- Mar 9, 2001
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Recommend a 5-String with a narrow string spacing?
- Thread starter Tankdave
- Start date
Scott in Dallas
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- Aug 16, 2005
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- Builder and Owner: DJ Ash Guitars
I played a Yamaha BB years ago that was the perfect fiver for that reason. I don't know if they still make them as narrow, but it's worth a trip to a store that carries them to find out.
Stick_Player
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- Nov 13, 2009
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Do Alembics fives have the same spacing? I had always though that Alembic had one of the tightest 5-string spacings out there, though I dont own one. Im a big fan of Jimmy Johnson.
What kind of basses do you like? What kind or sound are you going for?
Spector does hi-fi and can get pretty aggressive, some can be kind heavy but they balance really well. The spacing is narrow but they can be kind of chunky.
Musicman basses are spanky and aggressive, beautiful feeling necks
G&L basses , the L-2500s are kind of like a P-Bass on steroids but with tons of versatility. Totally aggressive sounding and in your face sound and great quality to boot.
Peavey Cirrus: Pristine sounding and pretty hi-fi. Beautifully built and great sounding basses.
Warwicks: Tons of variety in styles, necks tend to be chunky and the tone is inherently woody... depends on your taste, may be a good or a bad thing.
The Zon Sonus Special 5 was 17.5mm IIRC and was straight up a fantastic bass. Kind of a cross between your Hi-fi sonus vibe and a Warwick Thumb. I'd love to have another one of these.
I recently picked up a Ibanez Premium ATK 5 and really dig it. Neck profile similar to the L-2500, good range of tones and well built to boot. Nice bass and reasonably priced.
My personal faves are Spector, Peavey Cirrus and G&L depending on the flavor your after.
Spector does hi-fi and can get pretty aggressive, some can be kind heavy but they balance really well. The spacing is narrow but they can be kind of chunky.
Musicman basses are spanky and aggressive, beautiful feeling necks
G&L basses , the L-2500s are kind of like a P-Bass on steroids but with tons of versatility. Totally aggressive sounding and in your face sound and great quality to boot.
Peavey Cirrus: Pristine sounding and pretty hi-fi. Beautifully built and great sounding basses.
Warwicks: Tons of variety in styles, necks tend to be chunky and the tone is inherently woody... depends on your taste, may be a good or a bad thing.
The Zon Sonus Special 5 was 17.5mm IIRC and was straight up a fantastic bass. Kind of a cross between your Hi-fi sonus vibe and a Warwick Thumb. I'd love to have another one of these.
I recently picked up a Ibanez Premium ATK 5 and really dig it. Neck profile similar to the L-2500, good range of tones and well built to boot. Nice bass and reasonably priced.
My personal faves are Spector, Peavey Cirrus and G&L depending on the flavor your after.
My Spector is a 16.5mm spacing, but it's still comfortable. It's also rather light. If you run passive pickups (like on the ReBop & Legend series), you can get classic tones, too.
Alembic will make you whatever space you want, I'm pretty sure J.J.'s is 15mm, I have a distillate 5-string from the same era, it doesn't have all the gucci electronics but it plays like butter and is not nearly as heavy.
+1. The L-2500 - USA or Tribute - is always my first suggestion for a fiver with less-than-huge string spacing. Can't really see myself ever getting rid of my Trib.
My 5ers are either Dingwalls or Ibbys. Dingers are a lot more expensive, of course. I've got fairly small hands so the wider spacing on other 5er models gets to be a bit of a stretch.
