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I want a 5 string Fender P, but $$$!!

The Sire basses are very nice; the preamps are especially good at that price point. Prices are creeping up though - they used to be ridiculously cheap for the quality ($499 ish); I'm seeing $649 and up on the website now. Still competitive with Mexican Fenders in my opinion.

I'd expect the price to creep up; they can't keep the P7s in stock at their previous MSRPs. The GC umbrella of sites are all backordered, and the only Reverb sellers with any advertised stock are in Europe or Korea. I've been trying to get my hands on a 2G ash 5-string without paying $150 in shipping, but that doesn't look likely. WWBW's estimated shipping dates keep getting pushed back, which means they don't really know when they'll have any, and the GC/MF sites (same corporate umbrella) don't even bother estimating when there will be available stock. Been burned before on GC's backorders, so my options are to pull the trigger on one from Denmark and eat the shipping, or hawk the gently-used market.
 
If you want a truly original-style PBass that's a five, the Squier VM P5 (IF you can find one, good luck !) is the deal. One of those Squiers that truly makes you wonder why on Earth would I put another grand with it for the 'real' MIA Fender. To me, at least one reason Fender pulled them out of the line, because once I played mine for five minutes, it INSTANTLY took me out of the market for a 'jen-u-wine' Fender version.

I have one, and quite simply it's a PBass with an extra string. It just works. String her up with flats, you can Motown all day long, string her up with Rotos and work your Iron Maiden catalog. It just works.

They only drawback is they spec'd the wrong bridge: The B (and in some cases the E) saddle just doesn't have enough travel to sync the string length to the fingerboard (I somehow refuse to say tune your harmonics) without the cinch winding and/or the silk winding up in the saddle. Hipshot makes a truly drop-in replacement (six-hole mount MADE for Squire applications) that's an instant fix. You can fish around for a new pickup, but there's only a very limited gain for a lot of money, not much point.

Mine's going to get that bridge soon, and it'll fix the only loose end on the axe. As I said, if you really want a five-string PBass in the classic single pickup / two-pot version, I can't think of anything better without spending a LOT more money.
 
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I'd expect the price to creep up; they can't keep the P7s in stock at their previous MSRPs.
Agree, except Marcus filmed all those promo videos at first talking about his goal to put a quality instrument into people's hands for just a few hundred dollars. Granted those were his words and not Sire's. The popularity must have exceeded expectations.
 
I can dismiss PJs if I want to. My loss, wouldn’t you say? There. Happy now?

I'm curious why though (not worrying about the other discussion...). Just why not a PJ? Looks? J pickup gets in your way? I mean, you could even buy a PJ and have the J pickup and 2nd volume removed from the circuit, either brute force style LoL (where are my wire cutters??) or with a switch added. That way, if you believe the J pickup and/or it's volume control/pan control is taking something audibly away from the P pickup thump sound (I don't, but I'm "just zis guy, ya know?" **), then that would solve it, logically.

Just trying to help with workarounds that would sound outstanding. USA 5 string precision basses are great - but Fender kind of did it last, after everyone else had been making them for a long long time.

Now if you really are set on a USA 5 P, well, hmmm.. looking used, maybe try to get an app on your phone that can do multi-location craigslist searches could help? There are some for android... that way you could be searching CL areas not right next to you, in case you see one that could be shipped to you or with a several-hour drive for you to see.

Cheers!

** reference to the writing of Douglas Adams.
 
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I really want a Fender Precision, and have used nothing but 5 stringed basses for 2 decades. I cant justify the $1500. Is Sire, or some other copy capable of the same sound quality and reliability? Thanks!

Squier-Vintage-Modified-Jaguar-Bass-Bodies.jpg
 
Either buy yourself a used Fender P5 or find a used Squier Vintage Modified P5.

Also the MTD Kingston CRB are great basses. The necks are thinner than Fender or Squier. Only think I would suggest on those is changing out the capacitor to fender /Squier specs . The stock one bright for Pbasses .
 
Agree, except Marcus filmed all those promo videos at first talking about his goal to put a quality instrument into people's hands for just a few hundred dollars. Granted those were his words and not Sire's. The popularity must have exceeded expectations.

Apparently. The P/J especially; PJs aren't exactly rare, but the P7's on-paper feature set simply did not exist outside the bespoke custom market until the Sire P7 showed up (EDIT: yes, Ibanez has had PJs in the SR series, e.g. SR650, SR755, but those have a modern styling and an acquired taste in the neck dimensions). Active 5-string Jazzes like the V7 are more common, and Sire has been pricing these a bit higher, so the V-series are a little easier to find, but the P7s are being held closer to the chest.
 
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If you can find a used Yamaha 1025 or 1025x (like mine below which I got used for ~$600 US), you could really satisfy your needs well within your price range. The advantage of looking one generation back with Yamaha is that you get a terrifically constructed bass for the price, excellent pickups—*and* a switch to isolate the P-stype pickup without the loading of the extra volume control in their present-generation VVT configuration. This thing is a killer in P-bass mode.

YamahaBB1025x - 1.jpg
 
Why a P-style 5-er when there are so many other 5-string basses on the market with much better ergonomics, better sounding pickups, and much better pricing than whatever passes for an Am. Std. P-Bass?
 
Why a P-style 5-er when there are so many other 5-string basses on the market with much better ergonomics, better sounding pickups, and much better pricing than whatever passes for an Am. Std. P-Bass?
I dunno man... USA precision basses sound absolutely excellent. From what I've heard of the P 5, they too sound absolutely excellent.