Very eventually...

Jean, out of the basses that you listed, I would go with the Yamaha.

I actually played a Yamaha BB405 a few days ago, and it is a very good bass for the money, and has a Fender-like tone and feel. I own an older model which is very similar to the BB405, it's a BBN5 II. The B string is pretty good overall, and very good considering I only paid $400 for it new.

My second choice would be the Rockbass.

Good luck whatever you buy.

Mike

 

Jean, if I had to pick one I would say the Yamaha but I think they are all a waste of money. Have you considered BEAD tuning your 4-string? I think it's a great option unless you need the G for pops or solos or something. That's my 'Other' vote.

Best of luck,
Tom H.

 

Lakland 55-01.

Or, a second four string tuned BEAD.

 

Like someone else said, of those choices, go with the Yamaha. My housemate has a late '90s BB series fiver and I think it's a great bass. I can dial in a bunch of great sounds from it. Also, I much prefer the neck profile of Yamaha basses over Ibanez. Ibanez is definitely a try before you buy deal. Some people love the neck profiles, other don't.

Or maybe a Spector Performer 5 would be a good choice too. I believe it has a 35" scale and many swear that a 35" scale makes the low B sound better.

 

BEAD

 

Lakland Skyline 55-02 or tune BEAD since you are so used to 4 strings. But I'd bet if you tried a 55-02 you'd take to it pretty quickly.

Peace,

James

 

Out of the ones you have listed, I would pick the Yamaha. Nice to see you coming around here again.

 

Yamaha seems to make quality stuff in all price ranges so I would go with that one (of the ones you listed)

you might also check on the availabilty of the MTD kingston line.

 

I'd be leaning towards the Yamaha as well. They're solid basses with what I consider to be nice necks.

 

I picked 'other' thinking about the MTD Heir or Kingston.

I need to get a fiver myself. My problem is that I have twenty-five years experience playing fours with roughly 3/4" spacing. Going more narrow is more irritating to me than a wide neck. So I am stuck looking for a wide-spaced five. And the stores around here only seem to carry narrow-spaced fives.

I have great access to what I don't want and almost no access to what I do want. Does this sound familiar to anyone else?

 

Anyone who reads this website and lives outside of the US knows EXACTLY what you mean.

 

Too true but at least you don't live on a tiny rock, with one guitar shop, that has 3 mexican fenders and one amp.

<edit - back on topic>...I'd go for the Yamaha

 

During the summer I had to pick up a 5-string for a gig I landed. Here's my my story and 20/20 hindsight:

Bought a Cort that I forgot the model of and just noticed they discontinued when I went to their site. It was the cheap one with the MM and jazz pickup. The neck was really wide and uncomfortable, and I really disliked the sound. I bougt it online without ever playing it cuz the price was right and it looked great. Doh!

About a week later, I was in a store and played a used Cort Curbow that felt amazing. Neck was a lot more narrow, and it felt really comfortable - almost like I was playing my Sterling. The bass had, and still has, a loud electronic buzz - but the feel is amazing, and I've been using it. This bass made the transition from 4 to 5 doable, pleasant even.

I was miserable with the first bass, I'm happy with the second bass, but I'm starting to wish I had waited a little longer, or shopped a little more carefully. The first bass was a complete waste of money. Wound up selling it for about $150 less than I paid so I lost that. Then I started hearing about Curbows being really quiet basses, and think I'd have been a lot happier if I simply spent the extra $150 from he other bass and bought a brand new Curbow.

This is a very long and boring story I just realized but I've gone too far to stop now.

After playing lots of 5 strings - I really wish again as I said above that I'd have been less hasty as I'm quite sure i'm going to pick up a Rockbass now. Of all the 5ers I've played under a 700 bucks - the Rockbass seems to be the most solid and comfortable - I somewhat regret the above choices I made. If the curbow was quiet I think I'd be really happy though - even though I'm not exactly crazy about the looks.

My suggestion after all of this is to PLAY the basses. If you can't, you're taking a real gamble, especially going from 4 to 5. If it doesn't feel right, and you're anything like me, it's going to be torture to play and you're going to dread picking it up. I felt like that with the original COrt, with the Curbow I feel comfortable and at home. I'd feel most comfortable with a rockbass. Blah blah blah....

 

Ernie Ball Music Man SUB5

 

Spector performer 5

 

DEFINETLY the S.U.B.5. I have one and i like it more then a Stingray 5 i played in a music store (for real!).

But, if you are going to get one, make sure you get the active kind, because the passive just sounds like crap.

 

sry i'm double posting here, and off topic, but i have a curbow 4 and it's amazing. i've had it for about 3-4 years and i found it to be a fairly loud bass when you fiddle with the controls/electronics a bit. nice to see another curbower around here