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recommend me a 5 string

#4
Do you have a certain price range in mind? Because recommendations will change depending on how much $$$ you have to spend. I think Dingwall makes a great 5-string bass, check out the Afterburner I or the soon-to-be-released Combustion models. I also highly recommend Spector basses, either a Euro LX or a ReBop. Both of these models are made in the Czech Republic, are extremely well-made, have a great aggressive tone that cuts through a busy mix, and are very affordable if you are shopping used.

Then again, there isn't anything wrong with a Stingray5 either. Just giving you other options, but if you wind up with a SR5, I doubt you'll be disappointed.
 
#6
One of the first considerations you need to make is to assess the other players in your praise band. If you have a very busy piano player (who likes to peddle bass with their left hand), an "all over the place" guitar player who tries to play both rhythm and lead, and a drummer who has no idea what "in the pocket" means...this can impact your sound significantly.

Any bass you choose may sound A+++ at home, but get it into a praise band mix (or other band mix) and suddenly you are asking yourself what happened to that awesome sound.

For example, I had a Ken Smith BSR5MW that absolutely sounded great anywhere but in the praise band mix. I now use a Lakland DJ5 with an Audere pre to make my presence heard. I also use a Sadowsky Metro RV5 with the same results. I'm hoping that my soon to be here Fender P5 will work as well with some eq'ing, but I am not holding my breath.

If you can get in the pocket with the drummer and find your "niche" between the piano and guitar, that MM 5-string should should sound very nice.

Good luck,

Jaycephas
 
#7
Just picked up an Ibanez Sr 505 for a similar application. I believe this bass is very similar to the Sr 755--same p/u's, electronics, etc. At the price (paid $580 new), this is an absolutely killer instrument. Sounds great, super playable. Fit/finish are excellent. The standard SR narrow neck and string spacing may be a little tight for some players but it works well for me.

I had a chance to A/B this with an MTD Kingston Heir. Very different sound--more bright/midrangey to my ears, might stand out more in the mix...? Pure preference, but I leaned toward the darker sound of the Ibanez. The MTD was very nice to play, but at almost double the price of the Ibanez I just couldn't see it. Note the MTD is a 35" scale, too, while the Ibanez is a 34". As a result, the MTD had an edge in B-string clarity, but not enough (for me, anyway) to be a difference-maker.
 
#8
Lakland 55-02. If you have a line on a used Stingray 5 at a good price, that would be hard to pass up. I played an SR5 in church for a while, and everyone there loved it. I think the SR5 with the pickup selector switch is quite versatile for a single pickup bass.
 
#10
Dave Muscato said:
- What's your budget?
- What kind of 4-strings do you like?
- What kind of sound do you want? (Slap/pop for gospel/funky tones, P-bass for Christian rock, ABG?...)

The more you tell us, the better recommendations we can offer :)
Click to expand...



I really like P basses, and jazzes basses too. I currently play an american standard P bass.

I'd like a funky/gospel tone, that can maybe do slap as well, but the slap isnt supre important.

I'd like to spend no more than 1200.
 
#11
For $1,200 max, you can get a lot of bass, especially used.

Lakland 55-02
Lakland DJ5 with Audere pre
MM Stingray 5, H or HH
Fender US J-bass, Am St or Deluxe
etc, etc.

I highly recommend checking the classifieds here. There are way to many nice basses available under that price point.
 
#13
Sounds like a 5-string Precision or Jazz is what you're after, if you already know you like them. Doesn't have to be a Fender; check out Lakland, G&L, etc. There are a lot of choices given your preferences. My advice is to go to a big guitar store and try as many basses as you can.

I love my MTD Kingston, but it's very, very different from your Precision, which might be a good thing for you, or might not. I used to have an American Deluxe 5-string Precision and it was a great bass (I miss it!), but a wholly different instrument than my MTD. You'll have to play one to know if it's right for you.

2372544621_4b4e450b58.jpg

My old P

2666425171_d3b93f35d5.jpg

My MTD

I'd recommend checking out either a Jazz bass for variety, since you already have a P, or something *completely* different, like a Stingray or an MTD. Just play a bunch of basses and see what you like. I know that's not very helpful, but that's the best way to find the right bass for you. Hope this helps!
 
#15
The feel of different five strings varies wildly. I spent a lot of time trying to find a good string spacing for me. For me, the Skyline nails it. That isn't to suggest that the Skyline is right for you too. Like I said, it varies wildly. I like the 19mm spacing (too wide for some) and flat radius fingerboard (too flat for some). The 35" nick is nice, but I've played nice 34" scale necks and I don't really think it makes that big a difference tone-wise. I also think it's fairly easy to adjust - I play a 34" scale fretless a lot of the time and can go back and forth pretty readily.

I could never be happy with a MusicMan five string (spacing is too tight), but I can understand why a lot of people here love them.

KO
 
#18
jmattis said:
G&L L-2500. Similar to an SR5 with a much chunkier neck and way more consistent string to string volume & sustain.
Click to expand...

I had a problem with string to string volume with my SR5 as well...even though I loved the way that bass felt, i sold it because I couldn't deal with the inconsistant string volume...
 

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