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Do Fender 5 strings suck? - Whats your opinion

Do Fender 5ers Suck

  • Yes

    Votes: 109 19.9%

  • No

    Votes: 246 45.0%

  • Sometimes

    Votes: 192 35.1%
  • Total voters
    547
#82
Yup. They sure, sure do. With the exception of the Roscoe Beck Model (One of THE VERY BEST 5'ers produced. Ever!!).
And, although I've never played one, something tells me that the Marcus Miller 5'er is a nice bass. But, I could be wrong.
I tell you one thing though. Somebody needs to get off their ass and produce a R. Beck-inspired bass. Now THAT, is an untapped gold mine waiting to be pilfered :hiding:.
 
#83
No Fender Vs don't suck. I have the 2000 American standard J and the 2008 PV. String them with the taper core Fender strings. I doubt you'll get a consensus If you count the "I tried it in a store" opinions, which are not really valid depending on the condition of the bass. The do the Fender thing well.
 
#85
When I first saw this topic, I thought it was about the Fender V Basses made back in the 60's and early 70's. I used to own a 72. These basses had a high C instead of a low B. It also only had 15 frets, so you gained, uh, nothing. The up was very much like a Mustang up. It didn't really sound that bad , but was HUGE. It would not fit in a J/P case. Too long. It just never made any sense to me.
 
#87
I don't know if they suck. I'm thinking they don't because lots of people here seem to have very enjoyable experiences with theirs. I had two MIA 5-string Precisions that didn't have very nice Bees. The last one I had...I could play it for a week or two exclusively & get used to the sound of the B where it became good enough, but as soon as I strayed back to my Warwick Corvette Standard 5 it was Game Over Mang. Game Over :(
 
#88
Yes, they suck... bad. It's basically a crime the way the took the Jazz name and stuck a ever so slightly rounded 2x4 neck on it. The bass is known for it's skinny neck for crying out loud!

I love my USA 50th Jazz, but I wouldn't pay $5 for a 5 string version if I had to keep it. Fender 5's are absolute junk.
 
#90
I've owned Sadowsky Metro 5, MusicMan Stingray 5s and a multitude of Fender Jazz 5 basses. I currently have a Custom Shop Classic that is awesome. Preamp is great. Put some Fralins in. The B is tight and focused. All strings growl in all positions. I've also owned 2 Marcus Miller 5 basses and they were both excellent. However, I have never found an American Deluxe or Standard that I was satisfied with. Definitely need to get the string tension, gauge and height fine tuned so that you have sustain and growl without "floppiness".
 
#91
Herrick said:
Yeah that's...odd. Why did they make the necks the same on the P & the J 5s?
Click to expand...

I don't know, but it's kind of a sore spot for me. I have a beautiful 50th anniversary USA that I bought when I was 16. The paint is worn off the back due to thousands of hours we spent together on stage, we have a bond. Still to this day I call it the best investment I ever made.

But when I made the switch to a 5 I had to abandon Fender all together. All because some idiot was too lazy to make a better neck. :crying:
 
#92
It's easier to make a B-string sound like **** than it is to make it sound right. As Tolstoy said of families: "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."

Well all solid B-strings are alike:

- you have the correct strings;
- the right setup (especially the neck pup height);
- sufficiently stiff neck;
- sufficiently long scale (many dispute the effect of the scale length); and
- the right player.

I've heard of luthiers magically transform muddy B-strings into monsters. And, conversely, I have managed to turn solid sounding B-strings into mud.

So, what I'm saying is, don't blame it all on Fender.
 
#95
LaBassGuy said:
It's easier to make a B-string sound like **** than it is to make it sound right. As Tolstoy said of families: "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."

Well all solid B-strings are alike:

- you have the correct strings;
- the right setup (especially the neck pup height);
- sufficiently stiff neck;
- sufficiently long scale (many dispute the effect of the scale length); and
- the right player.

I've heard of luthiers magically transform muddy B-strings into monsters. And, conversely, I have managed to turn solid sounding B-strings into mud.

So, what I'm saying is, don't blame it all on Fender.
Click to expand...

Don't blame the 34" scale. a 34" scale can still have a very tight and responsive open B, the problem just becomes the higher fretted notes will be muddy and have overtones. Some necks go to the 12th fret before they get overtones, some go to the 5th. Fender's tend to get muddy quite low on the neck.

My Carvin is 34" and has an amazing open B, it does however lack definition higher up the neck. The only way to get a truly good B string all the way up the neck is fanned frets using a 37"+ scale. A 35" scale can be somewhat improved over a 34" but certainly not as clear as a 37"+.
 
#96
The current Fender are my favorite 5's because of the scale and string spacing. Also because of the familiar radius. All of the low B's I've tried have never bothered me and is something I usually make up for with separate higher tension B's anyway. The current P5
is way up on my GAS list. I don't think they suck at all, in fact, I think everything about them is perfect.
 
#97
I dunno, I've owned a couple Fender 5's that were pretty damn decent in the low B department-----not in the same league as my Roscoes, not by a longshot, but they were passable. I wouldn't say that they sucked, anyway.
 
#98
lol,... i need to get my hands on some of these lemon Fenders. i bet i can still make them sing, though. my MIM Jazz V is sooooo sweet. everytime i bring it out people want to play her. my son borrowed it for his gig and didn't return it for 6 months.:eek:
i ended up converting my AV62RI to BEAD. man o' man,... amazing articulation and feel!!!:hyper:

(guess i'm just lucky)
 
#99
My MIM passive Jazz was purchased to learn the 5 string. I bought it used for a song. Had the frets dressed and professionally set up with standard Slinkys and it sounds very good. It has the 5 inline tuners which I don't much like the look of but it stays in tune like a trooper. The neck feels good as well, my only complaint being the pickups, I think they are weak as has been mentioned and I will be looking to upgrade them at some point. I have compared it to many other basses and the B is middle of the road but for what I paid for it I have no complaints. As has been mentioned, in general, the really good B's are found on much more expensive instruments. The best B I have played was on a Classic Stingray5.
 
#100
I hope everyone to have chance to try recent MIA deluxe Jazz V.
With the blend knob in the middle, the B string has nicely scooped growling sound.
I also have a Warwick SS1, whose B string is tighter than my Fender's.
But tighter string doesn't mean the better sound.
My Fender has more bottom to it and I found it sits nicer in the mix than my WW does.
 

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