Five strings for small hands?

[bradjonesbass]

I have small hands as well - ridiculously small considering I'm 6'5" tall and weigh over 350 pounds. I have the hands of a man about 1/2 my size. But I digress....

I had a Pedulla Rapture and it was by far my favorite 5-string for my hands - 34" scale, nice B-string, thin/fast neck.

My G&L has a chunky neck, but once I got used to it, I actually like it better. It's just easier to dig in and rock out on it. For fast, smoother playing, I prefered the Pedulla, but alas, I can't afford two basses right now, so one had to go.

Every Ibanez 5-string I've played has had a pencil thin neck - could be good or bad, depending on your preferences.

 

[Dee-man]

Again, thanks for all your thoughts and suggestions. Glad to hear others' similar experiences.

I currently wear the bass pretty high up (neck is approx. sternum/breast level), but I'll continue to fiddle with that and maybe try lower and angled, as one TBer suggested.

I was also intrigued by the adjustable bridge suggestion, however, I'd like to try to make the mb2-5 work since I dig the sound and feel so much.

I'm not there yet, and forgive the potential blasphemy, but could I have the back of the neck (the heel?) sanded/tapered so it's not as thick (with no change to the nect width), or is that ridiculous?

 

[spade2you]

The stereotypical jazz posture may look cool, but I find it to be as equally problematic as someone who hangs it too low. Perhaps the most noticable problem is that standard or XL scale basses feel like huge reach in the lower positions.

As for the adjustable bridge, eh, not really needed with an MB2. Rob knows where to set the action, all you gotta do is adjust the neck relief when the weather changes. As a fretless, I enjoy not fussing over the intonation of the bridge.

 

[MAJOR METAL]

Check out some of the Ibanez and Fernendez 5 strings.

 

[Assumer]

I believe some of the schecters are pretty thin.

 

[dominic54321]

Look at some of the Spector series basses,..seriously. I have a NSJH5, and it's awesome! Perfect for small hands, and lightweight compared to my old musicman stingray 5.

 

[Blues Bass 2]

The Schecter Elite 5 has a narrow string spacing even though it's a 35" scale.Mine is real easy on the left hand as is my SX jazz 5.Carvins also have a fairly slim neck for a five string also.

 

[jim nolte]

If it is your left forearm that is bothering you I think the problem is more in the width of the nut than in the width of the bridge. You need to be looking at 5's with no wider than 1 and 3/4 inch width nuts.This would bring you to Stingray 5,F bass BN5, Lakland 55-02, 55-01, and many others. I have found over the years I will get the same problem in my upper left forearm if I play a 5 that is over that width unless the neck is very thin, front to back. Hope this helps.

 

[embellisher]

Dee-man, is the RA 5 neck heavy at all?

That is when the top muscle in my forearm starts hurting, when I play a bass that is neck heavy for very long.

If it weren't for that, I would own a Thumb 5 stringer.

 

[riffripper]

I play a Washburn BB5 Bantam, the nut width is 1-3/4" and at number 12 is 2-1/4". It has a thin neck front to back,7/8",and it is easy to play up to 24th fret on all 5 strings. The neck is fast and it is very light weight.

 

[spade2you]

Dee-man, is the RA 5 neck heavy at all?

That is when the top muscle in my forearm starts hurting, when I play a bass that is neck heavy for very long.

If it weren't for that, I would own a Thumb 5 stringer.

Rob's stuff is balanced extremely well, and light too boot!

 

[73jbass]

Music Man Stingray 5. 1 3/4" at the nut. I have very small hands and I like to keep the neck width under 1.8". The SR5 is perfect.

 

[bassbully43]

I think once you find a neck that fits you will find a five is easyer on small hands than a four. I am 6'-1" 255 and have small girl like hands oh well and fours are a stretch for me although i play one. The 5s string spacing being tighter is more guitar like and i can get around with less stretching hand changing due to the extra notes and scales.

 

[FunkySpoo]

I think, just from looking at them, that the SR5 and Bongo 5 would be good choice.

Ding. We have a winner. SR5 necks are really slim. the only down side is the SR5 is usually over 10 pounds

 

[Dee-man]

Well thanks again for all the suggestions. I'm gonna keep at it with the mb2-5. The neck is somewhat heavy (esp. compared to the mb2-4), but it's generally balanced and I'm not using my left hand to keep it up. I took spade2you's (sp?) suggestion [I tend to hang my bass so my right hand rests a few inches above my naval and angle the bass to a roughly 45 degree angle. My knuckles run parallel to the fingerboard and my thumb is seated on the back of the neck, very similar to classical guitar positioning.] and lowered and angled the bass height last night and that seemed to help a lot, so I'll stick with that.

Today I tried a Pedulla (forget which model), MM5 and an Ibz (forget which model). They were all decent, but not significantly better (getting my pinky on the B at the 12th fret is just a killer on any bass and I'll have to make fingering adjustments). The MM seemed to have the narrowest neck of the three, and though the neck was thicker/chunkier, the radius worked well for me. Unfortunately, it's not an RA (I also play mostly bluegrass/new grass/blues which the RA is better for IMHO). Thanks again, guys, this has been very helpful.

 

[main_sale]

My G&L L-2500 had a thin, narrow neck. It might be just what you need.