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I need/want a 5 string

C

ChuckTrucks

Guest
Jul 28, 2012
480
2
#1
My band wants to start doing R&B and hip hop style jams in addition to our usual rock, blues, and jazz styled music.

Yesterday I was playing some stuff on my 4 string Jazz and I was thinking "Man I wish I had a 5 string right now" I could have used different phrasing and played some lower grooves and different fills that would have sounded just great.

I was thinking about buying a 5 with active pickups. I really don't like Music Man pickups and I don't prefer Bartolinis although they can definitely work. I hate super wide necks and I also hate necks where it feels like they put a 5th string on a 4 string neck.

Aside from going to GC and playing a bunch of their stuff my options are highly limited for hands on demoing, which sucks.

I don't really have a budget though I would prefer to stay under $3500-4000, although I wouldn't mind spending much less, though I would go higher for something really bitchin'.

Another thing that sucks is that I do not have time to order anything and I really don't know where to shop online other than Bass Central which seems to be a great place to start.
 
#3
With your budget you have a pile of options, is this your first 5? Because the B string is a tricky beast, and most manufacturers do it poorly (although they get much better in your price range)

If you want the best B in the world, get a Dingwall, you will not find a better one period. I might be biased because they make them right in town, but if somebody has played the Dingwall B, they tend to agree.
 
#5
In my opinion, before plunking down that much cash, you want to play a few and see what kind of neck and string spacing you like first. You might even try buying a decent used 5er that you can turn over easily to see if you can/really want to make the jump to 5.
 
#6
Dingwall. In that price range, you could buy a used Dingwall and a 34" or 35" scale five string and feel/hear/see/experience the superiority of the Dingwall B string.
 
#11
Tell people where you are so they can suggest places to go to try out basses. If you can get to Bass Central in Orlando or Bass Specialties north of Philly you'll find something to fall in love with. There's a great place in San Diego, too, just let folks know where you are.
 
#14
Thanks for the replies. I am in Oklahoma City. My main gigging amp is a Streamliner 900 and Uber 4x10.

I was actually looking at some Dingwalls (Afterburner) and some Roscoes (SKB3005).

It will be my first 5 but I've played and borrowed many for example a Music Man, various Ibanez, a Fender Deluxe, and a Yamaha. Ive also played a Spector NS-5 and a Warwick Corvette 5.

Spacing on the 5 has always been something you just have to deal with, for me. The two cases I don't like I mentioned above which are basically the worst case scenarios.
 

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