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Fender P 5 String - Why does it sound Terrible?

Fair Warning

Fair Warning

Deliverin' the Goods!
Jan 30, 2011
1,168
392
Orange County, California
#1
I am in the market for a 5 string. I tried to get a Lakland to match my 44-64, but they evidently do not make the Skyline 55-64 in anything but 3 Burst. I need black.

Anyway, so I start to look at the Fender, thinking I might be better off staying with a 34" and I also like the Fender sound. But in GC, trying an American P V, the B string sounded and felt like SLOP! I cant understand why the strings on one bass with the same scale can feel and sound so differently. (have 2 other 5 strings).

Well, I am still considering a Fender P V, if I can get some additional info on how I can make this sound better. Maybe with a heavier string set? Maybe the P is not a good design choice for a 5er...? :hmm:
 
#2
Fair Warning said:
I am in the market for a 5 string. I tried to get a Lakland to match my 44-64, but they evidently do not make the Skyline 55-64 in anything but 3 Burst. I need black.

Anyway, so I start to look at the Fender, thinking I might be better off staying with a 34" and I also like the Fender sound. But in GC, trying an American P V, the B string sounded and felt like SLOP! I cant understand why the strings on one bass with the same scale can feel and sound so differently. (have 2 other 5 strings).

Well, I am still considering a Fender P V, if I can get some additional info on how I can make this sound better. Maybe with a heavier string set? Maybe the P is not a good design choice for a 5er...? :hmm:
Click to expand...

Swith to Fender Supers for strings. They have a .130 B string that is nice & tight on a 34" scale. I run them on my Active Deluxe Jazz & am not disappointed.
 
#4
I just checked Fender's site. That bass SHOULD come stock with those strings, unless someone's changed them when the bass came in.
The local Long & McQuade has a guitar player who does this, but he knows nothing about bass tension and has made a lot of the 5ers play like garbage by putting .120s on.
Maybe ask the shop to do a setup on it. I played one a couple weeks ago & it was just as tight as my J & Spector.
 
#6
Check out Ed Friedland,The Bass Whisperer's, review on the bass. I agree though (based on the youtube review) that the PV doesn't sound all that impressive. P's are funny like that; when they are good, they are great. But, sometimes they are too much of a "P".
 
#8
I've never used anything lighter than a 130 for B, especially on a 34" scale. Used to use a 145 on my Carvin and even that only resulted in about 41lbs of tension. Don't be afraid to go heavy!

I owned a 55-64 and couldn't stand the finish so I had is refinished by Pat Wilkins. Considering it was quite reasonably to get a translucent finish done, I imagine getting one refinished for black wouldn't be too much at all. Maybe a few hundred or so. I loved the scale on the 55-64 - bass felt big and beefy. Only sold it as I decided to focus on playing Spector more.
 
#9
I thought my P5 had a great B string. I adapted to playing it a little harder and actively muting it with my fingers to make it sound good.

I just picked up a MusicMan SR5:eek: The B string is tighter and plays with much more authority. I needed to alter my technique to keep the walls from blowing out. It is also a 34" so I can't say why it is tighter, but I'm sure the active preamp has a whole lot to do with the solid sound.

I still love my P5 but it requires a different playing approach.
 
#12
It's simple physics really....to achieve more tension on a string for a given hertz range you have to 1. Increase the thickness of the string(which lowers the vibrating hertz cycle making you increase the tension via tuning peg to get back to the desired cycle). 2. Increase the length of the string(which essentially does the exact same as #1). One thing u can do if u have adjustable length saddles(think fender, ernie ball, etc.) is screw the saddles all the way back towards the bass of the bridge leaving just a lil adjustment for intonation and transform your 34" to 35" or even more depending on how much adjustment the saddles have. I did this to my fender jazz so I didn't have to get 110-50 strings for playing drop tuning (half step down from 440....keeps a .100 or .105 nice and taut under drop tuning and keeps u from putting too much tension on the neck that the 110-50's put on the neck which it is not designed to support w/o bowing in the first place. The only drawback is that it effectively moves ur pickups farther from the bridge and could take a lil bite outta the bridge pickup but I can't really tell much difference. There ya go...
 
#13
mccartneyman said:
The Lakland website lists the Skyline 55-64 as available in black unless that's a mistake.
Click to expand...

That's probably the US model. I assume OP was referring to the Skyline version which is only available in 3TS. That's what I had.

EDIT: Just checked the site - it does look like they've possibly added black. That would be cool because, well how can I put this nicely.....3TS sucks balls (IMO). :)
 
#14
jamminology101 said:
It's simple physics really....to achieve more tension on a string for a given hertz range you have to 1. Increase the thickness of the string(which lowers the vibrating hertz cycle making you increase the tension via tuning peg to get back to the desired cycle). 2. Increase the length of the string(which essentially does the exact same as #1). One thing u can do if u have adjustable length saddles(think fender, ernie ball, etc.) is screw the saddles all the way back towards the bass of the bridge leaving just a lil adjustment for intonation and transform your 34" to 35" or even more depending on how much adjustment the saddles have. I did this to my fender jazz so I didn't have to get 110-50 strings for playing drop tuning (half step down from 440....keeps a .100 or .105 nice and taut under drop tuning and keeps u from putting too much tension on the neck that the 110-50's put on the neck which it is not designed to support w/o bowing in the first place. The only drawback is that it effectively moves ur pickups farther from the bridge and could take a lil bite outta the bridge pickup but I can't really tell much difference. There ya go...
Click to expand...

What you said there makes no sense. Depending on your action, string gauge & scale, there is only 1 place your bridge will intonate correctly. If you want to switch to a 35" scale, you need to refret with the spacings correct for this scale, or else your notes will not be in the same position as the 34" scale.
 
#16
As far as the P5 Fender is concerned, the B String is excellent on mine. So if you are considering that bass, I would put a new set of strings on it before judging it. I personally think that 130 is an ideal weight for a B on 34" scale.

40 60 80 100 130 is what works for me, plays like a dream
 
#17
awilkie84 said:
What you said there makes no sense. Depending on your action, string gauge & scale, there is only 1 place your bridge will intonate correctly. If you want to switch to a 35" scale, you need to refret with the spacings correct for this scale, or else your notes will not be in the same position as the 34" scale.
Click to expand...

Nope, makes perfect sense...moving back the saddles is just like moving the bridge back. Just need enough adjustment fore and aft to properly intonate it to make up for different string thicknesses.
 
#19
jamminology101 said:
Nope, makes perfect sense...moving back the saddles is just like moving the bridge back. Just need enough adjustment fore and aft to properly intonate it to make up for different string thicknesses.
Click to expand...

I was commenting on your moving of the saddles to change to a 35" scale. If this was a fretless, that would be fine, but with it being a fretted bass, it's not. Every string length has a different point at where each note will be. A first fret on a 35" scale is NOT in the same spot on the board as a 34" scale. You would have to refret.

jamminology101 said:
It's such a minor change that it doesn't show up on the tuner.....like I said kinda a quick fix...
Click to expand...

You use some poor tuners then. It's almost 1/2 a semitone out. My Korg Pitchblack would pick up on that, or even a 100th of that, and it retails for under $100.
 
#20
Hmmm, I'm no expert setup guy, but I think if I were to move my saddle back an inch, wouldn't I wind up with a 12th fret note that's considerably more flat than the open string tuned to pitch? You'd be effectively increasing the length from the 12th fret to the saddle, which would make that note flatter than it was previously. Not sure if other adjustments can counteract that.
 

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