 5 string bass. The thicker string gets boomy. So you turn down the bass and turn up the mids and then the higher strings sound thin ... So my solution a 125 B
I've known of these basses but I don't know why the herrick I never checked one out when I was looking for a 5-string P. Now I'm gassing hard. Thanks!
Amen to that! Exclusive Fender P5 player here as well. Soon to be a P/J5 player,.. (modding one of my 3 P5's). Was a 4 string P and P/J player for many years till 2012 when I got my first Am Std P5, 60th Anniversary Candy Cola with a beautifully symetric grained maple neck. Got a 2015 Oly white / rosewood next then the lightest 2015 Black and Maple (this ones probable for adding the Bridge J, possible the Oly,...) I've had a Musicman SR5 and a G&L MJ5 while wonderful instruments, sold both and did NOT have superior B strings,.. As a matter of fact with String through, the Fender's B is considerably superior, from my view which is what matters most for the basses I'm playing. Strings are a huge factor. I was using Sadowsky's (Blue Nickels on my 4 strings and 5's) but have recently been using Fender strings and like the beefier tension and feel. Good luck with your search but don't discount the original!
I tend to recommend a GL L2500, tribute or USA, for people who want a 5 string P type bass. It has that low mid girth that makes drummers smile. However, it looks pretty Fendery, is 34 scale (if that worries you), and 16mm string spacing.
F Basses are known to be two things:
1. The King of fretless.
2. Best Fender vintage sounding basses that aren't Fenders.
The VF series will get you exactly where you want to be. Especially if you want the tone, 5 string and none Fender look.
1. The King of fretless.
2. Best Fender vintage sounding basses that aren't Fenders.
The VF series will get you exactly where you want to be. Especially if you want the tone, 5 string and none Fender look.
That's pretty to me
The Lakland is 35" but I feel no difference between that and my 34" basses.
If you think yourself in a corner by worrying about the scale then it can be a problem, but if you just play it, a good neck and a 35" scale is no issue at all and the Lakland is an exceptionally good neck.
To play any bass well you should have a "mobile" fretting hand. That way you're moving your hand so the fingers are automatically in the right place and you never stretch. If you do that right the scale becomes unimportant.
For years I've been trying to find a 5 string P/J that I liked. I LOVE the P and J timbres, but I've user Stingray 5ers as my main axes for the last 16 years and almost any other P/J in the price range doesn't (a) play as good nor (b) has as good a low B nor (c) sounds with such authority in a mix as my Rays, my 3 main areas of concern. I've had several P+X basses (Yamaha BB425X, Maruszczyk Jake 5a+ amongst others) and all got old really quick on me (as soon as I went back to my SR5s), even an Am. Dlx. P-bass 5 (P+humbucker, active) I borrowed from a friend for a couple months some years ago I ended up with a Sterling 5 HS (a Stingray5 HS would also have fit me, but I prefer ceramic aggressiveness). So after much trial and error I ended up with a bass that can mimic a P or J tone acceptably enough for me but that cuts thru' heaps better than any Fender ever and retains that Musicman "in-your-face-ness", with an amazing low B and a playability that's light years away from anything in its price range (a much thinner neck than most 5ers).
Here's a sample for you to judge (mostly if the degree of "Fenderism"/"P-ism" is compliant to you). Samples are CLEAN FINGERSTYLE (P -neck single coil really-, J -neck PU and neckside coil of humbucker-, another J -all coils, in a series/parallel wiring layout- and a more Jaco J -just the bridgeside coil of humbucker-) and PICKED+SANSAMP (P -neck single coil- and J -neck PU and neckside coil of humbucker-) in that order.
Here's a sample for you to judge (mostly if the degree of "Fenderism"/"P-ism" is compliant to you). Samples are CLEAN FINGERSTYLE (P -neck single coil really-, J -neck PU and neckside coil of humbucker-, another J -all coils, in a series/parallel wiring layout- and a more Jaco J -just the bridgeside coil of humbucker-) and PICKED+SANSAMP (P -neck single coil- and J -neck PU and neckside coil of humbucker-) in that order.
The jag in my avatar is a bead. Three b plays fine. I think it probably has more to do with your setup and string choice. I have labella deep talkin flats on mine. I had a pro put them on because of the nut work involved. Didn't want to mess that up!
Hope this helps!!
Hope this helps!!
