Best Jazz 5 you ever played

[ragetoca]

Did you subconsciously list Spector twice, or what? LOL

My bad. I can’t delete it or add more options lol

 

[ragetoca]

Fender Am Pro II Jazz V for me too. I have three. Two of them are bone stock roasted pine. They feel fine to me, but more importantly they sure sound like a Fender Jazz. My Sandberg California TT5 Passive sometimes "feels" better, and sounds great. Just doesn't sound quite as much like a traditional Fender Jazz, which is what I want out of a Jazz Bass.

Really??? Those have terrible B strings like unusable IMO

 

[badinage]

I like FGN also. They're probably similar so you may find them terrible as well.

 

[Bass1447]

For me. The Pro and Pro II from Fender sit top of the food chain. Felt and sounded better than all other I've tried. Their so good I got 5 of em. The one pictured is my newest. A 2024 from Sweetwater. Pleked.

 

[DWBass]

Lakland JO5 which I stupidly traded away. Still banging my head over that move!!

 

[bucephylus]

The Jazz 5, which has performed the best for my preferences, is a 2007 era Fender Jazz Deluxe; in which, I replaced the Fender preamp with a Sadowsky preamp.

This bass also has 18mm bridge spacing (after replacing the 18.3mm bridge with an 18mm Al HipShot B).

Those two “refinements” have made the instrument suit my Jazz 5 needs better than any other 5 I have gigged. I had originally thought the stunted offset body from that era would interfere with the balance. In fact, I gigged a 4 string ‘97 for a while, which ultimately found another home, due to dis-satisfaction with the “stunted” body. For some reason the 2007 5 string version sits better. Shrug.

 

[InhumanResource]

What’s the best and most complete 5-string jazz bass you’ve ever played?

By “best,” I mean the full package—tone, weight, comfort, neck, electronics, response, sustain, finish, and especially the B string!

I’m not worried about price or brand. This is a totally subjective question—I just want your honest, personal take.





I’ll be updating the poll list based on your answers.

Sadowsky is the best one I’ve ever heard. The fender elite jazz 5 was really nice too. In general, I don’t really like most 5 string jazzes and don’t think it is a great platform for them. Would much rather deal with a stingray when it comes to 5 strings.

 

[Geri O]

Really??? Those have terrible B strings like unusable IMO

Absolutely the polar opposite experience I’ve had with those basses.

I won’t discount your experience, but I’ll counter it with my own valid experience.

In fact, I’ve not encountered any 5-string bass that can’t set the B string to sounding good. Basses I’ve owned or worked on.

Lulls, Stingrays, Fenders, Squiers even, ESP LTD, Sires, G&Ls (even though I’m not a G&L fan, B string was fine).

 

[Stevorebob]

Bill Nash JB5.

 

[Jefenator]

Interesting topic. My classic 4-string J is my all-time #1 tone king – and I've been questing for my ultimate 5-string forever.
My Roscoe Century Standard + is definitely the best 5-string I have ever had for a Fender-like sound. It plays great & has remarkable consistency all over the fretboard. For a good used price, I settled for P/J and 18mm spacing. If I had the $$$ I'd call right away & order a custom 19mm J/J (single coil).
Another thought would be to give my Warwick Streamer Stage I an electronic makeover w/ single coils and a 2-band preamp. That bass is an absolute beast w/ 20mm spacing. It's about as far as you can get from a classic J "pencil" neck, and it's neck-thru. The weight might contribute to the bite & sustain I've only ever encountered elsewhere on a '76 J. Something about 20mm spacing on a 5-string just feels so right... I wish more people offered that.

 

[mambo4]

I once did a 5 String "shoot out" at Bass NW (rip)

• Alembic whatchamacallit
• Lull MV5
• G&L L2500

Of the 3 the G&L was the best feeling and sounding. And I really wanted the Lull to be the best.

 

[InhumanResource]

Interesting topic. My classic 4-string J is my all-time #1 tone king – and I've been questing for my ultimate 5-string forever.
My Roscoe Century Standard + is definitely the best 5-string I have ever had for a Fender-like sound. It plays great & has remarkable consistency all over the fretboard. For a good used price, I settled for P/J and 18mm spacing. If I had the $$$ I'd call right away & order a custom 19mm J/J (single coil).
Another thought would be to give my Warwick Streamer Stage I an electronic makeover w/ single coils and a 2-band preamp. That bass is an absolute beast w/ 20mm spacing. It's about as far as you can get from a classic J "pencil" neck, and it's neck-thru. The weight might contribute to the bite & sustain I've only ever encountered elsewhere on a '76 J. Something about 20mm spacing on a 5-string just feels so right... I wish more people offered that.

I can relate to this, I LOVE a good 4 string jazz but for 5s I look elsewhere.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

My old DJ5 is still the best J5 I ever had.

 

[InhumanResource]

I once did a 5 String "shoot out" at Bass NW (rip)

• Alembic whatchamacallit
• Lull MV5
• G&L L2500

Of the 3 the G&L was the best feeling and sounding. And I really wanted the Lull to be the best.

L2500s are great basses with a very nice B string tone and feel. I think the only one I like better is the SR5.

 

[Bass1447]

The OP did say Jazz Bass. But yeah, my G&L M-2500 is amazing. I have 3 M-2500's and one L-2500. I prefer the M-2500's.

L2500s are great basses with a very nice B string tone and feel. I think the only one I like better is the SR5.

 

[ragetoca]

The OP did say Jazz Bass. But yeah, my G&L M-2500 is amazing. I have 3 M-2500's and one L-2500. I prefer the M-2500's.

I think this will be considered more of a modern than a jazz because of the pickups and placement

 

[Hot Rats]

Datsgor Bass Works Jazz type clone. Nice narrow string spacing.

 

[Bass1447]

I think this will be considered more of a modern than a jazz because of the pickups and placement

Then just ignore this. Probably the best 5 string on the planet. My MTD 534-24-17. It's from another place.

 

[steimlem]

only jazz V i ever played was the current run of affinity and i had absolutely no problems with it and it sounded great

 

[Kenny056]

Sadowsky - Even it´s my "cheap" Metro Express.

I've never played an American Sadowsky, but I own 2 MetroExpress 5s that I absolutely love. I'm filling in for a guy who plays an American Fender Jazz 5. At rehearsal, the band all commented on how they thought it sounded much better than the Fender. They could just be blowing smoke, but either way I love it!