Best 5 string

At that price point you won't be getting much. If I were you I would wait until you're able to make a bit more of an investment. If you could get together around $1000 you would probably be able to find a used 5 string at a quality level that you could be very happy with. Under that, not so much...

 

I like this bass:

 

Oh, and your best bet for a relatively inexpensive, high quality 5 string would be to look for a used Music Man Stingray 5. Hope it helps.

 

Look for an Ibanez SR 500 series or higher. You might be lucky to find a new one for about $500 or a used one for a little less. They are very reliable and their tone is very good. Look for one with VariMid preamp or one with a three-band eq.

Good luck.

 

For another $150-$200, you could pick-up a used Fender Roscoe Beck 5 string, which are excellent!!!

 

If somebody here finds a 5 string stingray for less than 500 he going to have to beat me to it! That's a rare bird, I usually see them at $800 at best

Schecter, yamaha and The Bass company have great "bang for your buck basses"

The down sides?
personally, I don't like the narrow spacing on Schecters, the electronics on the yamahas can be cheap and noisy (but they can be replaced), and TBC basses can't be found in a store where you can try before you buy

 

You should look into the Yamaha BB415... It's passive and surprisingly well built for the money. I played one last week at Sam Ash and was shocked at how nice it sounded and how easily it played.

Oh, and you can get one for less than $500.

Not bad in my book...

 

My recommendations are:

$250: Squier Precision Bass Special V

$450: Yamaha BB415 or Cort Curbow 5

$500: MTD Kingston (passive)


All of those basses sound great and are in your price range.

 

$600-$700 should pick you up a used Peavey Cirrus which will whoop anything mentioned in this thread already. 35" scale, neck through, good electronics, nice woods, excellently made. Best value basses ever.

 

Yeah, BTB's are lovely basses!!

 

I would recommend the Squire. 1 Main reason. You can upgrade and franken bass that thing all day for pretty cheap! Most of them are pretty good quality too. Heavier bridge, better pickups and you have an expensive bass for not to much.

 

Check out the thread on the new The Bass Company basses. They're getting really good reviews so far, and 5ers go for $399 direct from the company on fleabay.
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=210278

 

My first bass was an EDB605 - They're pretty nice basses. Personally, I could never get past the fact that it is not made out of wood (It's a Luthite body) But the feel was fantastic and the finish was very durable and nice looking. I found the tone of the EDB to be a bit "modern" but there was definitely a wide range of tines available with the dual soap bars and onboard 3 band EQ. It would take a nice low action set up and the neck was super stable. Ergonomics and playablity were unbeatable and I like the appearance as well. My EDB never gave me a problem. It just wasn't the bass for me.

 

I believe you need to be a paying member to sell gear on this site.

 

I'm not selling gear. I have no affiliation with that store or that bass. I just happen to shop that site myself and I saw that bass and thought it was a good 5er for under 500 - it's the one I'd go for if I was wanting a 5. I'd be happy to delete the post if violates forum rules.

 

Last year I acquired a Washburn Lyon 5 string for WELL under 500. It sounds really great. It was a pawn shop find, but I'm willing to bet you could find a similar deal. It really is a nice sounding bass and didn't break me, either.

 

Wesley B305 is a very nice 5 string it was the bass i brought when i upgraded from a 4 string. I won it brand new on Ebay for £110 or you could buy from the website www.wesleyguitars.co.uk but you will have to import from the UK.

 

I'll second the used cirrus notion. Nothing else mentioned touches the value and tone in the price range.