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Best 5 string 600$ and under?

Instead of blindly picking a bass that is someone else's favorite, I will give some design criteria to look for:

1) At least a three-piece neck for stability and damping of resonances (dead notes).
2) 2 (B&E) + 3 (ADG) tuner arrangement so the B string doesn't bind over the nut or around the tuner, but has enough space for the string leader to tune the B string smoothly.
3) Lightweight Hipshot, Gotoh or Schaller tuners.
4) The "neck" pickup in proportionally the same position as the D-G segment of a Precision bass pickup to get the proper balance of fundamental and overtones on the B string.
5) Longer upper horn to balance the bass against neck dive.
6) Clean broad-band hum-cancelling electronics, whether active or passive, because Jazz growl doesn't necessarily equal clean when it gets to the B string and P thump doesn't necessarily mean solid fundamental and sustain.

There are many basses on the market that meet these criteria, from my $279 on sale Ibanez SRA305 to the multi-thousand dollar offerings of Dingwall and Little.

Shop a lot. Play a lot. If you see one you like, put it down and walk away from it and come back a couple of days later to see if you feel the same way about it then.

Notice I did not say anything about nut width, bridge spacing, scaling, neck contour or body wood. This is because these are all personal preferences and good basses are out there with all variations on these themes.
 
Y'all knew I would have to respond..

Squier Jazz 5 Active @ $339 [or therabout now] You won't believe the tonal pallette of that bass..made a believer out of me...Got mine in 2009..still love it.

Read my many..many reponses to this type of TB query..same story..more details.
 
Y'all knew I would have to respond..

Squier Jazz 5 Active @ $339 [or therabout now] You won't believe the tonal pallette of that bass..made a believer out of me...Got mine in 2009..still love it.

+1.
In addition to the active mentioned above, I also love my Squier Vintage Modified 70s Jazz 5 string. It's heavy and can feel a bit cumbersome if you're not accustomed to the Fender/Squier 5-string bulk, but I love its tonal range and playability. I think right now they're going for around $329.