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Best 5 string youve ever played

#162
I have played/ owned a G&L 2500 tribute, good bass value for money, and a TRB1005, also nice to play, but then i got a Dingwall Combustion, very good bass, nice to play, great even sound across the board, it's also light and comfortable and well made, so it was goodbye, to all my other basses and i got another Dingwall (AB11), now there is a fantastic 5 string, it's light, great to play, sounds awsome, built to perfection with an after sales service to die for, I have emailed Sheldon Dingwall on a few occasions, and got a reply within 24 hrs on most occasions, like to hear how many of you musicman players got repy from anyone of the Ball family ?
 
#166
I need to emphatically DISAGREE with Donny. There are a number of 34" scale, 5-string basses with fantastic tight and clear low B-strings. Conversly, i have played a hand full of 35" scale basses where the B was anything but desirable.
 
#167
Since you're a broke college student, I'd recommend (if you can find) either a used Fender MIM 5 string Jazz or an Ibanez SR 505. I have both and love them equally.

A lot of people diss Ibby's here but I'll tell ya, the low B on this thing will knock a wall down! No flop what so ever and I've gotten nothing but compliments on how full and clear it sounds.

I've also gotten great compliments on my MIM as well. The low B isn't as tight as the Ibanez but I found if I play closer to the bridge is seems to compensate. Bigger neck and heavier than the Ibby by 3 pounds but it sounds great.

You can't lose with either one.

By the way...I never gave any thought to getting a 5 string bass until I was accepted into the music program at the church I attend. It's almost like 5 string basses and the whole christian/gospel/praise and worship thing goes hand in hand!
 
#170
Lakland Skyline 55-02. The extra inch on the neck not only allows a couple more frets on the top end, but lets them use lighter strings for better tone and sustain. No flop at all on the B. This isn't just the best 5-string I've heard, but the best bass, period.
 
#171
I've owned and played lots of good 5's.

Warwick Streamer Stage I
Spector
Alembics
Sadowsky
Mike Lull
Modulus
Tobias
etc

Probably my fave was a Fodera that I played at a guitar show once. But what I chose to play now are Carvin SB5000's. It put my $4000 Warwick 5-string in the closet.
 
#173
Many of the best B string basses that I've owned have been mentioned including:

USA Peavey Cirrus - amazing basses for the money
Roscoe - beefy, powerful low B
Skjold - fantastic tone, killer low B

But the most clear, consistent and downright awesome low end from my experience comes from Dingwall basses. Just my opinion of course.
 
#174
+1 for Dingwall

I have gone through Fender, Warwick, Ibanez (Prestige), MusicMan and a couple of Lakands (55-01 & 55-02) looking for a great B string and then I took a chance on a used Dingwall ABI and it blew me away so much that I have sold everything else and looking to buy another Dingwall!

The B string is just one of the many great things about Dingwall basses, but the worst thing is you will want to buy more.
 

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