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Victor Bailey 5-string bass review!

#21
I have played a few Fenders recently with very nice low B strings--MIA Precision Deluxe, MIA Jazz Deluxe, and Marcus Miller 5. I have also played a few in the past that I was not impressed with--MIM Jazz 5's, mainly. And I have owned Roscoes, Modulus', and F Bass', so I have a pretty good idea of what a "good" low B string is like.;)

From what I have seen, the MIA Fender 5's seem to have no trouble hitting the mark in the low B string department, at least the newer ones, anyway.
 
#22
bugbass said:
So why do I need to "own and play the 5-string Fenders for a extensive periode of time" to tell if the B is any good? My Sadowsky was perfeckt from the first second, and none of the many Fenders I have played and serviced in my music shop was even close to the Sadowsky. I love the Fender sound, and if I ever find a 5 that`s really good, I will buy it on the spot.
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Because, as you have just demonstrated, most people who make sweeping generalizations about Fender neither own a Fender or have played one for any extended period of time. Usually, they pick one up off the shelf at GC which is out of tune and has been abused by every teen in town, play it for a minute, then declare it a substandard instrument.

You Sadowsky is better, huh? Well, I would certainly hope so. The cheapest Sadowsky is $2,100, about $1,000 more than a comparable Fender. They are sold by specalized dealers hand-picked by Roger and his team. They receive a setup in Roger's Brooklyn shop that is one of the best in the industry and simply isn't feasible on an instrument that costs significantly less. It should be better, because it costs significantly more. Your comment is like saying that a Honda is a substandard car because a BMW is better.

All that said, the Fender B is quite good. Mine are just as good an my Valenti and just as good as the famed Lakland (which I bought, then sold, due to my preference for the Fender). Spend more time playing them, and less time reading about them, and you might catch on. ;)
 
#23
guy n. cognito said:
Because, as you have just demonstrated, most people who make sweeping generalizations about Fender neither own a Fender or have played one for any extended period of time. Usually, they pick one up off the shelf at GC which is out of tune and has been abused by every teen in town, play it for a minute, then declare it a substandard instrument.

You Sadowsky is better, huh? Well, I would certainly hope so. The cheapest Sadowsky is $2,100, about $1,000 more than a comparable Fender. They are sold by specalized dealers hand-picked by Roger and his team. They receive a setup in Roger's Brooklyn shop that is one of the best in the industry and simply isn't feasible on an instrument that costs significantly less. It should be better, because it costs significantly more. Your comment is like saying that a Honda is a substandard car because a BMW is better.

All that said, the Fender B is quite good. Mine are just as good an my Valenti and just as good as the famed Lakland (which I bought, then sold, due to my preference for the Fender). Spend more time playing them, and less time reading about them, and you might catch on. ;)
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Well, it was you that compared Fender to Sadowsky in the first place. In Norway the high end Fenders like MM cost a little more than a Sadowsky Metro and LullM5V, so why shouldn`t I compare them? I have also played the bass for 25 years, and tried many Fenders, I think it`s safe to say I have played them more than read about them. So you say the Fender B is good, I disagree, you can respect that or not, I don`t care. But as I said, I love the Fender sound, and the minute I find one with a good enough B, I`ll buy it.
 
#26
bugbass said:
Well, it was you that compared Fender to Sadowsky in the first place. In Norway the high end Fenders like MM cost a little more than a Sadowsky Metro and LullM5V, so why shouldn`t I compare them? I have also played the bass for 25 years, and tried many Fenders, I think it`s safe to say I have played them more than read about them. So you say the Fender B is good, I disagree, you can respect that or not, I don`t care. But as I said, I love the Fender sound, and the minute I find one with a good enough B, I`ll buy it.
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+1, I disagree with you about Fender B strings, but I sure respect your personal experience with them.
 
#27
bugbass said:
Well, it was you that compared Fender to Sadowsky in the first place. In Norway the high end Fenders like MM cost a little more than a Sadowsky Metro and LullM5V, so why shouldn`t I compare them? I have also played the bass for 25 years, and tried many Fenders, I think it`s safe to say I have played them more than read about them. So you say the Fender B is good, I disagree, you can respect that or not, I don`t care. But as I said, I love the Fender sound, and the minute I find one with a good enough B, I`ll buy it.
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You are, of course, entitled to your opinion. Sorry to bust your balls, but I found your sweeping generalization quite comical. ;)
 
#30
WovenGraphite said:
I just checked the specs out and noticed that they ship with taper-core E and B strings.

I own a Marcus Miller 5 which has been setup with the F Bass custom strings. They are all tapered core and it made a big difference in the B string tightness, both feel and sound. I brought it to a guitar shop. It was re-setup from using Marcus Miller DR strings which I thought, had a very floppy B.
Anyway, maybe taper-core strings are the way to go.

I can only tell by experience that I am very happy with taper-core on my MM5.

One question for VB5 owners, is the string space at the bridge, the same as on the MM5? Meaning the usual 19mm (like on a 4 string)?
I am seriously thinking of getting one. My experience with mahogany body is that it really helps the growl.

Thanks!
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All standard Fender 5's are 11/16ths at the bridge, same as Stingray 5's, not full spacing 3/4 inch AFAIK Is the Marcus Miller 5 full string spacing, 3/4 inch, standard Fender 4 string width such as F bass and Sadowsky ? If I were to buy a Fender 5 it would diffently be the VB, it looks to be a beautiful bass.
 
#31
bugbass said:
Always?
I doubt that very much. And if so, I say that most Fenders need more carefully setups than many other basses in the same pricerange to get even a decent B. Have not played the VB though
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Maybe I should have added "always" provided that there are no serious construction flaws with the bass itself. :) My bad. But even then, if the saddle on the B string is raised a bit, that would alleviate the floppiness. At least most of it.
 
#33
I've been eyeing this bass for quite a while now, shame that I cant find anywhere to buy them in the UK. Does anyone know how i would get hold of one (musiciansfriend arent shipping internationally and music123 doesnt appear to have them)
 
#35
Man, I was really gassin' for one of these because I thought it had a 24 fret neck. At Fender site read it only has 22. Bummeritus.

Also very disappointed the VB V isn't offered as a fretless.

Wish Fender would put out an active fretless 24 V J. A model like this just makes good sense IMO. I suppose I could yank the frets out of a Dimension, but it ain't a Jazz - doesn't even look like a Fender
 
#38
Reinholds said:
Review
The Victor Bailey 5 -string jazz bass has many great features. Firstly about body. It's made from mahogany and koa top and ebony between them. Neck is maple with koa tree fretboard. ( is specification is written Pau ferro fingerboard but I costumized it to koa tree fingerboard ). It has Modern C-Shape neck with satin polish finish and Posiflex graphiteneck support rods. The hardware is gold plated and it has Samarium Cobalt Noiseless pickups, deluxe GP bridge, Fender Deluxe Lite-Bass GP tuning machines. Now about electronics. It has 3 Band EQ volume and tone knobs.
My opinion
Firstly when I got this bass the feeling was fantastic. Neck felt very well in my hand. Many say that fender necks isn't comfortable, but believe me this on is ;) Firstly I was very impressed about look well it's looks better then in pictures. The playing was very easy. The EQ works great with out effecting tone. The top cut works like a passive sound if you cut tops off you get great Fender passive sound. All works Great no problem what so ever.
Is this bass for you?
If you are considering to buy Lakland 55-02 or 94 series or musicman buy this you wil not be disapointed !
View attachment 2695932
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#39
I bought the 5 string and love all aspects EXCEPT the pickup volume is not consistent across all the strings. The Low E string sounds like it is way too close but all the other strings are really quiet which makes it hard to play thru an amp. I'm going to take it to my local luthier to see if this can be fixed. I plan on taking it to the bluegrass festival in Prescott and I play it thru a small 10" Eden cabinet driven by a TC BH250 run thru a battery pack. I'de like to compete with the full size concert basses that will be there.
 

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