Best 5 String Under $1K?

[andruca]

If you're considering Sterling by Musicman, you should know you might probably be able to find some USA Stingray5 used for a little over your budget (1200-1300$). IDK, in that scenario, spending 800-1000$ on a new SBMM doesn't seem that smart to me (if you can afford the slight over budget, of course). As per other 5ers under 1000, I have experience mostly with Yamaha BBs and Ibanez ATKs (owned several of both), all solid options, available in a variety of price ranges under your 1000$ budget, high quality at any segment. The 2 under 1000$ 5ers I own now are a Schecter CV-5 (best Fender killer I've owned, can be found in the US for around 400$) and a Warwick (Korean) ProSeries Star Bass 5 (IDK about these in the US, got mine for 600€ here, the current Chinese RockBass model is almost equally as nice).

I'm not counting Maruszczyk, which is one of the nicest options you'd have here in Europe within your budget. I've had a Maruszczyk Jake 5a+ that I got for 850€ used. You can often find a Jake or Elwood in the 800-900€ range (as of right now 1000$=882€). But I know in the USA these are hard to come by and more expensive.

 

[Plutonium244]

Another plug (the 3rd in this thread?) for the BTB33 by Ibanez... E-C 5-string 33" scale, closer string spacing. If you want to go E-C, this is the one if you can find one (seems like all the best basses get discontinued- kind of like a real work of literature goes out of print while books aimed at a 13-year old aesthetic go into the 12th edition).

I am not "my-brand plugging" as I've got a decent collection of basses by many makers including some really fine ones. I am still a little surprised at how many musicians and listeners go out of their way to tell me that they like all my basses but THIS ONE sounds the best. I know I really like to sound- full but tight. I am looking for a backup to the one I have since they can be hard to find. There's one on Reverb for $899, but since I paid $650 for mine its hard to swallow.

Regarding the Ibanez "successor" model BTB845V, I have acquired a used one that I am converting back to E-C (owner had gone B-G) but one thing I like better in the original BTB33 is the ramp.. it is nicely fitted to the pickups creating a nice continuous surface, whereas the BTB845V is more like a nicely burled piece that is more separate, slightly gappy to the PU's, more rounded at the edges, creating a less unified feel. In short the BTB33 ramp is great, the BTB845V not so much - personal preferences and opinions are at play there of course. I will withhold judgment on the BTB845V sound until I get it kinda recomposed... previous owner has kinda "personalized" the electronics so I'll need to see what's what there. I didn't like the BTBV845 as a "B-G" bass very much but IMO a 33" B string is going to have a certain amount of floppiness.

In short, the BTB33 is IMO a perfect fit for OP's needs... figures that they'd be hard to find. BTB845V may be another worthy choice and are still in production.