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Passive 5 string?

#44
Hellbastard said:
All lakland 5 String are 35". The 55-60 is a really nice passive 5 string Jazz.

IME the best sounding passive 5 or 6 strings basses are the Dingwall ABI and ABZ.
A used ABZ 5 can be found for less than $2000
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FWIW, I also own both brands. I have had many Lakland Skylines and would recommend them in a heartbeat to anyone. Currently have a DJ5 (my favorite and have had 3) and a 55-64 P bass converted to PJ. Both fabulous on every front.

I also have now owned two Dingwall Combustion series. Both are some fo teh best imports I have ever owned, on every front. The fanned fret may not be for everyone but I'm a believer

Either brand would suit you just fine.
 
#45
ric4682 said:
I've always been curious about Dingwall. Can they get a big round, almost vintage kind of tone? I'll probably be using my 5 string for R&B and such.
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Like anything they have a voice. Not sure if a true 'vintage' sound is their thing but... I have now heard the 'metal' marketed Combustion NG-2 cover the range from metal, to country, to rock and to jazz, all very well so they are all tonally very versitile. Any could cover R&B without any difficulty I am sure. Many other variables of amp and cab equally important as well.
 
#46
ric4682 said:
I've always been curious about Dingwall. Can they get a big round, almost vintage kind of tone? I'll probably be using my 5 string for R&B and such.
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Tone is very subjective and I like the fact that the Dingwall FB3 are a very aggressive/modern sounding pickup, but very flat as well.

If you select the neck pick and roll off the highs using the tone knib, you can get a pretty convincing P-Bass tone. Dingwall also offers a P-tone version of the fd3, which is supposed to nail the vintage tones more closely.
 
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#48
you can usually yank the active preamp out of ' whatever ' .. !! as long as the pickups themselves are not active ... ( emg ) ... most are passive ...

a used Sadowsky ... pre on/off , passive tone - VTC ... had one = very nice

i have 2 Warmoth 5vers ... modded to my liking ... both are Passive ..

buy a used 5ver , ... mod away .. !
 
#50
ric4682 said:
I've played and owned a lot of basses (mostly 4 strings) and I definitely prefer passive basses to active by a decent amount. Some exceptions are active circuits with a passive tone control. I have a hard time finding passive 5 strings that aren't Squiers or $2000+
I don't really have a chance to go try many out, and most guitar stores I go to don't have many, if any, passive 5's. I really want one though.
There's a Revered Rumblefish on Craigslist a few hours from me. I've also been looking at the new American Standard Dimension basses, but very few people have tried them it seems. I've heard good things about Gibson's (now discontinued) EB 5 strings.
What are some good basses?
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The best one for my money is the fender standard MIM Jazz V. I prefer the older ones with the gotoh tuners and 5 in line headstock. You can find them for around $400 used all day long.
 
#51
Yamaha BB for sure. The new ones are an absolute steal used (I've seen <$500 for a BB1025x) and built incredibly well. There are zero cheap parts on it (not even the pots). The necks are ludicrous stiff and fast as hell. The only thing I've seen with a thicker fretboard is an Alembic.
 
#54
I really appreciate the suggestions for the P5's, but I definitely prefer two-pickup basses. Keep the suggestions coming though! I'm trying to find reviews of all of these different basses. Those Yamaha's look pretty sweet and I like that it's a 3-way switch instead of a pan-pot or dual volume set up. Just a preference of mine. I have small hands though, how's the neck?
 
#55
For $1000 or less, look into Yamaha, Carvin and the MTD CRB. The Carvin PB and PBJ basses are really, really good for the money.

For $1500 or less, the most recent Fender P5 is pretty good - but earlier editions seem to have meh B-strings, and same for a lot of the earlier Fender 5-string J basses.

If you're willing to explore used in that price range, try to find a Fender Roscoe Beck 5. The build quality on these discontinued axes is way beyond regular USA factory, the B strings sound great (I've had a chance to play two of them, both great), and the electronics are passive but smart and flexible - I keep an RB4 as my four-string, even though I hardly play 4, because I like the axe so much.

Lots of folks like the G&L L2500 (and 2000) when in passive mode. Easy to find used for around $1000, and the new ones are out there.
 
#56
I highly recommend the Gibson EB 5. I used exclusively active basses for the past 6 or so years until I got the Gibson last year. I have not once felt it could be improved with a preamp. It sounds fantastic on its own. Plenty of versatility with the coil taps. On top of all that, it's a featherlight 7.9 pounds.
 
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#57
Dominic D said:
I highly recommend the Gibson EB 5. I used exclusively active basses for the past 6 or so years until I got the Gibson last year. I have not once felt it could be improved with a preamp. It sounds fantastic on its own. Plenty of versatility with the coil taps. On top of all that, it's a featherlight 7.9 pounds.
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Still not really looking for active basses or one pickup basses (P5) though I'm sure they sound great. There are hundreds of threads about active 5's as they're the most common so I'd like to keep this one towards passive 5's if I could. I'm really intrigued by the Gibson EB 5. Everything I've read seems to point that they're really great basses for the money. Have you experienced any neck dive since it's so light?
 
#59
ric4682 said:
I'm really intrigued by the Gibson EB 5. Everything I've read seems to point that they're really great basses for the money. Have you experienced any neck dive since it's so light?
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There is a bit of neck dive, but it's not bad. My G&L L2500 has more neck dive and it's a 12 pound bass. I use a wide strap to pretty much fix the dive.
 
#60
Reverend Mercalli V. Passive electronics with a MM-style humbucker and a split/p pickup. The tonal variations are impressive. New for around $1k and used you can find some steals. Favorite passive bass...I sold my my Fender American Jazz V that I had bought new a year earlier because...well...it sounds that good to me.
 

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