Schecter CV-5 @ Amazon $287

[kmf]

Seems like a solid deal for someone looking for a backup 5 string:

https://www.amazon.com/Schecter-2493-5-String-Guitar-Natural/dp/B06XGZR55G/ref=sr_1_2?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1544448462&sr=1-2&refinements=p_4:Schecter

 

[Marko 1]

Imma use the 35" scale to talk myself out of it.

 

[bobcruz]

^ Same here, plus the five in-line tuners, which make the neck way too long (neck dive, anyone?). The price is even lower today, well under used pricing and probably even below cost. Normally I can't resist bargains like that--something must be wrong with me!

 

[Stinsok]

I have the 4 and play it every gig. It's a well made bass. That price is amazing.

 

[Lammchop93]

thats a steal... ugh

 

[andruca]

I got one of these a couple days ago and am still in awe. For years I'd been looking for a 5 string "Fender killer" that suited me. Really like me some Fender tones, owned some, but just can't seem to cope with its many deficiencies. No Fender 5er can touch how MY bass of choice since forever (ceramic era Stingray5) plays, sounds, the low end authority, the higher construction and QC standards, the overabundance of balls, and that neck, oh my!

So I've been thru' MANY attempts at "Fender killers" before (several Yammie BBs, 2 pickup Ibby ATKs -surprisingly fenderish-, a Maruszczyk Jake), and tried LOTS of others to no avail. I had been eyeing a Model T Session 5 for some time and I don't remember how I ran into this weird CV bass browsing around just weeks ago. I watched some demos, read the neck dimension specs on Schecter's website (I REALLY appreciate the few manufacturers that post these, Ibanez comes to mind, been doing it forever) and was sold on getting one. Just wish it would have costed me as little as some TBers paid. Not the case, but still managed to find a b-stock unit (aged white finish) and get it from the US all the way here (Spain) for less than the only other alternative (buying a new one from the UK)..

Not only can this bass do many Fenderish impersonations with those guitar-like pickups, it has mad attack, roaring response when I dig in, and lots of bass boost at my disposal with the flip of those 2 coil taps. A really cool passive layout, even tho' I don't discard trying a balance pot instead of the 3 pos pickup selector in the future, only if a pot will fit in the same hole the switch is now. My body (hands included) can't tell a difference with the longer scale (this is my first 35" ever) and the neck is AMAZING THIN, just the way I like them, not even a sharp C but a parentheses, feels so alike my Stingray5s, and even the 22 frets add to that same sensation (when plucking hard, a "free string" zone starting at fret 20 feels too loose for me, at fret 24 it's too tight, but at 22 frets it's just the right point for my liking -100% sure all this obsessive crap is conditioned because of being attached to Stingray5s for the last 2 decades-).

Best Indonesian bass I've owned, and I've owned not so cheap ones (a SBMM Ray35 included). Keeps tuning better than my Rays and luckily my usual strings (Warwick Reds NICKEL -only place in the world you can get these is thomann-) will work, with taper starting less than 1cm off the nut. I'm used to Stingray5s' 17.5mm string spacing so it's easy to adapt to the CV-5's 17mm, fits perfectly in a gorgeous Maruszczyk gig bag I already had for it. What more could I ask for? Oh, yes, it even weights a little less than my Musicman basses (minimally really), so there goes another point for me..

Overall, really amazed at this incredibly underrated weird bass that can do a variety of things with the authority, the balls I needed it to have, amazing playability and the first other neck I've owned that's really on par with my Stingray5s'.

 

[dxb]

I got one of these a couple days ago and am still in awe. For years I'd been looking for a 5 string "Fender killer" that suited me. Really like me some Fender tones, owned some, but just can't seem to cope with its many deficiencies. No Fender 5er can touch how MY bass of choice since forever (ceramic era Stingray5) plays, sounds, the low end authority, the higher construction and QC standards, the overabundance of balls, and that neck, oh my!

So I've been thru' MANY attempts at "Fender killers" before (several Yammie BBs, 2 pickup Ibby ATKs -surprisingly fenderish-, a Maruszczyk Jake), and tried LOTS of others to no avail. I had been eyeing a Model T Session 5 for some time and I don't remember how I ran into this weird CV bass browsing around just weeks ago. I watched some demos, read the neck dimension specs on Schecter's website (I REALLY appreciate the few manufacturers that post these, Ibanez comes to mind, been doing it forever) and was sold on getting one. Just wish it would have costed me as little as some TBers paid. Not the case, but still managed to find a b-stock unit (aged white finish) and get it from the US all the way here (Spain) for less than the only other alternative (buying a new one from the UK)..

Not only can this bass do many Fenderish impersonations with those guitar-like pickups, it has mad attack, roaring response when I dig in, and lots of bass boost at my disposal with the flip of those 2 coil taps. A rally cool passive layout, even tho' I don't discard trying a balance pot instead of the 3 pos pickup selector in the futures, only if a pot will fit in the same hole the switch is now. My body (hands included) can't tell a difference with the longer scale (this is my first 35" ever) and the neck is AMAZING THIN, just just the way I like them, not even a sharp C but a parentheses, feels so alike my Stingray5s, and even the 22 frets add to that same sensation (when plucking hard, a "free string" zone starting at fret 20 feel too loose, at fret 24 it's too tight, but at 22 frets it's just the right point for my liking -100% sure all this obsessive crap is conditioned because of being attached to Stingray5s for the last 2 decades-).

Best Indonesian bass I've owned, and I've owned not so cheap ones (a SBMM Ray35 included). Keeps tuning better than my Rays and luckily my usual strings (Warwick Reds NICKEL -only place in the world you can get these is thomann-) will work, with taper starting less than 1cm off the nut. I'm used to Stingray5s' 17.5mm string spacing so it's easy to adapt to the CV-5's 17mm, fits perfectly in a gorgeous Maruszczyk gig bag I already had for it. What more could I ask for? Oh, yes, it even weights a little less than my Musicman basses, so there goes another point for me..

Overall, really amazed at this incredibly underrated weird bass that can do a variety of things with authority and the balls I needed it to have and amazing playability and the first other neck that's on par with my Stingray5s'.

Just out of curiosity, how much does your CV5 weigh? I have one and its almost 10 pounds. Not terrible considering its 5-string with 35" scale and an ash body, but its still my heaviest bass. My two other fivers are Dimensions and they're both 9 pounds.

Also, does your tone knob work when the mini-toggle switches are in all their different positions? On mine I noticed it only seems to have an effect when the switches are down but not when they're in the middle or up positions.

 

[andruca]

Just out of curiosity, how much does your CV5 weigh? I have one and its almost 10 pounds. Not terrible considering its 5-string with 35" scale and an ash body, but its still my heaviest bass. My two other fivers are Dimensions and they're both 9 pounds.

Also, does your tone knob work when the mini-toggle switches are in all their different positions? On mine I noticed it only seems to have an effect when the switches are down but not when they're in the middle or up positions.

Not a too different weight in my case, weights almost as much as my Stingray 5ers (feels the same as the lightest of the two I have, swamp ash -the other is probably regular ash, just minimally heavier, not a big difference either-), which are both around that 10lb mark. At 44 y/o I can still deal with that (I'm also a big guy, basses look like guitars on me), but I consider such mark the upper limit really, and am willing to cope with it just because of how deeply impressed I'm with this bass as a whole.

I've checked the tone pot thing this morning and in my bass tone works OK. Always. I ran thru' all the pickup selector + coil taps combinations to make sure (in the eventual case the tone bypassed at specifically some of the 27 possible combinations -15 different sounding combinations really-). OTOH what I've noticed is attenuation is noticeable but mild for probably 3/4 of the way down the pot, only in the end it cuts highs more severely. I'm cutting more than halfway thru' the pot sometimes (the single coil settings are BRIGHT), something I've never had to do in any other passive basses I've had, a little movement seems to do much more in other passives' initial zone of the tone control.

 

[dxb]

Not a too different weight in my case, weights almost as much as my Stingray 5ers (feels the same as the lightest of the two I have, swamp ash -the other is probably regular ash, just minimally heavier, not a big difference either-), which are both around that 10lb mark. At 44 y/o I can still deal with that (I'm also a big guy, basses look like guitars on me), but I consider such mark the upper limit really, and am willing to cope with it just because of how deeply impressed I'm with this bass as a whole.

I've checked the tone pot thing this morning and in my bass tone works OK. Always. I ran thru' all the pickup selector + coil taps combinations to make sure (in the eventual case the tone bypassed at specifically some of the 27 possible combinations -15 different sounding combinations really-). OTOH what I've noticed is attenuation is noticeable but mild for probably 3/4 of the way down the pot, only in the end it cuts highs more severely. I'm cutting more than halfway thru' the pot sometimes (the single coil settings are BRIGHT), something I've never had to do in any other passive basses I've had, a little movement seems to do much more in other passives' initial zone of the tone control.

My tone knob seems to operate in a similar way to yours. I guess the effect is just subtle with some of the switch combinations. Overall though I agree its a nice bass. I can get wide variety of tones and once I gave it a good setup its easy to play. The weight doesn't really bother me as its fairly well balanced.

 

[andruca]

My tone knob seems to operate in a similar way to yours. I guess the effect is just subtle with some of the switch combinations. Overall though I agree its a nice bass. I can get wide variety of tones and once I gave it a good setup its easy to play. The weight doesn't really bother me as its fairly well balanced.

A passive tone knob is usually of no use to me, but this bass has some tone variety that's switchable, from clickity harshness to deep darkness, really outstanding for a passive bass (in a great way, such as the Peavey T-40 or the Roscoe Beck Jazz, passive with a ton of options to choose from), and with those much options comes a more intensive use of the tone knob. I have to adjust it over many times when switching between pickups and coil tap combinations.

I'm a Stingray5 guy, that's been MY BASS FOREVER, for its playability, low B, the punch and agressiveness (prefer ceramics, modern alnico Stingray5s sound sorta' bland to me in comparison), that mix owning punchy low-mid magic. BUT, I've always craved for a Jazz or a Precision (love their tone characters, as I love the Stingray's) without the shortcomings, one that had all of those attributes in my Stingray5s I can't live without. The CV-5 is the closest I've gotten so far, checks all the mentioned boxes. And definitely can sound several sorts of Fender'ish, but with a neck and low B Fender 5ers could only dream of, more balls and bite to the tone, crazy punch, more articulated/focused/compact yet authoritative lowend (like Stingrays), more responsive to playing (meaning "gets wild easier"), all of this, with exquisite manufacturing AFAICT (except for that pickguard ondulation between the pickups -same as others report-, mine also has that, might end up adding a screw there if the sight of it messes too much with my OCD).

I've owned a Maruszczyk Jake 5a+ and had a friend's American Deluxe P 5 (P+humbucker) for months, so real serious expensive basses (the Maruszczyk being the best of those 2 IME). Well, this Schecter bass definitely blows both of them out of the water at each and every thing those basses can do, at less than half the price tag. I'd stayed tuned to Ernie Ball's announcements hoping for the release of a 5 string version of the Caprice (the existing 4 string seems discontinued lately). Not anymore. I'm THAT IMPRESSED with this Schecter CV-5.

 

[dxb]

A passive tone knob is usually of no use to me, but this bass has some tone variety that's switchable, from clickity harshness to deep darkness, really outstanding for a passive bass (in a great way, such as the Peavey T-40 or the Roscoe Beck Jazz, passive with a ton of options to choose from), and with those much options comes a more intensive use of the tone knob. I have to adjust it over many times when switching between pickups and coil tap combinations.

I'm a Stingray5 guy, that's been MY BASS FOREVER, for its playability, low B, the punch and agressiveness (prefer ceramics, modern alnico Stingray5s sound sorta' bland to me in comparison), that mix owning punchy low-mid magic. BUT, I've always craved for a Jazz or a Precision (love their tone characters, as I love the Stingray's) without the shortcomings, one that had all of those attributes in my Stingray5s I can't live without. The CV-5 is the closest I've gotten so far, checks all the mentioned boxes. And definitely can sound several sorts of Fender'ish, but with a neck and low B Fender 5ers could only dream of, more balls and bite to the tone, crazy punch, more articulated/focused/compact yet authoritative lowend (like Stingrays), more responsive to playing (meaning "gets wild easier"), all of this, with exquisite manufacturing AFAICT (except for that pickguard ondulation between the pickups -same as others report-, mine also has that, might end up adding a screw there if the sight of it messes too much with my OCD).

I've owned a Maruszczyk Jake 5a+ and had a friend's American Deluxe P 5 (P+humbucker) for months, so real serious expensive basses (the Maruszczyk being the best of those 2 IME). Well, this Schecter bass definitely blows both of them out of the water at each and every thing those basses can do, at less than half the price tag. I'd stayed tuned to Ernie Ball's announcements hoping for the release of a 5 string version of the Caprice (the existing 4 string seems discontinued lately). Not anymore. I'm THAT IMPRESSED with this Schecter CV-5.

Have you noticed any dead spots on yours? I'd checked in the usual places when I got it and it didn't seem to have any, but today I found a really bad one on the 8th fret of the D string. 7th fret D string has a bit of one too.

 

[andruca]

Have you noticed any dead spots on yours? I'd checked in the usual places when I got it and it didn't seem to have any, but today I found a really bad one on the 8th fret of the D string. 7th fret D string has a bit of one too.

I'll definitely check that zone in mine (and its octaves). So far none that I could tell, it even caught my attention how clear and articulate the upper notes of the low B string ring. But I wasn't specifically scanning for dead spots so I'll check for sure and come back with the results. Still not getting tired of this bass. This is my fave fingerstyle tone, both pickups on, neck PU in single (center), bridge PU in parallel (up). Has this lovely, sort of Wal-ish low-mid burp.

 

[andruca]

I've been thoroughly checking, scanning the neck for dead spots and couldn't find any in my CV-5. I tested the whole neck, both with my ears and my guts against the body to feel vibration, both with and without amplifying. This led me to think strings could be playing a role...? I'm 99% ignorant about this but I've read dead spots can be dealt with (moved to a less harmful register) by changing masses or moving them around the neck. Could this be sensitive to string gauge/mass too? I have a cheap kit build I strung BEAD and had a HUGE dead spot on Bb (6th fret @ E string -3rd-). I mitigated it with a Fender Fat Finger first, but when I further modded this bass into a 5 string (alla' @Ric5) it was completely gone.

Are you on the stock Ernie Ball strings? And in case you've changed, have you found the dead spot on new strings or you had noticed it before with the stock strings too?

 

[dxb]

I've been thoroughly checking, scanning the neck for dead spots and couldn't find any in my CV-5. I tested the whole neck, both with my ears and my guts against the body to feel vibration, both with and without amplifying. This led me to think strings could be playing a role...? I'm 99% ignorant about this but I've read dead spots can be dealt with (moved to a less harmful register) by changing masses or moving them around the neck. Could this be sensitive to string gauge/mass too? I have a cheap kit build I strung BEAD and had a HUGE dead spot on Bb (6th fret @ E string -3rd-). I mitigated it with a Fender Fat Finger first, but when I further modded this bass into a 5 string (alla' @Ric5) it was completely gone.

Are you on the stock Ernie Ball strings? And in case you've changed, have you found the dead spot on new strings or you had noticed it before with the stock strings too?

Thanks for checking. I'm glad yours doesn't have any, though now I wonder if its possible to get rid of mine. Everything's stock including the strings, though I did adjust the nut, bridge saddles, and truss rod when I set it up. Right now it intonates perfectly all the way up the neck and other than that one note, it has a ton of sustain.

Does yours have the round button-type string tree on the D and G strings like in the stock photo or a rectangular bar across the A, D, and G strings? Mine has the bar. Just curious if that might make a difference.

 

[andruca]

Thanks for checking. I'm glad yours doesn't have any, though now I wonder if its possible to get rid of mine. Everything's stock including the strings, though I did adjust the nut, bridge saddles, and truss rod when I set it up. Right now it intonates perfectly all the way up the neck and other than that one note, it has a ton of sustain.

Does yours have the round button-type string tree on the D and G strings like in the stock photo or a rectangular bar across the A, D, and G strings? Mine has the bar. Just curious if that might make a difference.

Mine has the bar type string tree, across 3 strings. Could there be enough of a mass difference to alter a dead spot? I know zero about this really, but if you're on the stock strings the only difference between your bass and mine is just that. There's bar type string trees at AliExpress for less than 4$, but I doubt those can make any difference as they're zinc alloy. Still, here's one that would probably fit reusing the existing screw hole between the G and D strings (plus a second screw between the D and A strings).

Haven't yet touched setup really. My bass came indeed "setup to play" as the sticker points. Low action, perfect relief and intonation, nothing to complain about. Even the nut height is perfectly low, unusual IME, I had to file nuts in every bass I've had in this price range, and even some more expensive ones.