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I want a 5 string Fender P, but $$$!!
- Thread starter Whale guy
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- fender precision v
I'd suggest looking for a gently-used 5-string Fender Precision. They come up in the Classifieds here pretty often. I've seen a couple under $1,000.
There are lots of 5 string PJ basses. Yamaha has the BB series, Ibanez has the Talman series, Kiesel has the PB5, Sire, etc. they’re all good quality, and you have to get pretty far down in cost and quality before you find any instrument nowadays that isn’t reliable. If you’re looking to stay under 1K, I have no experience with the Sire, but Yamaha and Ibanez are very good for the price. I’ve played the Ibanez and loved it, and I own a Yamaha 4 string and it’s a great instrument.
There are plenty of other brands that make P style basses that are just as good, if not better than Fender for a lot less. I highly recommend G&L.
The Yamaha BB435 has very nice Pbass voice, woody and organic . To my ear, sound better than Am Pro P5 Vmod pup.
Does G&L make a 5-string Precision-style bass?
NOT PJ. A Precision-style single split-pickup 5- string bass already??
If I really wanted a 5-string Fender Precision bass, I would save my money and buy the bass I really wanted. $1500 isn’t all that out of line, but there used Precision 5s out there for considerably less.
A few years ago, I bought a 5-string Fender P bass for $900 and it was a great bass. I sold it in a weak moment when I found a really nice Stingray.
My next 5-string P-style bass will be a Mike Lull P5. Because that’s what I want. I’ll have to save the money for it, no doubt.
But in my old age, I want the basses I need to satisfy the gigs I’m being hired for. I have a Jazz-style bass and a Stingray (both 5s) that are covering all those needs nicely (and I love them both dearly). I just don’t need a P5 at the moment.
But even in my old age, I never say never...
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My first thought was Yamaha BB line.
But yeah, Sire, Ibanez, any reputable maker with a split coil pickup in the sweet spot. It doesn’t have to say 7ender on the headstock!
But yeah, Sire, Ibanez, any reputable maker with a split coil pickup in the sweet spot. It doesn’t have to say 7ender on the headstock!
Awesome. You're right. I've done it too many times. Buy crap and get rid of it quickly, or save up and get the one you will play forever.
Darn, I was hoping you knew something I didn’t. I’d love to check such a bass out.
Admittedly, I think the OP and I are in a pretty small group...
The Fender Professional P-5 is a fantastic bass. Mine is bone stock and I wouldn’t change a thing.
Some people rag on the V-mod pickups but I say they are fantastic.
I would hold out for a used one or even grab one at Sweetwater during a sale.
Some people rag on the V-mod pickups but I say they are fantastic.
I would hold out for a used one or even grab one at Sweetwater during a sale.
To be honest? Look for a VM Squier P5. I played one on a whim in a shop and took it home. My main gigging bass is a Fender Reggie Hamilton Custom Shop PJ5, so it's in good company. I played it stock for ages happily, but ended up putting a kick ass bridge on it and installed an M&V Guitars Atlas pickup in it. The VMP5 gets a good wrap on here.
+1 on this. The Squier VMP5 punches way above the sub $300-$400 it commands on the used market. I mistakenly sold mine to a friend who wanted a backup for his Fender P5 and he ended up selling the Fender and keeping the Squier because he felt it was the better all around bass.
...but don't just take our word for it.
Squier Vintage Modified Precision V: who's got one?
The OP was not that specific, and specifically mentioned Sire, which does not make a bass with only a split-P-style pickup. You want P sound from a PJ, you blend to the P pickup. Sire does you one better in the P7 by providing a master tone control, so in passive mode blended to the P, the circuit is electrically identical to a traditional P-bass (provided they use a ganged blend pot so the J is shorted to ground as it's blended out; I see no reason to presume otherwise).
Seriously, lighten up. Lammchop has no reason to apologize for his post, especially given it's one of a half-dozen replies suggesting a PJ. If the OP wants a "Precision-style single split-pickup 5- string bass" and "NOT PJ", he's been active on his thread, he can tell us.
Hi Whale guy 
There are a lot of good alternatives out there (Sire basses certainly are!)
But you can get a Fender (when you want the F word on the headstock)
The 2 magic words when you don't have the money to buy a new Fender are:
Buy used!
Like Dave Siff said, they are ot there waiting for you!
I had a bunch of Fenders and never paid that much (MIA!)
You should check your local used market (depends on where you are) to avoid shipping costs.
IME that helps always to haggle down the price a bit (nobody likes to pack a bass for shipping)
Offer to pick it up yourself (test it!!!!)...
greetings
Wise(b)ass
There are a lot of good alternatives out there (Sire basses certainly are!)
But you can get a Fender (when you want the F word on the headstock
)The 2 magic words when you don't have the money to buy a new Fender are:
Buy used!
Like Dave Siff said, they are ot there waiting for you!
I had a bunch of Fenders and never paid that much (MIA!)
You should check your local used market (depends on where you are) to avoid shipping costs.
IME that helps always to haggle down the price a bit (nobody likes to pack a bass for shipping
)Offer to pick it up yourself (test it!!!!)...
greetings
Wise(b)ass
Funny you seem to think I need to lighten up. If you read both of my responses to Lammchop, I simply asked a sincere, but specific question and nowhere did I ask for an apology in any way.
As we say in the audio production world, “you need to turn your sensitivity knob back a couple of clicks”.
And I didn’t need the coaching on the Sire. I can dismiss PJs if I want to. My loss, wouldn’t you say? There. Happy now?
You should be able to get a Fender P5 for ~ $900 if you keep an eye out.
