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Multi-scale 5-string bass

S

scadh

Jul 19, 2017
19
24
#1
Hello,

I'm getting my son a new 5-string bass for Christmas. He already has 2 Fenders including a really nice Precision American Elite, so thinking something with a more aggressive tone, maybe Ibanez or Schecter.

As I was looking at options, I noticed some chatter about how some players prefer a multi-scale for 5-string bass due to more consistent intonation. Others say the angled frets make for a more comfortable hand position at the top and bottom ends of the neck. All of this sounds good, in principle. Wondering how is stands in practice? My fear is that my son, who has played Fender 4-string basses exclusively for about 8 years, would find it difficult to adjust to the fret positions.

If I could find any local shops with a multi-scale in stock, I'd just take my son and let him play. Except that would 100% spoil his big Christmas gift! I would appreciate hearing anyone's experience with multi-scale. Does it come natural? Is it challenging to switch back and forth between standard and multi-scale during a show? Additionally, if anyone has any 5-string bass recommendations, standard OR multi-scale, would love to hear those, too. My son has the Fender classic-rock tone covered but would like something a bit different to spice it up, especially for harder rock/metal.

Video from a recent gig showing band style. This tune sits in the middle of the spectrum for "aggressiveness" they play, where Metallica would be near the top end and CCR near the bottom.
 
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#2
I have limited multiscale experience, but whenever I play one in a shop I'm almost instantly used to it. Is your son up for something that's the complete opposite of his Fender bass? Check out the Ibanez EHB1005MS or EHB1505MS. There are slightly more conventional options in that price range like the Ibanez SRMS805 though. And if money is no object, you might want to take a look at a Dingwall. Dingwall's a big name in fanned fret world, and if I'd win the lottery I'd get a Super P.
 
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#3
He’ll adjust quickly, 5 string will be great to explore that new tonal range, and multi scale makes the low B sound incredible.

Coming from a Fender the Dingwall or Spector might be the most comfortable neck profile. I like the Ibanez but the neck profile is too flat to be comfortable (I like a nice medium C)
 
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#4
Most people adjust to fanned fret 5s just fine. I love Dingwall, but understand they are very pricey. It's not so much about intonation, it's that you get a super clear low B the longer the scale length is and nicely even string tension across the whole neck. I also think they are more comfortable in the low frets than most non-fanned-fret 5 strings.

Has your son actually expressed interest in a fanned fret 5?

I hear good things about the Ibanez EHB but they're too ugly for me to want to try. The Ibanez SRMS that I've tried were just not good. Uncomfortable, not a great tone, scale lengths didn't really give any benefits. I've heard the BTB fanned fret is an excellent bass.

The Spector I tried did not balance well. Not comfortable.

I haven't heard much about the Schecter or ESP fanned basses except the ESP I played was quite heavy and I imagine the same might be true of the Schecter.

These Brice basses are solid quality, but can be a bit heavy, plus the pickups are a unique shape that would be difficult to easily replace in the future.

Now that Gear4Music switched manufacturers, I've heard that Invalid Link Removed are a great value for the price. Again, I think it's ugly though.
 
#5
Thanks for the quick answers, all! Much appreciated.

My son has expressed great interest in a 5-string, but not "fanned fret" per se. In fact, I doubt he even has any idea what it is. Honestly, in spite of how long he's been playing, he is decidedly NOT a gear-head or settings tweaker. He still sometimes forgets which knob is tone and which is volume. He never really messes with his amp tone, either at home or on stage. He can tell a great instrument from a cheap one, but could not speak intelligently about pickups or effects or anything. Very much a set-it-and-forget-it type. He has A.D.D. and it just doesn't seem to think that way.

What he DOES geek out about is "cool factor". If something looks cool to him, it has his interest. Which is why I'm thinking about multi-scale. I'm certain he would think that's cool on sight. That's probably what is appealing to him about 5-string. It's something new and different. Anything I can do to keep his interest where he practices more is worth considering. If it makes him sound better on stage or play more comfortably, I'm game.

I agree w/ a comment from @JPosega -- I find many of these basses to be butt-ugly. I'm a traditionalist and like the classic P- and J-bass body shape. Also traditional finishes. He has 3 guitars currently -- one honey burst, one tobacco burst, one cherry burst. :) But I think he'd prefer a totally different direction this time. Something like this looks pretty cool yet still tasteful (in my opinion):

Ibanez Bass Workshop SRMS805 Multi-scale 5-string Bass Guitar - Tropical Seafloor
 
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#7
After trying fanned frets, I love them. Th three pickup models let you get a P, a J, a Music Man and a J bridge pickup configuration and that covers a ton of sonic territory before touching the EQ settings. Downside is that they are pricey, a Dingwall Combustion is around $2500.
 
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#8
scadh said:
Hello,

I'm getting my son a new 5-string bass for Christmas. He already has 2 Fenders including a really nice Precision American Elite, so thinking something with a more aggressive tone, maybe Ibanez or Schecter.

As I was looking at options, I noticed some chatter about how some players prefer a multi-scale for 5-string bass due to more consistent intonation. Others say the angled frets make for a more comfortable hand position at the top and bottom ends of the neck. All of this sounds good, in principle. Wondering how is stands in practice? My fear is that my son, who has played Fender 4-string basses exclusively for about 8 years, would find it difficult to adjust to the fret positions.

If I could find any local shops with a multi-scale in stock, I'd just take my son and let him play. Except that would 100% spoil his big Christmas gift! I would appreciate hearing anyone's experience with multi-scale. Does it come natural? Is it challenging to switch back and forth between standard and multi-scale during a show? Additionally, if anyone has any 5-string bass recommendations, standard OR multi-scale, would love to hear those, too. My son has the Fender classic-rock tone covered but would like something a bit different to spice it up, especially for harder rock/metal.

Video from a recent gig showing band style. This tune sits in the middle of the spectrum for "aggressiveness" they play, where Metallica would be near the top end and CCR near the bottom.
Click to expand...

I spoke to a luthier friend about multiscale. It has no bearing on intonation. It's more about making the bottom string tighter and giving it more highs.
 
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#9
I'd say try to find a used natural finish Dingwall Combustion without a pickguard, like this:

Dingwall Combustion 5 | Reverb

Not sure what your price range is, though. Used Dingwalls don't pop up too often, for good reason. I'm only selling the NG-3 and D-Roc in my pic because I'm moving to a Canadian Z3X model I found a deal on.

Definitely my favorite bass maker out there!

My other pick, if you feel a 37" scale may be too much or a Dingwall is too expensive, is the Kiesel JB5 in multi scale. You can sometimes see them pop up for $1500 or so, but they go quick. I have a natural ash one with a white pickguard and gold hardware that looks kind of like Adam Neely's, and it's fantastic.

The only thing here is it's not necessarily aggressive, so if you want that an Ibanez, ESP, or obviously Dingwall would be the better move.

Kiesel JB5 Multiscale 5-String Bass Grey | Reverb
 
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#11
scadh said:
Hello,

I'm getting my son a new 5-string bass for Christmas. He already has 2 Fenders including a really nice Precision American Elite, so thinking something with a more aggressive tone, maybe Ibanez or Schecter.

As I was looking at options, I noticed some chatter about how some players prefer a multi-scale for 5-string bass due to more consistent intonation. Others say the angled frets make for a more comfortable hand position at the top and bottom ends of the neck. All of this sounds good, in principle. Wondering how is stands in practice? My fear is that my son, who has played Fender 4-string basses exclusively for about 8 years, would find it difficult to adjust to the fret positions.

If I could find any local shops with a multi-scale in stock, I'd just take my son and let him play. Except that would 100% spoil his big Christmas gift! I would appreciate hearing anyone's experience with multi-scale. Does it come natural? Is it challenging to switch back and forth between standard and multi-scale during a show? Additionally, if anyone has any 5-string bass recommendations, standard OR multi-scale, would love to hear those, too. My son has the Fender classic-rock tone covered but would like something a bit different to spice it up, especially for harder rock/metal.

Video from a recent gig showing band style. This tune sits in the middle of the spectrum for "aggressiveness" they play, where Metallica would be near the top end and CCR near the bottom.
Click to expand...

I bought my Dingwall 5 string, received it on a Tuesday and played a gig with it that Saturday having never owned a multi scale bass before that. It’s really not that much of an adjustment when it comes to playing most music. The only thing that took some adjusting was playing high solos way up the neck where the frets are angled the other direction. That took a little getting used to but it’s also something I don’t really do in a rock band context plus I did eventually get used to that also for jazz stuff so it wasn’t a big deal to me. I’d say go for it. The main downside I’ve experienced with multi scale basses is getting strings. For example with the 37” scale dingwall you can’t just go to guitar center or your local mom and pop store and buy strings for it. Because if you put regular strings on a 37” dingwall the string winding tapers down before the string crosses the nut. So once a year I order strings for my dingwall in bulk.
 
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#13
I found the switch from 4 to 5 way more difficult than the switch to multiscale. It seems counterintuitive, but I barely notice the difference when playing - except the upper frets can mess with me a little sometimes if I watch what I’m doing instead of just playing. Switching back and forth from multiscale is a non-issue.

As far as recommendations, I can only guess at your budget based on the link you offered. For a general, parallel-fret recommendation, it might stretch your budget a little, but the Lakland 55-02 is a pretty good choice for any genre. If you want something a little more affordable, maybe check out the Reverend Mercalli 5. It is essentially a fancy P bass with a little bit of an unusual shape. One of my friends has used one of these on some pretty high-profile shows and reports nothing but good things. I wish the 5’s had pickguards…that is my only gripe.

Reverend Mercalli 5 5-string Bass Guitar - Periwinkle Burst

All my experience with multiscale is Dingwall, and those tend to get a bit pricey. My experience with Ibanez is they are consistently well-made, nice playing basses with generic (but very usable) tone and sometimes have kind of “out there” finishes.
 
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#14
Nobody has mentioned the Spector Dimension bass yet, they are great! I think they have a good bit of versatility on tap, but ultimately most multi scales best feature is going to be a big modern tone. The Spector body shape is very comfortable and fanned frets do not take long to adapt to, especially for a youngster.

There are many choices you could go with. I think it is going to be a killer gift and he will be thrilled!
 
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#15
themickster said:
I spoke to a luthier friend about multiscale. It has no bearing on intonation. It's more about making the bottom string tighter and giving it more highs.
Click to expand...
That's partially correct. Increased tension on the lower strings is one of the benefits. Just as important is the decreased tension on the higher strings.
 
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#18
I adapted to multi scale as soon as i picked one up in the store. The move to 5 (and eventually 6) was much more difficult because everything moves in relation to you.

As for suggestions, Dingwalls are good and there is a really boring story of why I ended up with an Ibanez normal scale 5 instead. I have an Ibanez EHB 6 which is multi scale and it is also really good. The advantage with and Ibanez might be that the scale range between the B and the G is much smaller than other offerings which will be more familiar.
 

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