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Advice for first 5-string...

#22
Sav'nBass said:
With a 5 you wont need to concern yourself with drop tuning. A few questions.

  • What is your budget?
  • How big are your hands?
  • What is your body size? Are you tall and long or short and stubby or somewhere in between?
  • Will you be playing fingerstyle? Slap or a combination?
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Nobody here can tell you what YOU LIKE! Go out there and PLAY those 5ers. I own many of them and each gives men something special. MIM Fender V is traditional, ESP LTD is modern and exceptional quality in active bass, My Ibby SR506 (Hey a 506 is almost like a 505!) is light, fast, thin neck and rocks the house. Yamaha basses are WAY underrated (almost bought a couple but don't own one). Laklands are great too. My main axes are fretted and fretless USA G&L L2500. Wide range of tones that can go VERY aggressive. Love 'em. Try them all! Decide.

As for 5 strings in general, My advice is to first of all learn to play a 5 string bass as a 5 string bass. It's NOT like a 4 string. Scales go ACROSS the neck. You'll be using higher frets. It's often best to start on a 6 string to get the idea of what it's about. Don't be misled by guitar down-tuning. On a guitar down-tuning often makes it sound much better. Thinking the same is true on a bass is wrong. Usually it sounds worse. If you need extended range more strings are the answer. (except in very special circumstances where fingering needs to be a cerain pattern) If you insist on down-tuning look at longer 35" scales or even a Dingwall ($$$$).
 
#24
Bklyn_Bass said:
A friend of mine that works at a Sam Ash near me suggested an Ibanez s505. He told me that people have been calling and coming in non-stop asking about them and the former bass player in his band has been using it live for a little while now and swears by it. As with everything else in life u ask 10 different people u get 10 different answers but i always like to hear different opinions and have different options.
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I've had my SR505 for about 3 years now and it's a great bass. Lot's of available tones, a great low B and at 7.5 pounds it's easy on the back.

But you should try to play at length as many different basses as you can get your hands on in your price range to find what's best for you.
 
#25
MontzterMash said:
I recently bought a five string after a few years of only playing fours, and I found that test driving was much more important, and subjective, to me for five strings than four.

For example, with the wider neck of a five string, even small differences in shape or width impacted how comfortable they are to me and how fluidly I can play them.

Then there's a wider variety of string spacings, nut widths, and scale lengths to choose from.

And then, of course, there's the whole "good B string" issue.

I had to play A LOT of five strings to really be sure what felt best to me.

So, my advice: have fun trying out basses!
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+1. Since you have average sized hands you will most likely be sensitive to differences in size/spacing so your best bet is to play a bunch even if it takes you months....
 
#27
1. Go to a Music Store with a friend
2. Blindfold yourself
3. Ask your friend to hand u a five string bass within your budget
4. Repeat until all the basses have been tried
5. Make a note on which bass you like the most
6. Repeat 1-5 for all the music stores in the neighborhood
7. Buy the one you like the most.
8. Rock on!:bassist:
 

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