This question is so subjective, I am not even going to attempt to answer it cause my answer would be different than someone else's.
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What 5 string bass has the best feeling/playing neck?
- Thread starter datsaxguy
- Start date
This is too subjective for words! Hand size, dexterity, technique,scale length and string spacing as it affects both left and right hands make this entirely impossible to answer in a one-size-fits-all way.
But I'm also coming to believe that getting an axe that feels right for YOUR hands is critical, especially on extended-range instruments. So I've been in and out of several axes over the past year, trying to hone in.
I've been flirting with Ken Smith geometry as the best approach for my hands and current state of development. The neck feels only a teeny bit wider than on the ubiquitous Stingray 5, and the bridge spacing is 18mm. And 34" definitely is easier for me. Anything bigger in any single dimension, and I feel the hand strain (note that I double-stop and chord a good deal). This is a bummer, as I've played on some really great basses with 34"/19mm geometry - sadowsky, Fender Roscoe Beck V, Low End Jazz - that are great, great instruments, but just didn't feel right under my hands.
At this point, my main reservation on the Smith is whether I can get even close to an old-school sound - I have one on the way with the coil-selection switches and am hopeful that the ability to go series might give me the flexibility I'm hoping to find.
But I'm pretty much deciding that ergonomics come first - even if it sounds great, if it doesn't feel like making you play or if it induces some hurt, it may not be good for you. I guess you can otherwise decide to invest time and develop technique adapted to any particular geometry, but as a hobbyist player at this time, I don't feel the need to go there, especially since I've also played some 34" basses with great B strings.
But I'm also coming to believe that getting an axe that feels right for YOUR hands is critical, especially on extended-range instruments. So I've been in and out of several axes over the past year, trying to hone in.
I've been flirting with Ken Smith geometry as the best approach for my hands and current state of development. The neck feels only a teeny bit wider than on the ubiquitous Stingray 5, and the bridge spacing is 18mm. And 34" definitely is easier for me. Anything bigger in any single dimension, and I feel the hand strain (note that I double-stop and chord a good deal). This is a bummer, as I've played on some really great basses with 34"/19mm geometry - sadowsky, Fender Roscoe Beck V, Low End Jazz - that are great, great instruments, but just didn't feel right under my hands.
At this point, my main reservation on the Smith is whether I can get even close to an old-school sound - I have one on the way with the coil-selection switches and am hopeful that the ability to go series might give me the flexibility I'm hoping to find.
But I'm pretty much deciding that ergonomics come first - even if it sounds great, if it doesn't feel like making you play or if it induces some hurt, it may not be good for you. I guess you can otherwise decide to invest time and develop technique adapted to any particular geometry, but as a hobbyist player at this time, I don't feel the need to go there, especially since I've also played some 34" basses with great B strings.
Could it be that we are maturing as a forum?!?!!?
Maybe!............................................................................................Nah, this was an accident!
Dan K.
My Stambaugh 5 is the most comfortable of my 24 different basses. It's a 33 inch scale with a high C.
Perfect!
Perfect!
For my tastes, nothing I've tried (and there's a lot I haven't tried) has come close to the neck on my MTD 535. That neck feels as if it was made for my hands - amazing. Honourable mention goes to the neck on the Status S2 and the Lakland.
