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Recommend a 5 string that matches these specs

BGroovy

BGroovy

Supporting Member
Jul 15, 2008
2,578
7,724
Denver, CO
#1
I’ve had a lot of basses pass through the last few years and am continuing to refine the few I’d like to keep that match my evolving needs.

Throw out your favorites that match these very specific specs!

- 34” 5 string
- 17.5mm string spacing
- 1.75” nut width
- less than 9 lbs
- smaller contoured body
- neck profile that isn’t flat on the back
- dual splittable humbuckers

My favorite 5 string tone I’m after is a Bossa OB5. It checks all of these boxes except the nut width and string spacing are too wide for my hands to play comfortably and the neck profile goes very flat in the middle.

I keep trying to adjust my playing style to fit the neck of the OB5 because I love the tone so much, but I get hand cramps/fatigue.

I love the neck profile of my Serek 5 string, I don’t mind round and a bit chunky, but not full on P bass baseball bat. Some jazz bass necks are too thin front to back for me.

Probably looking for a unicorn (or custom order) but I know TalkBass will give me all kinds of GAS for basses I’ve never even heard of.

Here’s the OB5 that is ALMOST perfect for me.

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#2
BGroovy said:
- 34” 5 string
- 17.5mm string spacing
- 1.75” nut width
- less than 9 lbs
- smaller contoured body
- neck profile that isn’t flat on the back
- dual splittable humbuckers
Click to expand...
- Soundgear
- (Was gonna say "Soundgear" but most of them are 16.5mm... some exceptions though.)
- Soundgear
- Soundgear
- Soundgear
- Soundgear
- Sound-- oh wait. Well, they're easy to mod :smug:
 
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#3
ardgedee said:
- Soundgear
- (Was gonna say "Soundgear" but most of them are 16.5mm... some exceptions though.)
- Soundgear
- Soundgear
- Soundgear
- Soundgear
- Sound-- oh wait. Well, they're easy to mod :smug:
Click to expand...
Most of the Ibanez basses I've played are a bit too narrow neck wise front to back and have a flatter profile on the back of the neck. Are there certain models with a more round profile?

16.5mm might be too tight but I'd give it a try and might be easy to track down at a guitar center.
 
#6
BGroovy said:
Most of the Ibanez basses I've played are a bit too narrow neck wise front to back and have a flatter profile on the back of the neck. Are there certain models with a more round profile?

16.5mm might be too tight but I'd give it a try and might be easy to track down at a guitar center.
Click to expand...
You might track down an SRX model, discontinued but not too hard to find. Chunkier neck and slightly wider but not by much (kind of a hybrid of an SR neck and a Fender Jazz). The bodies on most of them are slab rather than contour although the overall dimensions are about the same as the Soundgears. Not sure about the string spacing.

Some of the older Ibanez BTB are 34" scale and have necks similar to what you want, and might be wider at the bridge. I think all their current and recent production 5-strings are 35" or multiscale though.

In general you're not going to find a lot of mass-produced basses with humbucker coil switching as a standard feature. Some manufacturers offer it but most don't.
 
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#8
77stingray said:
I would look into S. Martyn and Swan basses out of Brazil! He seems to build a lot with narrow spacing and they are almost always splittable.
Click to expand...
Swan has been on my list to try out since I saw Boom Bishop play one with Robert Glasper at jazz fest. The tonal breadth was incredible. And one of the best bass players I’ve seen in a while.
 
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#10
BGroovy said:
I’ve had a lot of basses pass through the last few years and am continuing to refine the few I’d like to keep that match my evolving needs.

Throw out your favorites that match these very specific specs!

- 34” 5 string
- 17.5mm string spacing
- 1.75” nut width
- less than 9 lbs
- smaller contoured body
- neck profile that isn’t flat on the back
- dual splittable humbuckers

My favorite 5 string tone I’m after is a Bossa OB5. It checks all of these boxes except the nut width and string spacing are too wide for my hands to play comfortably and the neck profile goes very flat in the middle.

I keep trying to adjust my playing style to fit the neck of the OB5 because I love the tone so much, but I get hand cramps/fatigue.

I love the neck profile of my Serek 5 string, I don’t mind round and a bit chunky, but not full on P bass baseball bat. Some jazz bass necks are too thin front to back for me.

Probably looking for a unicorn (or custom order) but I know TalkBass will give me all kinds of GAS for basses I’ve never even heard of.

Here’s the OB5 that is ALMOST perfect for me.

View attachment 7248278
Click to expand...
A free thoughts…
Why not just replace the bridge with tighter spacing or adjustable saddles? Like a Hipshot? You could install Nordstrand Zenblades for the splittable requirement on just about any bass.

You never mentioned budget which will determine your options. You could have Maruszczyk build one to your specs.

A Spector RST is under 8lbs, has 17mm string spacing, a very nice contoured body with Aguilar Super Doubles (not splittable, but may not matter) but also has 35” scale and a B string that sounds amazing.
 
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#11
How about a G&L L-2500? They have 1.75" nut width and approximately 17.5mm spacing. (There is a Series 750 version with 19mm spacing, so make sure to avoid those.) If you get an empress (paulownia) body, it will be under nine pounds, and you can order single coil mode too, which means the pickups can be run with their coils in series or parallel, or as single coils. The settings apply to both pickups, so, for example, you can't have one pickup in series and one in single coil mode. I bet you could get it modded to allow independent settings for the pickups.

Other than the body, which I don't think is downsized, it fits the bill. The G&L Kiloton's body is slightly downsized, but it has only a single humbucker.
 
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#12
Nedmundo said:
How about a G&L L-2500? They have 1.75" nut width and approximately 17.5mm spacing. (There is a Series 750 version with 19mm spacing, so make sure to avoid those.) If you get an empress (paulownia) body, it will be under nine pounds, and you can order single coil mode too, which means the pickups can be run with their coils in series or parallel, or as single coils. The settings apply to both pickups, so, for example, you can't have one pickup in series and one in single coil mode. I bet you could get it modded to allow independent settings for the pickups.

Other than the body, which I don't think is downsized, it fits the bill. The G&L Kiloton's body is slightly downsized, but it has only a single humbucker.
Click to expand...
I've had an L-2000 but never an L2500, this is a good rec. The empress ones had a bit of neck dive if I remember which is my only concern. Weight and proper balance being equally important.

I didn't love the electronics for my tone but single coil mode might do the trick.
 
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#13
Barticus said:
A free thoughts…
Why not just replace the bridge with tighter spacing or adjustable saddles? Like a Hipshot? You could install Nordstrand Zenblades for the splittable requirement on just about any bass.

You never mentioned budget which will determine your options. You could have Maruszczyk build one to your specs.

A Spector RST is under 8lbs, has 17mm string spacing, a very nice contoured body with Aguilar Super Doubles (not splittable, but may not matter) but also has 35” scale and a B string that sounds amazing.
Click to expand...

It's the combination of nut width, string spacing, and neck profile on the OB5. I could get tighter string spacing but the nut and neck will be too wide to play comfortably for long periods. It's my favorite bass to record with though so it may stick around for that.
 
#14
As mentioned above, you could tweak a Spector if you like the necks. The asymmetrical necks on MTD and Tobias basses may cure what ails you. The old Carvin Bunny Brunel models have the asymmetrical neck profile, as do his new ESP’s I believe.
Kiesel may make one or make one to order that meets your list. Also, I’ll throw out there that Maruszczyk basses are fantastic, and the Delano Sonar 3 preamp with paired humbuckers (I love the BassCulture hb’s) allow for the series/single coil/parallel switches. I adore my Maruszczyks. It sounds like you may need to identify the neck profile/measurements you really prefer, then the body/electronics you dig. Several quality bridges are adjustable to the 17.5 spec, including Badass and Hipshot bridges at 18mm with adjustment capabilities.
 
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#19
sawzalot said:
Stingray 5 HH special fits pretty much all of these except the small body part. The EBMM USA Sterling 5 HH fits if you can find one, and find a light one.
Click to expand...
I've had a few 5HH and 5H (still have one). The Stingray pickups don't quite give me the tone I'm looking for in this bass - that fusiony tone that can burp and a good jazz mid scooped.

I love Stingrays though and always have one, I've settled on the Special 5H as my favorite though.
 
#20
BGroovy said:
I’ve had a lot of basses pass through the last few years and am continuing to refine the few I’d like to keep that match my evolving needs.

Throw out your favorites that match these very specific specs!

- 34” 5 string
- 17.5mm string spacing
- 1.75” nut width
- less than 9 lbs
- smaller contoured body
- neck profile that isn’t flat on the back
- dual splittable humbuckers

My favorite 5 string tone I’m after is a Bossa OB5. It checks all of these boxes except the nut width and string spacing are too wide for my hands to play comfortably and the neck profile goes very flat in the middle.

I keep trying to adjust my playing style to fit the neck of the OB5 because I love the tone so much, but I get hand cramps/fatigue.

I love the neck profile of my Serek 5 string, I don’t mind round and a bit chunky, but not full on P bass baseball bat. Some jazz bass necks are too thin front to back for me.

Probably looking for a unicorn (or custom order) but I know TalkBass will give me all kinds of GAS for basses I’ve never even heard of.

Here’s the OB5 that is ALMOST perfect for me.

View attachment 7248278
Click to expand...
L2500 with an empress body will do all these things, but it will need a wiring mod to satisfy the coil selection bit.

My old one is for sale in the classifieds!
 
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